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STORY OF THE
PRINCESS DES URSINS
IN SPAIN
BIRTH OF THE PRINCE OF ASTUBIAS.
Ex Liblto
C. K. OGDKN
STORY OF THE
PRINCESS DES URSINS
IN SPAIN
(CAMARERA-MAYOR)
BY
CONSTANCE HILL
EDITOR OF " FREDERIC HILL " ETC.
" Elle regna en Espagne, et son histoire meriterait d'etre ecrite "
St. Simon
With Twelve Portraits and a Frontispiece
LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN
1899
This Edition enjoys Copyright in all Com;,
tries signatory to the Berne Treaty and
is not to be imported into the United
States of America
Vr
UNIVEl ORNIA
SANT . IA
THIS BOOK IS
2>et>icatet> to
TWO PARIS FRIENDS
ONE OF THE PAST
AND
ONE OF THE PRESENT
JOHN DIGWEED AND
JULES TRAYER
PREFACE
We sometimes meet with a character in old
French memoirs which seems so completely to
live for us that, in spite of its antique surround-
ings, it steps on to the stage of our very existence
and claims an interest as for a friend of to-day.
Thus it was with the present writer and the
Princess des Ursins. Meeting her for the first
time, some years ago, in the volumes of St.
Simon, an interest of this kind was created
which went on increasing as fresh sources of
contemporary information were discovered to
throw new light on her strong personality and
on her strangely eventful career.
The Princess des Ursins was a central and
dominant figure in Spain during the turmoil and
chaos of the Wars of the Spanish Succession.
viii PREFACE
Forced by circumstances to come to the front,
she reigned for twelve years " behind the flimsy
veil of a phantom king," with a power that was
almost absolute. Her political career has been
harshly judged in England, where her character
and motives are little known, but she has re-
ceived better treatment in France. This,
perhaps, is natural, since she was a French
woman and was an upholder of the Bourbon
dynasty in Spain, while, on the other hand, she
was looked upon by the English as an enemy.
But time has broken down the barriers between
her friends and her foes of nearly two hundred
years ago, and we can now judge the conduct of
the Princess with impartiality. Her letters are
before us — letters written to intimate friends
with openness and sincerity and with a charm of
style peculiar to a lively and talented French
woman of the early eighteenth century.
These intimate friends were Madame de
Maintenon and the Marechale de Noailles.
To them the writer could express her thoughts
and opinions without reserve and without fear
of misconstruction, and could give free scope to
PREFACE ix
her bright nature that was ever ready to see
the hopeful and even humorous side of affairs,
however gloomy they might appear to others.
" Mon Dieu, Madame ! " exclaims Madame de
Maintenon, "how happy you are! and how
delightfully you jest ! There is never a tinge
of bitterness in what you say. Your gaiety of
heart finds its way even to my heart, and gives
me the only cheerfulness I can boast of at
present." And again she writes : " You have a
good courage, a happy vein of humour, and a
hopeful temperament ; these are powerful aids
in overcoming misfortune."
Madame des Ursins' letters are written under
a variety of circumstances, and while, at times,
they are playful in tone, at others they are
deeply in earnest. Sometimes it is the champion
of the young King and Queen who speaks, and
we find her, when occasion requires, boldly
opposing the " Grand Monarque " himself.
Sometimes it is the keen politician contending
with Torcy and Chamillart ; at others it is the
organiser of armies. Sometimes, again, it is
the woman who has been injured, but who is
x PREFACE
calm and dignified in defeat ; at others it is the
woman laden with honours who is equally calm
and dignified in her triumph.
Madame des Ursins was ambitious in the
right sense of the word. She desired to have
free scope for gifts of mind and character that
she could not but be conscious of possessing.
Still she took up politics mainly from the
woman's point of view — that of the affections.
Her attachment to the young Queen Marie-
Louise of Savoy was her strongest incentive to
action. In one of her letters to Madame de
Maintenon, she remarks : " It is a high honour,
no doubt, to live in close connection with the
great ones of the world, but the honour is
dearly bought when those great ones are loved
as we love them, so that our thoughts are com-
pletely absorbed in their concerns, making us
totally forget our own."
In the same way Madame des Ursins, when
working for Spain, could forget that she was
a French woman. On one occasion, when the
Grandees were opposing her measures as those
of a foreigner, an Irish Colonel in the Spanish
PREFACE xi
service, named Burke, remarked : " Leave her
alone, and you will find when the interests of
Spain are attacked she will be a truer Spaniard
than any of you." A prophecy which was
amply fulfilled.
The first letters of the Princess des Ursins
that were published appeared in 1777. They
consist of a small selection that were introduced
into the " Memoires de Noailles " — a book which
has furnished many curious details connected
with the lady's career in Spain. In 1806 a
series of her letters appeared, forming one small
volume, addressed for the most part to Marshal
Villeroy, and edited by Mons. L. Collin. In
1826 the entire correspondence of herself and
Madame de Maintenon, which fills four volumes
octavo, was published by Bossange Freres.
The original documents of this correspondence
had passed into the possession of Louis XV.
As the letters threw light on many State affairs,
the King allowed his chief Minister, the Due
de Choiseul, to make a copy of them, and it
was from a descendant of this same Duke that
the MS. was obtained by Bossange.
xii PREFACE
In 1859 a fresh series of letters of the Princess
was given to the public by Mons, A. Geffroy,
who had discovered them, strangely enough,
among the archives in the Royal Library at
Stockholm. They were not the original docu-
ments, but careful copies. How they found
their way to Stockholm Mons. Geffroy is unable
to say, but he suggests that they were among
the numberless family documents that were
scattered far and wide at the time of the French
Revolution. Mons. Geffroy has preceded the
letters by an interesting biographical sketch of
the Princess.
About the same time that this work was
published, another work upon the Princess des
Ursins appeared, being a critical "Review of
her Life and Character as a Politician," by
Francois Combes. In this "Review," which
forms a large and closely printed volume, every
event in her career is commented upon, and her
claims to the esteem of posterity weighed in
the balance. Ste. Beuve remarks : " In this pro-
cess of careful revision and criticism, Madame
des Ursins' reputation has by no means suffered,
PREFACE xiii
it has gained by the light thrown upon it."
And referring to her letters, of which more
than four hundred are now made public, another
critic remarks, "that even in the ease of un-
restraint, she never abandoned a pure and lofty
style of diction. It is the special honour," he
adds, " of the epoch to which she belonged to
gfive us in the documents which furnish its
history models of sound literature and of good
taste."
CONSTANCE HILL.
Grove Cottage, Frognal,
Hampstead.
November 1898.
CONTENTS
CHAP.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
A Vacant Throne
A Child-Queen and Her Guide
The Evil Genius of Spain
Clouds Gather and the Storm Bursts
Fortune's Changes
A Spanish Ovation
A Royal Fugitive
A New Hope
Tidings of Victory
Joy in the Palace
Reverses .
Left to Fight Alone
Treachery in the Camp
A Cause Won .
A Wily Priest .
A King's Gratitude .
Peace after Storm .
PAGE
I
12
27
43
65
81
104
126
139
150
162
176
187
200
208
221
232
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
■" Happy occasion of the birth of the Prince of
A sturias, August 25, 1707," with portrait of
the Princess des Ursins on the left. Below
are depicted scenes of national rejoicing, in-
cluding M. Amelot's ''Fountain of Wine."
Victory of Almanza in the centre.
Louis XIV. in old age, by Rigaud
Philip V., King of Spain .
Marie Louise of Savoy, Queen of Spain
Cardinal Portocarero
Cardinal d'Estree ....
Due de St. Simon, by de Troy .
The Pretender, styled "Jacques III., Roid'Angle-
terre, age de 16 ans," by de Troy
The Archduke Charles represented as Charles III.
of Spain. Inscribed " Carolus III. D.G.,
Hispaniorum et Indiarum Rex "
Frontispiece
To face page
4
js
H
)>
20
i>
30
)»
44
*i
62
72
92
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvii
Doorway of the House of the Cordon, Burgos . To face page 114
Duke of Berwick, Generalissimo of the Forces
in Spain ....... ,, 142
Duke of Orleans (afterwards Regent of France),
by de Troy » ^4
Louis Joseph, due de Vendome .... ■., 206
WORKS CONSULTED
" Princesse des Ursins. Lettres inedites a M. le Marechal de
Villeroy, suivies de sa correspondance avec Madame de Mainte-
non." L. Collin, Paris. 1806.
Lettres inedites de Mme. de Maintenon et de Mme. la Princesse
des Ursins. Bossange Freres, Paris. 1826.
Lettres inedites de la Princesse des Ursins, avec une introduction
et des notes. Par M. A. Geffroy. Paris. 1859.
" La Princesse des Ursins. Essai sur sa vie et son caractere
politique." Par M. Francois Combes. Paris. 1858.
"Memoires du Due de Noailles." M. l'Abbe Millot. Maestricht.
1777.
" Memoires du Marquis de San Phelipe, pour servir a l'histoire
d'Espagne sous le regne de Philippe V." Traduits par le
Chevalier de Maudave. Amsterdam. 1756.
'' Memoires du Due de Saint-Simon." Paris. 1829.
" Avenement des Bourbons au trone d'Espagne." Par Henri, Due
d'Harcourt, avec des notes par C. Hippeau. Paris. 1875.
" Memoires secrets du Marquis de Louville." Paris. 18 18.
" Memoires du Marechal de Berwick," ecrits par lui-meme. Paris.
1778.
WORKS CONSULTED xix
" Memoires secrets de Duclos." 1791.
" La Cour et la ville de Madrid vers le fin du i7 e siecle." Par Me.
la Comtesse d'Aulnoy. Me. Carey (editeur).
" Lettres de Madame de Villars a Madame de Coulanges." A. de
Courtois (editeur). Paris. 1868.
"Lettres intimes de J. M. Alberoni, adressees au Comte I. Rocca,"
avec des notes par Emile Bourgeois. Paris. 1893.
" Causeries du Lundi. " Par C.-A. Sainte-Beuve. Paris.
"History of the War of the Succession in Spain." By Lord
Mahon. London. 1832.
"Kings of Spain of the House of Bourbon." By Archdeacon
Coxe. London. 1815.
" History of England." By Lord Macaulay. London. 1861.
"Critical and Historical Essays." By Lord Macaulay. London.
Ed. 1874.
" A History of France." By G. W. Kitchin, D.D. Oxford. 1885.
"French Women of Letters." By Julia Kavanagh. London.
1862.
"Elizabeth Farnese." By Edward Armstrong, M.A. London.
1892.
CHAPTER I
A VACANT THRONE
A curious scene was enacted in the palace of
Madrid on the ist of November in the year
1700, which is described in the Memoirs of
St. Simon. Charles II., the weak, imbecile
King of Spain, had just died. He was childless,
and no one knew who would be proclaimed by
his will to be his successor. For long past
the royal families of France and Austria,
equally related to the King, had been intriguing
to secure the prize. " No sooner had the King
expired," writes St. Simon, " than the opening
of the will had to take place. An event so
strange, of such vast importance, and which
would affect the interests of so many millions
of people, attracted all Madrid to the palace ;
so that the rooms adjoining the Council-
2 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
chamber where the will was being read were
crowded almost to suffocation. The foreign
ambassadors were conspicious as they pushed
eagerly forward, each anxious to be the first to
inform his Court of the choice made by the
King. Blecourt (French charge d'affaires) was
there, like the rest, for he was as ignorant
respecting the secret as they were. The Count
d'Harrach, the Emperor's Ambassador, was
standing just in front of the door of the
Council-chamber. He bore himself triumph-
antly, for he relied upon the will's being made
in favour of the Archduke, and his hopes for
his own future were high. At last the door
opened for a moment and the Duke d'Abrantes
appeared, a man much feared for his malicious
wit. He had slipped out of the Council-
chamber as soon as the reading of the will
was over for the enjoyment of disclosing the
great secret. He was instantly beset by the
crowd. He gazed calmly upon them but main-
tained a solemn silence. Blecourt approached.
The Duke regarded him vacantly, and then
turning away his head, appeared to be search-
A MALICIOUS JEST 3
ing for some other person. This action
surprised Blecourt and was interpreted by all
as auguring ill for France. Suddenly the Duke
seemed to become aware of the presence of
the Count d'Harrach. An expression of joy
illumined his countenance, and, throwing him-
self into his arms, he exclaimed aloud in
Spanish, ' Senor, it is with great pleasure '
— here he made a pause and again embraced
him — ' Yes, Senor, it is with heartfelt joy
that from henceforth ' — here he made a second
pause. ' It is indeed with infinite satisfaction
that I now part from you and take a final
leave of the august House of Austria ! ' The
astonishment and indignation of the Count
d'Harrach took from him all power of utter-
ance. . . . He stood quite still for a moment,
and then quitted the room, fuming with rage
and disappointment."
The will decreed the successor to the vast
dominions of the Spanish crown " on which the
sun never set " to be the young Duke of Anjou,
grandson of Louis XIV., and soon afterwards
he was proclaimed King, as the reader will
4 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
remember, under the title of Philip V. On the
4th of December following, the young man,
who was but seventeen years of age, quitted
the French Court to take possession of his
kingdom. Louis XIV. bade him farewell in
his own dramatic style. " Go, my son," he
exclaimed, embracing him, "go: the Pyrenees
exist no longer ! "
The " Grand Monarque," who ruled his own
family as despotically as he ruled his people,
soon made choice of a wife for his grandson.
The Princess he fixed upon was Marie Louise
of Savoy, a daughter of the Duke of Savoy
and a younger sister of the Duchess of
Burgundy. Marie Louise was only thirteen
years of age, and it was, therefore, necessary to
provide her with a female companion, who
could give her help and guidance in her new
and exalted position. Such help and guidance
could only be given by a lady holding a high
official post which would entitle her to live
in close connection with the royal couple.
Fortunately such a post already existed in the
Court of Spain — that of Camarera- Mayor or
LOUIS XIV (IN OLD AGE)
AN IMPORTANT POST 5
Superintendent of the Queen's Household —
and that it should be ably filled became a
matter of first importance.
Louis XIV. wrote to the Due d'Harcourt,
French Ambassador at Madrid (July 7th,
1 701) : * " As the King of Spain is of a gentle,
yielding disposition, it will be an easy matter
for the Queen to acquire a powerful influence
over his mind. Nothing can be known as
yet of the disposition of the Princess of Savoy.
She is of too tender an age to entertain
thoughts of ruling at present, but that same
tender age is keenly susceptible to all kinds
of impressions." Louis enlarges upon the
dangers of placing persons of doubtful cha-
racter or intentions in close proximity to the
Queen. He then informs his Ambassador
that after due consideration he has decided
that the high post of Camarera-Mayor can be
confided to no one with so much propriety as
to the Princess des Ursins. " Her late husband
the Due de Bracciano," he remarks, "head of
the House of Orsini, was a grandee of Spain.
* " Memoires et Correspondance du Due d'Harcourt."
6 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
She has passed much of her life in foreign
countries ; she knows the ways and customs of
Spain ; and together with these advantages she
possesses an alert and powerful mind and
much urbanity of demeanour, so that she is
especially qualified to instruct a young Princess
in the art of ruling a Court with dignity."
Who then was this Princess des Ursins to
whom so important a post was to be confided ?
At the time that Louis XIV.'s letter was written
the Princess was the central figure of a brilliant
society in Rome. The Due de Bracciano and
Prince Orsini, for he bore both titles, was an
Italian nobleman of high rank and political
influence, and at the Orsini Palace were to be
seen all the illustrious people who met together
in the Holy City. The Princess des Ursins (for
her name was afterwards rendered in French),
was a person of consequence in the eyes of the
French Court, for she had done much to further
French interests in Rome, and was enjoying a
pension from Louis XIV. in recognition of her
services.
The Princess des Ursins belonged to the
ALLIANCES 7
family of La Trimouille, and therefore to the
French nobility, on her father's side ; on her
mother's to the legal and commercial classes,
whence perhaps she derived her sagacity. She
was born not later than 1642, but the exact date
is not known. Her first husband was a Prince
de Chalais, and the young Princess de Chalais
" shone at the Hotel d'Albret by the side of
Madame de Sevigne." But the Prince had to
fly from France on account of being concerned
in a fatal duel. He took refuge in Spain, where
he and his wife passed several years, and where
the lady formed friendships that were to prove
invaluable in the future. Soon after quitting
Spain the Prince de Chalais died, and his widow
took up her residence in Rome. Here it was that
some years later she married the Prince Orsini.
After this second marriage the lady occa-
sionally paid visits to Paris, and it was during
these visits that she became acquainted with
the Duke de St. Simon. The Princess plays a
conspicuous part in his Memoirs. The following
description of her, which we have somewhat
condensed, occurs in the third volume :
8 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
" She was rather tall — a brunette, but with
blue eyes, which gave expression to every
varying sentiment she wished to convey. Her
figure was perfect. She had a beautiful throat ;
and her face, though not strictly handsome, was
charming. Her air was extremely noble, and
there was something even majestic in her bear-
ing, yet at the same time there was ease and
grace in every turn or gesture. Her voice was
melodious and her intonation extremely agree-
able. Her manners were flattering and en-
gaging, and their charm, when she chose to
exert it, irresistible. I have never," he con-
tinues, "met her equal whether in personal
or in intellectual gifts. Madame des Ursins'
conversation was brilliant, and it seemed to flow
from an inexhaustible source ; yet no word or
gesture escaped her to express that which she
wished to conceal. A natural gaiety of disposi-
tion was, in her case, combined with ready tact
and sound judgment, and with an equability of
temper which left her, at all times and under all
circumstances, complete mistress of herself.
She was ambitious, but hers was an exalted
AN UNACKNOWLEDGED QUEEN 9
ambition soaring above the usual aspirations of
her sex or the common ambition of men."
During her visits to Paris the Princess des
Ursins formed the friendship of Madame de
Maintenon, and in later years the two ladies
carried on a regular correspondence. This
correspondence, which was strictly confidential,
brings into bold relief the widely differing
characteristics of each,
Madame de Maintenon, that "unacknow-
ledged Queen of France," who was by nature
reserved and grave, and who shunned the noise
and bustle of society, delighted in the energy,
hopefulness, and humour which characterised
the Princess's letters. On one occasion, after
lamenting the coarse manners of some of the
ladies at Versailles, she writes : " For my part I
love those women who are modest, sober,
cheerful ; able alike to be serious or to be
merry, railleuses dune raillerie qui enferme tine
louange, whose heart is right, and whose con-
versation is lively and inspiring." This descrip-
tion, which was evidently intended for a portrait
of her friend, was 'no flattery. Madame des
io THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Ursins possessed to the full what Voltaire has
termed " le grand art de plaire."
The Prince Orsini died before the beginning
of the eighteenth century, but the Princess
continued to live in Rome. Being, however,
well informed of all that went on at Versailles,
she had early intelligence that the appointment
of a Camarera- Mayor to the new Queen of
Spain was under debate, and she saw clearly
that, could she obtain the post, a wide field for
the exercise of all her special talents would lie
before her. To many it would seem strange
that the Princess des Ursins, at the age of
fifty-nine years, should desire to give up her
assured position in Rome for a new and un-
tried career in a foreign land. A French lady
(Madame de Coulanges) expressed, we are told,
much surprise on hearing that she coveted this
appointment, for this lady imagined that to a
person of the Princess's age life could offer
nothing that was new and attractive. " Her
view of the case," remarks a great French
critic, "proves that Madame de Coulanges was
merely a woman, and was unable to compre-
A HIGH DESTINY n
hend the influence upon her own sex of any
passions save those of the affections. But
Madame des Ursins was born to mould and
direct great public affairs and to have a high
hand in the intrigues of States."
CHAPTER II
A CHILD-QUEEN AND HER GUIDE
In September, 1701, Philip V. and Marie
Louise of Savoy were married by proxy at
Turin, and Madame des Ursins received
instructions to repair to Lombardy in order to
meet her royal mistress and conduct her into
Spain. The meeting took place at Villafranca,
a small town on the coast of Lombardy.
Madame des Ursins was pleased, from the
first, with the young Queen; and her own
bright nature and ready tact, her long acquaint-
ance with Italian life, and her knowledge of the
country to which they were bound, all made
her presence valuable as well as attractive to
Marie Louise. The importance of such a
companion was especially felt when they
reached the frontiers of Spain ; where the
A LOVER INCOGNITO 13
Queen was met by the ladies-in-waiting of the
Spanish Court, and where, to her surprise and
sorrow, all her friends and attendants of the
Ducal Court of Savoy were at once dismissed.
The royal marriage was to be re-celebrated
at Figueras, a border town of Catalonia, whither
Philip V. repaired to receive his bride. A
pretty account is given of their first meeting,
which recalls to the mind of the reader the tale
of " Lalla Rookh."
Finding on his arrival at Figueras that Marie
Louise was still some distance from that place,
Philip determined to go forward to meet her.
But since the rigid etiquette of Spain forbade
the King's crossing the border, he travelled
incognito accompanied by very few attendants.
On approaching the village of Hostelnuovo he
beheld the bridal train slowly advancing and,
amidst the gay cavalcade, saw the gilded litter,
slung between mules, in which the young
Queen and her Camarera-Mayor were seated.
Philip dismounted, and running to the litter
presented himself as a messenger sent by the
King to inquire after the health of the royal
i 4 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
traveller. The Queen answered his questions
graciously, and herself inquired after the King's
health, but beginning to suspect the stratagem,
her answers became more and more friendly,
till at last she proposed to alight in order that
they might converse more at their ease. The
King put out his hand to protest against this,
and the bride, now fully convinced of the
identity of her lover, took the royal hand
between both of hers and kissed it. The King
dared not assume his real character, but he
returned, well satisfied, to Figueras.
After the wedding festivities were concluded
the royal couple continued their journey.
Madame des Ursins writes, en route, to her
friend, the wife of Marshal Noailles, " Bon
Dieu ! Madame, what a queer employment
you have all found for me! I have not a
moment's leisure, not even time to speak to my
secretary. I cannot rest after dinner nor eat
when I am hungry. I think myself happy if I
can snatch a mouthful in the midst of business,
for I rarely sit down to table without being
called away. Madame de Maintenon would
PHILIP V., KING OF SPAIN
A OUEER EMPLOYMENT 15
laugh if she knew the particulars of my respon-
sibilities. Pray tell her that it is I alone who
am privileged to take the King of Spain's
dressing-gown from him when he gets into bed,
and to present it to him with his slippers when
he rises. So far I do all with patience, but it is
really ludicrous that each night, when the King
enters the Queen's chamber, the Count de
Benevente presents me with His Majesty's
sword and with a lamp whose oil I usually
upset over my clothes. The King would never
rise if I did not draw aside the curtains of his
bed, for it would be considered sacrilege for
any one but myself to enter the chamber. The
other night the lamp went out because I had
spilt half the oil. In the morning I did not
know where to find the windows, which I had
not seen uncovered, owing to our arrival at the
place after dark. I thought I should have
broken my nose against the walls, and there
were the King of Spain and myself jostling
against each other in the dark for nearly a
quarter of an hour feeling about for the
shutters ! "
16 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
But very different duties and responsibilities
were soon to fall to the share of the Princess
des Ursins. Not only the internal management
of a royal household but the external govern-
ment of a great State was to depend largely
upon her guiding — a State, moreover, where the
chains of custom took the place of law, and
superstition the place of religion.
The Reformation had never penetrated into
Spain. " While other nations," writes Macaulay,
" were putting away childish things the Spaniard
still thought as a child and understood as a
child. Among the men of the seventeenth
century he was the man of the fifteenth century
or of a still darker period, delighted to behold
an auto-da-fe and ready to volunteer on a
crusade. . . . The evils produced by a bad
government and a bad religion seemed to have
attained their greatest height during the last
years of the seventeenth century. . . . An un-
disciplined army, a rotting fleet, an empty
treasury were all that remained of that which
had been so great."
The domestic life of a country in such a
A CAGED EXISTENCE 17
condition could not but be constrained and
gloomy. The laws and customs affecting
women were strongly Oriental in their cast,
having their origin in the days of the Moorish
rule. Women of the upper classes lived for the
most part in seclusion apart from men. Even
when they drove out it was in coaches lourds
comme des maisons, behind curtains closely
drawn. The windows of their apartments were
also carefully screened from public view. A
French lady writing from Madrid towards the
end of the seventeenth century remarks : "This
city has the appearance of one vast closely
barred cage. All the windows and balconies
from ground to roof have outside shutters, and
we catch glimpses through their narrow openings
of poor ladies peeping at the passers-by." In
the royal palace of Madrid some of the rooms
occupied by the ladies of the Court had actually
no windows whatever, and received their only
light from apertures in the doors. In these
dimly lighted rooms the ladies lived a life of
idleness and dull monotony such as may still be
seen in Eastern harems. It is true their apart-
B
18 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
ments were decorated with Eastern magnificence.
All the kingdoms ruled by Spain contributed
their stores of wealth and art to adorn her
palaces. The gathering together of their
treasures recalls the days of Solomon. Naples
and Sicily provided pictures, Sardinia and
Milan statues and delicate embroideries, the
Netherlands sent tapestries, and the far-off
Indies gold, silver, and jewels. But splendour
is a poor exchange for liberty.
The position of a Queen of Spain was even
worse than that of her ladies-in-waiting, for she
was hemmed in by specially stringent rules of
etiquette whose antiquity rendered them sacred
in the eyes of the Spaniards. Madame de
Villars, wife of the French Ambassador at
Charles II.'s Court, who visited Madrid twenty
years earlier than the accession of Philip V.,
thus writes : " The tedium of existence in the
palace is almost crushing. I sometimes remark
to our Princess, # on entering her chamber, that
one seems to feel it, to see it, to touch it, so
* A daughter of the Duke of Orleans recently married to
Charles II.
A GLOOMY COURT 19
tangible appears the monotonous gloom around
us." Court life had not changed since these
words were written, and we find Madame des
Ursins thus describing the society of the palace :
" The Court ladies, on entering the royal apart-
ments, kneel to kiss the Oueen's hand, and then
silently seat themselves upon the ground at her
feet. If her Majesty and I did not keep up
some sort of conversation it would cease
altogether. We ask our guests if they are
fond of dancing, if they sing or play upon any
musical instrument, if they are fond of walking,
or if they play at cards ? To all these questions
they answer 'no.' "
We seem to see the group of silent ladies in
their stiff Spanish costumes seated cross-legged
upon the ground, and the young Queen and her
friend vainly endeavouring to make them talk !
The Court dress of that day resembled armour
rather than clothing. Its wearer's shoulders
were so compressed as to render it impossible
to raise the arms ; the bosom was flattened by
heavy weights and the body encased in long
stiff stays. There is a portrait of Marie Louise
20 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
of Savoy at the British Museum, taken soon
after her marriage, which represents her wear-
ing Spanish attire. The round childish face
and tender throat emerge pathetically from
their rigid framework.
The Court jewelry consisted chiefly of heavy
ecclesiastical ornaments. Images of saints were
fastened to the ladies' bodices or sleeves, and
they wore belts formed of cases containing
relics. They carried rosaries in their hands
which they were continually counting. " Such
customs," writes Madame des Ursins, " may
have their merit, but they are not calculated to
inspire cheerfulness."
Madame des Ursins exerted herself to enliven
this dismal Court. She inaugurated concerts
where she delighted to produce the Italian
music then just coming into vogue. She even
ventured to introduce dancing as a Court
pastime, and persuaded the King and Queen to
occasionally lead off the dance. This last was
a bold innovation, for hitherto the Queens of
Spain had been jealously kept out of sight and
had not been permitted to mingle with the
MARIE LOUISE OF SAVOY, QUEEN OF SPAIN
A SPANISH THEATRE 21
ordinary life of their Court. She introduced
dramatic entertainments where Moliere's wit
was heard for the first time. What a contrast
his plays must have formed to the old Spanish
dramas! These were long and solemn, and
rather resembled a religious service than a
comedy. If an actor made a confession or
uttered a saint's name the spectators fell on
their knees and prayed aloud. Even the social
character of the audience was destroyed by a
strict separation of the sexes, who sat on either
side of a thick curtain hung down the middle of
the theatre.
We can easily imagine that in a life so sur-
rounded by artificial restraints there must have
been a great craving for excitement. This
craving, which Madame des Ursins endeavoured
to appease by natural and innocent pleasures,
had till now found a vent in the appalling scenes
of cruelty perpetrated by the Inquisition. The
autos-da-fe formed part of the great pageants
held in honour of State events, and the Kings
and Queens of Spain with their Court formed
part of the audience. Philip's predecessor,
22 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Charles II., made a special request to the
Grand Inquisitor in the year 1680 that an
auto-da-fd should be held in Madrid in honour
of his recent marriage. There exists a curious
contemporary account of the whole proceedings,
written by a Spaniard named Joseph del Olmo,
which gives a vivid idea of the feeling of the day
respecting the terrible institution. Olmo was
the architect who designed the great theatre in
the Plaza Mayor where the executions took
place. In the centre there rose, we are told, an
enormous scaffold which was so placed as to be
close to the King's palace. Seats in the
theatre were apportioned to all the chief digni-
taries of the State, and the balconies of the
surrounding mansions were filled by the ladies
of the Court in their gala dress. An immense
concourse of people attended the scene. When
all was in readiness the captain of the Inquisi-
tion troops entered the royal palace, " bearing,"
writes Olmo, " a small faggot gracefully orna-
mented with ribbons meet to be placed before
the eyes of majesty. The Duke de Pastrano,
having received the faggot from the captain,
PIOUS ENJOYMENT 23
conveyed it to the King, who at once seized it
with his own royal hand and carried it to the
Queen that she might gaze upon the precious
object. The King then returned the faggot to
the Duke, who, in his turn, restored it to the
captain with these words : 'His Majesty
desires that this faggot shall be the first thrown
into the flames, and that it be thrown in his
name.' ' On arriving at the scene of execution
the King, Olmo tells us, took a solemn oath in
the presence of the vast multitude assembled to
''persecute all heretics and apostates, and ever
to aid the Holy Inquisition in the accomplish-
ment of its work, so agreeable to God and so
essential to the glory of religion." As the
executions proceeded, the spectators roused to a
pitch of brutal excitement tortured the unhappy
victims before the flames could reach them.
Some burnt them with lighted torches, some
struck them with their swords, others hurled
stones at them. The King, we are told, stood
upon his balcony watching this scene of
massacre with "unflagging interest and pious
enjoyment." Olmo concludes his narrative by
24 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
extolling his behaviour, and declaring that it
was " worthy of the admiration of mankind."*
Madame de Villars, who was at Madrid at
the time, wrote to a friend : " I had not the
courage to be present at the horrible execution
of the Jews. It was an appalling spectacle
from what I hear. But, nevertheless, my ab-
sence has given much offence, as I was expected
to be present and to find great amusement in
the sight."f
Madame des Ursins, fearless of the results
that might accrue to herself, ventured to oppose
the all-powerful Inquisition, " the evil genius
of Spain." She advised Philip V. to dis-
countenance the autos-da-ft, and he declared
openly that he would not sanction them with
his presence. Scenes of cruelty had no attrac-
tion for Philip. His faults were not those of a
cruel but of a weak character. When he suc-
ceeded to the throne of Spain, his grandfather
Louis XIV. wrote thus of him to the Due
* Notes par A. de Courtois sur " Les Lettres de Madame de
Villars a Madame de Coulanges."
t The expression in the French is me divertir tout a fait.
A GOOD ADVISER 25
d'Harcourt, then French Ambassador at Madrid
(December 15, 1700) : " It is well for me to in-
form you that the King of Spain's intentions
are good. He wishes to do right, and will do
it if he understands how. But this understand-
ing is what he lacks. He is not well-informed,
less so, indeed, than is usual at his age. It
will be an easy task to govern him. . . . He
will have confidence in you and will follow your
counsels. ... Be assured that I rely implicitly
upon you."
Ill health had obliged the Due d'Harcourt to
quit Spain soon after the new reign commenced.
Fortunately for the young King there was again
a strong mind at hand whose counsels were
wise and just. By the advice of the Princess
des Ursins Philip sought to obtain the good-
will of his subjects. He followed their rules of
etiquette as far as possible, adopted the Spanish
costume, spoke the Spanish language, and was
careful to observe their religious rites and
ceremonies. The young Queen was guided by
her Camarera- Mayor through many a difficulty
that attended her first residence at a Court so
26 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
different from the bright Italian home that she
had left, and soon her own engaging manners
won the heart of the Spaniards.
Thus the Bourbon dynasty began to take
root, while Madame des Ursins, fully aware of
the jealousy with which a Frenchwoman high
in office was regarded, kept herself as far as
possible in the background.
CHAPTER III
THE EVIL GENIUS OF SPAIN
Important reforms were gradually and cauti-
ously introduced into the Court. One of these
was the reduction of the royal household,
which had been very large under the Austrian
kings. It was a custom in Spain for both king
and nobles to take over, together with their
inheritance, all the retinue, including slaves and
pensioners, of their predecessor, without dis-
missing any of their own followers ; so that the
households, with their dependencies, kept on
increasing in numbers. A visitor at the Court
of Charles II. writes: "I am told that the
King provides daily food in Madrid alone for
ten thousand persons." Probably this was no
exaggeration, for we learn from the same
writer that some of the wives of the richer
28 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
grandees had as many as five hundred female
attendants.
In reducing the King's household an example
of economy was set which it was hoped the
nobility would follow.
A small reform of a more delicate and
personal nature was attempted by the young
Queen. Spanish Court etiquette, which per-
petuated many a Moorish custom, had decreed
that women's feet must never be visible. Even
the doors and steps of carriages were so con-
structed as to conceal them. The ladies for
this reason wore a long and cumbersome over-
skirt called the " tantillo." " The Queen Marie
of Savoy," writes the Due de Noailles, "wished
the ladies of the palace to follow her example
by discarding the tantillo. This proposed in-
novation was actually regarded as an affair of
State ! Some gentlemen went so far as to
declare that they would rather see their wives
lying dead before them than that their feet
should be seen ! The Ambassador Blecourt
wrote gravely (to his Court) that a descent of
the English upon all the coasts of Spain would
A CRY FOR WAR 29
have caused less commotion." The Queen
succeeded, however, in ousting the tantillo, and
the Court ladies finally acknowledged that they
were relieved from a heavy burden.
The enemies of the Bourbon dynasty had up
to this time permitted its peaceable settlement in
Spain, but an event now occurred which deter-
mined them to uproot it forthwith. James II.
died at St. Germains, and Louis XIV. at once
recognised his son as King of England and
caused him to be proclaimed in France by the
title of James III. Up to this time King
William had been unable to persuade the
English people to go to war with France upon
the question of the Spanish succession, but the
recognition of the Pretender was " the one thing
needed to enlist the whole force of English
opinion on his side." " The cry for war," says
Macaulay, "was raised by the city of London
and echoed and re-echoed from every corner
of the realm. . . . Before the commencement
of active hostilities William was no more, but
the Grand Alliance of the European Powers
against the Bourbons was already constructed.
30 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
On the 1 6th May, 1702, war was proclaimed,
by concert, at Vienna, at London, and at the
Hague." Thus began the long Wars of the
Spanish Succession.
There was a large party in Spain in favour
of the Archduke Charles, the Austrian claimant
to the throne, and all disaffected persons were
ready, at the first good opportunity, to join his
standard. Even in the Court of Madrid the
allegiance of the Spanish grandees to their
Bourbon King grew more and more wavering
as report after report arrived of the defeats
that France was sustaining in the Netherlands
and elsewhere.
In the spring of 1702 Philip V. joined the
campaign in Italy, hoping by his presence to
arouse the enthusiasm of his Neapolitan sub-
jects. During his absence the young Queen
was created Regent, and in that capacity-
she had to attend the sittings of the Junta.
Madame des Ursins accompanied her, and
was thus enabled to judge for herself of the
characters of the men in power. Chief of
these was the Cardinal Portocarero, the Primate
CARDINAL PORTOCARERO
THE PRIMATE OF SPAIN 3 1
of Spain. " The Cardinal," remarks Macaulay,
"was a mere intriguer, and in no sense a
statesman. He had acquired in the Court and
in the confessional a rare degree of skill in all
the tricks by which weak minds are managed.
But of the noble science of government, of the
sources of national prosperity and the causes
of national decay, he knew no more than
his master." Portocarero, though himself a
Spaniard, was an uncompromising partisan of
French interests, and his policy aimed at a
gradual banishment of the Spaniards from
participation in the government of their own
country. Madame des Ursins had juster views,
and she perceived that the Cardinal's conduct
was rendering both himself and the French
whom he supported hateful to the Spaniards.
These two nations, whose common interests
now bound them together, differed widely from
each other in character and habits. They had
been rivals for centuries, and they could not
easily forget former prejudices and animosities.
In the " Memoires de Noailles," published in
1777, the Abbe Millot draws a shrewd compa-
32 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
rison between the typical French and Spanish
character written in a truly impartial spirit.
" The Spaniard," he remarks, "is grave, slow
of movement, reserved, prone to disguise his
feelings rather than to express them, fixed in
his opinions and suspicious of those held by
foreigners, attached to old customs, indolent
and almost effeminate, yet jealous of authority
and keenly sensitive where his honour is con-
cerned. . . . The Frenchman is quick, lively,
volatile and full of self-confidence, glorying in
the power and renown of his king, and vain of
his own high breeding and ready wit, which are
too often mere external graces ; more ready to
perceive what is ridiculous or defective, than to
recognise what is estimable, in other nations ;
judging and acting alike with too much pre-
cipitation, and impatient of obstacles which
cannot be instantly overcome." It required
special gifts in a statesman to induce two
nations of such widely different temperaments
to act together in concord, and Portocarero had
none of those gifts.
There was one party in the State which
THE MIGHTY INQUISITION 33
steadily opposed the Cardinal's policy from
patriotic motives. At the head of this party
was the Conde di Montellano, a man who
enjoyed universal respect. He and his asso-
ciates had approved of the Bourbon succession,
but they wished Philip V. to reign as a true
Spaniard, and abhorred the idea that Spain
should be governed as a conquered province of
France.
Madame des Ursins resolved to strengthen
the hands of this essentially national party, and
she resolved also to weaken as far as possible
the overweening power of the Spanish priest-
hood. These were bold undertakings for a new
comer and a woman, but she was undismayed
by the difficulties they presented. Foremost
amongst her obstacles stood the mighty Inqui-
sition whose rule had afflicted Spain for more
than two hundred years. So great was the
terror inspired by its awful and mysterious
proceedings that no Spaniard durst converse on
the subject. Madame des Ursins broke this be-
numbing silence and openly espoused the cause
of one of its victims. This was a monk named
34 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Friolan Diaz, the confessor of the late King of
Spain, who had been thrown into prison upon a
charge of practising sorcery upon that monarch.
The unfortunate monk had been subjected to
torture in order to force him to a confession of
pfuilt, but no such confession had been extorted.
The cause was then tried in the Ecclesiastical
Courts, and Diaz was declared innocent, but in
spite of this declaration the Inquisition still
retained its hold upon him. Philip V. had an
interview with Mendoza, Archbishop of Segovia,
the Grand Inquisitor, and endeavoured to obtain
the release of Diaz, but Mendoza gave only a
feigned acquiescence to the wishes of the King,
and Diaz still remained a close prisoner.
Madame des Ursins aroused public opinion
on the subject ; her fearless example was
followed, and, for the first time since its founda-
tion, the actions of the Inquisition were openly
commented upon in the streets of Madrid. The
affair terminated in the release of Diaz. It was
in vain that the Pope's Nuncio made a formal
protest against such a reversal of the decrees of
the Holy Inquisition-, from henceforth it was
A DAWN FULL OF HOPE 35
known to all that that body must obey the law.
Writing of these events a Spanish historian has
remarked, " Spain's dark and gloomy night had
given place to a dawn full of consolation and
hope." This was true, but the author of this
first victory over the Inquisition had excited the
undying hatred of the " Holy Office " against
herself.
Madame des Ursins held just views on the
subject of State finances, as the following inci-
dent will show. In September 1702 some
galleons bearing treasure from the West Indies
reached the coast of Spain under an escort of
twenty-five French ships of war. Cadiz was
the harbour for the West Indian traffic, but the
proximity of the English fleet to that port made
it necessary for the galleons to seek shelter
elsewhere. They therefore put into Vigo
harbour. The treasure, consisting of gold,
silver, and valuable merchandise, belonged only
in part to the State ; much of it was the
property of private individuals, foreigners as
well as Spaniards. Some of these were now
reckoned amongst the enemies of the country,
36 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
and the question of abstract justice in dealing
with the treasure was thus rendered somewhat
complicated. Spain was sorely in need of
money, and Louis XIV., aware of this fact,
wrote to his grandson to advise his seizing upon
the whole treasure for the use of the State. In
order, however, to pacify those of its owners
who were loyal to Philip V., the French King
suggested that an interest of six per cent, should
be paid to them, and a promise given that the
property itself should be handed over on the
termination of the war.
Madame des Ursins saw the impolicy as well
as the danger of such a course of action, and
she at once wrote to M. de Torcy (Minister for
Foreign Affairs at Versailles) to protest against
the measure. She pointed out that should
Philip V. seize upon this property, no private
property would in future be considered safe,
and that in the end both public and private
credit would be irretrievably injured. "It was
little likely," she observed, "that the State
with its impoverished exchequer could pay the
promised interest, and still less likely that it
THE ENGLISH FLEET OFF VIGO 37
would at the end of a long exhausting war be
in a position to refund the property itself."
This letter made such an impression upon
Louis XIV. that he not only abandoned his
own plan, but adopted one suggested by
Madame des Ursins. # By this latter arrange-
ment the property in the treasure ships of all
persons who were not enemies to the State
was to be at once given over to them. The
property confiscated was, as usual, to revert to
the State, and a further sum of money for
pressing expenses was to be raised by means of
a tax upon foreign produce.
Whilst this important affair was under dis-
cussion Philip was in Italy, and his absence
added further delays to the usual slow progress
of Spanish transactions. Finally the affair
terminated in an unexpected way. The English
fleet appeared off Vigo and attacked the French
squadron. Whilst the battle raged the galleons
slipped their anchors and hurried farther down
the gulf with a view of landing the treasure.
But before much could be got on shore they
* See Francois Combes.
38 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
were pursued and overtaken by the English.
The French and Spanish Admirals, finding
that it was impossible to repulse the enemy,
gave orders that the cargoes should be thrown
into the sea and the galleons set on fire. The
loss to the Spaniards is said to have amounted
to eight millions of dollars.
Portocarero's persistent advocacy of French
interests to the exclusion of those of the
Spaniards had created many enemies for the
young King. Among these was Don Juan
Henriquez of Cabrera, the hereditary Admiral
of Castille ; one of the most distinguished
noblemen in the country. The Admiral had
earned the gratitude of the Austro-Spanish
monarchy by fighting bravely for it both by
land and sea, and had in consequence been
made Master of the Horse to Charles II. ; but
on Philip V. ascending the throne, he had been
deprived of that post by Portocarero. This
the Admiral bitterly resented, but he abstained
from any expressions of anger and, on the con-
trary, professed the warmest devotion to the
new dynasty. He paid especial court to the
A CRITICAL OCCASION 39
young Queen and to her Camarera-Mayor.
But Madame des Ursins was in no way blinded
by his flattery : she saw that he was acting a
treacherous part, and that he was ready on the
first opportunity to join the party of the Arch-
duke. In a letter to the Marechale de Noailles
she describes him as a man unworthy of con-
fidence, though an agreeable companion.
As time went on it became gradually known
that the Admiral was sending the Allies secret
information respecting the country's defences.
Madame des Ursins urged that measures
should be taken to put a stop to such proceed-
ings, and that, if necessary, the Admiral should
be arrested. The absence of the King in Italy
made the occasion a critical one, and Portocarero
and his party, aware of the powerful position of
the Admiral and his family, were afraid to act.
The Cardinal, however, offered him the post of
Ambassador at the French Court, hoping by
this means to keep him at a distance from
Madrid. The offer was at first declined, the
Admiral probably perceiving its motive, and
fearing that his embassy might land him in the
4 o THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Bastille ; but finally he accepted the appoint-
ment and commenced preparations for his
journey to Paris. Madame des Ursins still,
however, suspected his intentions, and thinking
it well that his movements should be watched,
she requested an Irish colonel in the Spanish
army named Burke to offer himself and his
reeiment to the Admiral as an escort. The
escort was accepted, since it could not be re-
fused without arousing suspicion. But even
this clever artifice did not deter the wily
Spaniard from carrying out his purpose.
" Having taken a solemn leave of the Court,"
writes Lord Mahon, "he set out on the road
to France, but had only proceeded three days
on his journey when a sealed despatch, which
he had left behind him for this very purpose,
was brought him by express. He read it
with an air of surprise ; and, turning to his
attendants, informed them that he had just
received counter-orders from her Majesty . . .
and was now instructed to proceed, in the first
place, to the Court of Portugal, and attempt to
confirm its wavering alliance. Believed and
A SUCCESSFUL STRATAGEM 41
followed by all his suite, he forthwith turned
to the left and made for Zamora, where the
authorities were deceived by the same pretence
and afforded him every facility for passing into
Portugal." Soon after his arrival the Admiral
persuaded the King of Portugal to join the
alliance against the Bourbons. On May 6,
1703, a treaty was signed at Lisbon in which
that monarch acknowledged the Archduke of
Austria as King of Spain and undertook to
vindicate his rights.
A severe blow was thus dealt at the throne
of Philip V. Historians have pointed out the
fact that Portocarero was in a great measure
responsible for it. This was generally felt, and
his credit suffered accordingly.
Through the influence of Madame des
Ursins the leader of the national party was
made President of the Council of Castille and
a member of the Junta. By the elevation of
Montellano the chief Council of the State was
secularised and the power of the priesthood
lessened ; while at the same time the Spanish
grandees who had been driven from power
42 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
were placed once more in their rightful posi-
tions.
In all these important circumstances Madame
des Ursins' influence had steadily gained ground,
whilst that of Portocarero had as surely de-
clined. As time went on the change became
more and more apparent, until, at last, it was
obvious to all that the Cardinal's rule was at an
end. A new power had come into being — that
of the Camarera- Mayor.
CHAPTER IV
CLOUDS GATHER AND THE STORM BURSTS
Madame des Ursins' increasing power was
regarded with a jealous eye by the ultra-
French party in Madrid, especially by their
leader, the French Ambassador, Cardinal
d'Estree. The Cardinal's policy resembled that
of Portocarero, and his overweening pride
and contemptuous treatment of the Spanish
grandees had aroused the strongest feelings
of indignation. His conduct towards the King
and Queen was equally obnoxious. He affected
to hold the King in tutelage, and endeavoured
by secret machinations to alienate him from
the Queen and to prejudice him against the
Princess des Ursins. In these designs he was
aided by the King's confessor, an obsequious
Jesuit. " But the very means employed to
44 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
subvert the Princess's influence only served to
prove its strength." #
At last Louis XIV. found it advisable to
recall Cardinal d'Estree. The Cardinal was
replaced by his nephew, the Abbe d'Estree,
who proved to be a man of weak character and
little capacity. " Madame des Ursins," writes
St. Simon somewhat maliciously, "contrived
to completely bind and gag the poor Abbe*
d'Estree. . . . He actually consented to her
strange proposal that he, an Ambassador of
France, should not write to his Sovereign but
in conjunction with herself." The Abbe, how-
ever, inwardly chafed under this restriction,
and he long endeavoured to elude it, but in
vain. At last, to his relief, an unexpected
circumstance operated against his all-powerful
directress.
Madame des Ursins had a private secretary
named d'Aubigny, the son of a procureur of
Paris, upon whose fidelity she could safely rely.
This man possessed a natural gift of comic
humour, and his droll remarks often afforded
* "Kings of Spain of the House of Bourbon." By W. Coxe.
^Ta.^'^^'
CARDINAL D ESTRKE
AN AWKWARD INCIDENT 45
the lady amusement when she was weary. One
evening- she conducted Mons. de Louville, one
of the ultra-French party, and the Duke de
Medina-Cceli into her private saloon in order
to converse with them upon some matters of
importance. D'Aubigny happened to be in the
room, and on Madame des Ursins' entering he,
supposing her to be alone, accosted her in a
strangely familiar and brusque manner. So
rapid was his utterance that she was unable to
check his words before they had reached the
ears of the astonished courtiers who followed
her. D'Aubigny fled from the room, and an
awkward pause ensued. No notice was taken
of the circumstance at the time, but shortly
afterwards Madame des Ursins discovered that
the Abbe d'Estree had, at last, succeeded in
sending off a despatch to the French King
without her knowledge. The despatch, how-
ever, was not suffered to leave Madrid, for the
postal officials, probably seeing that it did not
bear Madame des Ursins' private mark of
approval, promply forwarded it to her. In this
document the Abbe, fancying himself safe from
4& THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
the vigilant eyes of the Camarera- Mayor, gave
vent to all his feelings of wounded pride and
anger. After a series of bitter complaints, he
informed his Sovereign that there " was a low
kind of person in Madrid named D'Aubigny
who was permitted to be present at State con-
ferences, that he was on intimate terms with
the Princess des Ursins, and it was confidently
believed that she was married to him." The
indignation of the lady on reading this state-
ment can easily be imagined. For the moment
her accustomed caution forsook her, and she
wrote on the margin of the document the words
"pour marine non." She showed the despatch,
thus corrected, to the King and Queen, who
both approved her conduct ; but she also, im-
prudently, displayed it to some of the courtiers,
so that the affair became public. Finally she
sent it off to Louis XIV., together with a letter
full of complaints against the conduct of his
Ambassador. The old King now took offence.
He was wounded on his most vulnerable side,
for he considered that the sending to him of
this mutilated despatch was an act of gross
A KING'S WRATH 47
disrespect to his royal person. Whilst in this
irritated state of mind the flame of his anger
was fanned and kept burning by the family of
the D'Estrees and by other enemies of Madame
des Ursins. Even the influence of her staunch
friend, Madame de Maintenon, was not suffi-
cient to ward off the thunderbolt that was pre-
paring to fall.
Louis resolved to recall the Princess des
Ursins. But, aware of the firm position which
she held in the esteem and confidence of the
young King and Queen of Spain, he felt that
it was necessary to act with caution. He wrote
to his grandson : " You have hitherto placed
your trust in persons who are either incapable
or who act from selfish motives. And yet you
seem to be wholly occupied with the personal
interest of those very individuals, and, at a
time when you ought to be taking a wide and
lofty view of the affairs of State, you fix your
attention upon the cabals of the Princess des
Ursins, whose name I am weary of hearing."
To the young Queen he wrote : " You are well
aware how much I desired that you should
48 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
have confidence in the Princess des Ursins,
and that I used every means to promote that
confidence. Nevertheless, I now find that she,
forgetting all our common interests, has given
herself up to work out her own feelings of per-
sonal animosity, and has been engaged for long
past in thwarting the actions of those persons
to whom we have entrusted the business of our
State. If she had been sincerely attached to
you, she would have sacrificed her personal
enmity, whether well or ill founded, against the
Cardinal d'Estr^e, instead of bringing you into
the quarrel. Persons in our position should
rise above the wrangles of private individuals,
and should conduct themselves solely in accord-
ance with their own interests and those of their
subjects, which are always identical. I must
now either recall my Ambassador — thus
abandoning you, and leaving the Princess des
Ursins to govern your kingdom — or I must
recall her. This latter course I believe to be
the right one."
Louis despatched a letter to Madame des
Ursins herself containing a severe reprimand
ADVANCING WITH CAUTION 49
"for her act of unparalleled effrontery, which
had been aimed so directly against the respect
due to his person and the secrecy which should
be considered inviolable between himself and
his Ambassador." Still, for a time, no active
measures were taken by the Court of Versailles
to oust the Camarera- Mayor. The young
Queen warmly espoused her cause, and although
Philip V. took but little part in the affair, that
little was also on her side. Louis, who feared
to provoke his grandson to a refusal to carry
out his wishes, advanced warily, knowing that,
in the end, he should be able to compass the
downfall of the Princess. But in the mean-
time she appeared to the general lookers-on to
have come out of the affair victorious. It is
true the Abbe d'Estree was officially informed
of the reprimand which had been sent to her,
but he saw his enemy enjoying all her former
power, while he himself had become an object
of hatred to her friends. All his hopes of
revenge were at an end ; the position of the
Camarera-Mayor seemed to be unassailable.
But in reality Louis XIV. was waiting only
D
50 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
for the right moment to strike the blow. It
came at last. Philip, urged by his grandfather
to take the field in person, left Madrid to join
the campaign in Portugal. No sooner was he
thus removed from the personal influence of his
wife than Louis wrote to him, urging in the
strongest terms the necessity of the dismissal
and banishment of the Princess. At the same
time Louis wrote privately to his Ambassador,
giving him full directions how to conduct the
whole affair and how best to work upon the
young King's mind. " Should the King seem
inclined to oppose my wishes," writes Louis,
" let him understand to what an extent the war,
which I am carrying on for the furtherance of
his interests, is burdensome to me. You need
not say that I shall abandon his cause, for he
would not believe it, but you can hint to him
that, unless he yields to my desires, I may be
tempted, in spite of my affection for his person,
to make peace at the expense of Spain ;
becoming weary of upholding a dynasty
whence I derive nothing but annoyance and
contradictions. . . . When you have acquainted
THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS 51
the king with these sentiments the Duke of
Berwick should follow you and speak to him in
a similar manner, but you should not be present
when he does this.
"We may look confidently for success after
such a stroke as this. My own honour, the
interests of the King my grandson, and those
of the monarchy itself, are at stake." *
Louis now wrote again to the young Queen
exhorting her, with a mixture of kingly authority
and parental tenderness, to comply without
delay with his wishes ; and finally he sent a
peremptory order to the Princess des Ursins
herself to leave Madrid immediately, to quit
for ever the territory of Spain, and to retire into
Italy.
The Queen was in despair, but Madame des
Ursins — how did she act under this sudden
and crushing blow ? All her force of character
now showed itself. She was undismayed by
the storm which raged over her head, and
while all her friends were crying out at the
injustice done to her and lamenting her fate,
* See " Memoires de Noailles."
52 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
she alone remained calm and collected. Her
eyes were opened to the whole plot that had
been laid against her. She understood now
why the catastrophe had been delayed, and saw
that her triumph had been a fictitious one.
Madame des Ursins allowed herself no vain
delusions, but faced the facts bravely. Sub-
mission for the time being, she saw, was the
only course open to her ; but her submission
was in every way dignified. She requested but
one favour of the King of France, namely, the
delay of a few days in order to allow time for
the necessary preparations for her long journey.
This delay granted, she made use of it with
consummate skill and forethought to prepare a
way for her ultimate return to power. She
gave the Queen minute instructions respecting
her future conduct, unfolding for her, at the
same time, the characters of the persons with
whom she would have to deal, and showing her
what would be the wisest course to pursue to
facilitate their future reunion. She selected
for her successor as Camarera- Mayor the
Duchess de Monteillano, a lady of an amiable
A DIGNIFIED DEPARTURE 53
disposition but of limited capacity, one whom
she would have little difficulty in setting aside
when occasion required ; and she finally en-
gaged a lady of the Court who was especially
devoted to her interests to become her regular
correspondent, and to give her exact informa-
tion of all that took place at Madrid during her
absence. " In a word," says St. Simon, " she
arranged all her machinery, and, under the
pretext of unavoidable delays in the prepara-
tions for her journey, she remained quietly at
Madrid whilst the couriers from Versailles,
bringing her peremptory orders to depart, were
redoubled. She would not quit the field until
she had matured and established her whole
plan of operations. Madame des Ursins found
time to pay farewell visits to all her friends and
acquaintances, and she took occasion to inform
them that the only regret she felt in leaving
Madrid was in parting with the Queen. She
observed a strict silence respecting the ill treat-
ment she had received, and bore it with a
courage and firmness that evinced neither arro-
gance, on the one hand, which might irritate
54 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
her opponents, nor, on the other, the slightest
tinge of meanness."
When, at last, Madame des Ursins took her
departure from the Spanish capital she was
escorted by the Queen for two leagues on her
route. She received every mark of distinguish-
ing attention, and the Queen took scrupulous
care to display to every one the perfect confi-
dence that subsisted between them. Madame
des Ursins had fixed upon the town of Alcala,
not many miles distant from Madrid, for her
first halting-place. After remaining there for
five weeks and employing that period to the
best advantage in furthering her interests, she
resumed her journey. In all her letters to her
friends at Versailles the only mitigation of her
sentence of banishment which she urged them
to obtain for her was that the country of her
exile should be France instead of Italy. Once
established within reach of Versailles, she felt
that the issue of events could be moulded by
her genius for diplomacy. " Although she had
little expectation of this favour being imme-
diately granted," writes St. Simon, " her courage
A CONFIDENT DIPLOMATIST 55
never wavered. Experience of life at Court
proves (as she well knew) that there all things
pass away with time, even the most terrible
storms, for him who does not abandon his own
cause through vexation and disappointment."
But, for the moment, Madame des Ursins'
prospects must have seemed very gloomy.
She had been publicly disgraced and was now
an exile, whilst her enemies, the D'Estrees,
laden with honours by the French King,
triumphed in her fall. She was by no means
blind to the machinations of Louis to prevent
the possibility of her return to power. The Due
de Grammont had been appointed to succeed
the Abbe d'Estree as French Ambassador
at Madrid. He was, like his predecessors, a
partisan of French interests, and was there-
fore entirely opposed to the policy pursued by
the Princess des Ursins. His special mission,
though a secret one, was to undermine her
influence in every possible way, and to inspire
Philip V. with a desire to rule, independently,
on his own account. The Duke was full of
confidence in his own powers, and seemed to
56 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
think that success was certain. He had no
sooner crossed the frontier than he wrote to
M. de Torcy (Minister for Foreign Affairs at
Versailles) : "I can see at a glance that pros-
perity for Spain can only be obtained by the
King [of France] ruling that country despotic-
ally. Spain must not be allowed to suspect
that he does so, but this we can easily
manage."
The Duke encountered the Princess des
Ursins at Vittoria. He had received instruc-
tions to call upon her and to treat her politely,
but to avoid any discussion of her affairs. He
therefore eluded all her questions by feigning a
total ignorance of her disgrace. He played
his part so well that the lady, although detect-
ing the imposture, complimented him on his
diplomacy, remarking, " You are well suited to
your post, for you possess the first qualification
of an ambassador — secrecy." #
Arrived at Madrid the Duke was charmed
with his first formal reception by the King and
Queen. He was equally pleased at the
* " Memoires de Noailles."
A SORRY FIGURE 57
assurance expressed by the Abbe" d'Estree that
"all would go well now that the Princess des
Ursins had been banished, and that the
Queen's affection for her would soon expire."
The morning alter his arrival, however, his
confidence received a severe shock. The
Queen, in a private interview, demanded an
explanation of the outrage perpetrated against
the Princess des Ursins. She spoke with
indignation of the treatment her friend had
received, and pointed to the fact that it
involved an insult, not only to the lady herself,
but to the King and Queen of Spain, who had
placed their full confidence in her. At the
close of the conference the Queen burst into
tears, and the Duke, who had already publicly
condemned the conduct of the Princess, was
utterly confounded. He knew not what to say,
and made but a sorry figure before this injured
and warm-hearted girl of sixteen.
Louis XIV., on being informed by his
Ambassador of the Queen's sentiments, became
fearful lest she should urge him to restore
Madame des Ursins to power. He considered
58 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
that compliance with such a request would be
impossible, and he dreaded, above all things,
an open rupture between the Courts of France
and Spain. He judged it expedient, therefore,
to take measures to prevent such an application,
and with this view he wrote to M. de Chateau-
neuf, a Frenchman holding a high post at
Madrid (July 10, 1704): "Make the Queen
clearly understand that my resolution of recall-
ing the Princess des Ursins was not taken
without long and mature consideration ; and
that the reasons which moved me to take that
step were so powerful as to make it impossible
for me to change my mind. Tell the Queen
that I have been in no way influenced by the
intrigues and cabals of the Princess's enemies,
and inform her that I decide all matters for
myself, and that no one dares to imagine that
I allow myself to be biassed by false reports." #
The Due de Grammont found his task more
and more difficult, and his despatches to
Versailles reflect his doubts and perplexities.
One day he counsels Louis to assume a more
* See " Memoires de Noailles."
CONTRADICTORY DESPATCHES 59
authoritative tone towards the Court of Spain
and to display " les grosses dents " ; a few days
later he advises him to adopt a conciliatory
attitude and to proceed gently as if with a " patte
de velours" But whatever course the French
King pursued, he found that an obstacle had
arisen to all cordial relations between him and
his grandson. The fact was that though
Philip had yielded to the pressure put upon
him respecting the dismissal of the Princess
des Ursins, he had done so merely because he
felt that opposition was vain. The affair had
caused him much annoyance, and he was
especially grieved at the sorrow it had occa-
sioned to his wife, to whom her loss was
irremediable.
The estrangement between the Kings of
France and Spain was especially inconvenient,
coming as it did at a time when they were
surrounded by enemies and when their common
interests demanded prompt and decisive action.
Their difficulties had been largely increased by
the defection of the Duke of Savoy, father of
the young Queen of Spain, who was now
6o THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
fighting on the side of Austria. One disaster
followed another. Gibraltar was wrested from
the Spanish crown ; a revolt had broken out in
Catalonia ; and the Archduke had been pro-
claimed King of Spain by the Allies under the
title of Charles III.
Whilst these various events were taking
place Madame des Ursins' friends at the French
Court were beginning to feel the inconvenience
to themselves of her disgrace. Madame de
Maintenon felt it especially, for she had lost the
means of obtaining secret and sure informa-
tion as to the course of affairs in Spain and as
to the conduct of the French Ambassadors.
She now determined to bring about, if possible,
the alteration in the sentence of banishment
desired by her friend. But even her powerful
influence was barely sufficient to induce the
irritated monarch to make the concession. At
last, however, it was made, and the Princess
des Ursins received permission to take up her
residence at Toulouse.
The next favour the Princess desired to
obtain was permission for a private interview
A KING'S WRATH SUBSIDING 61
with Louis XIV. in order that she might
explain and justify her conduct. She was well
aware that time must elapse before this per-
mission would be granted, but she already
began to perceive the probability of a change
of affairs in her favour. She was careful,
however, to show no signs of her rising hopes.
On the contrary, she spoke continually to her
acquaintance at Toulouse of her approaching
return to Rome, ''where she looked forward to
enjoying to the full a life of retirement and
repose, where she could listen to her favourite
Italian music, and where she intended to drink
asses' milk."
As time went on, the old King's anger began
gradually to subside. His pride had been ap-
peased by the results which had followed his
displeasure. The Princess's downfall had
been sudden and sure. Even her friends had
not dared to defend her; all had bowed
submissively to his authority. There was con-
solation in these reflections, and the affair had,
therefore, ceased to exasperate him. When
this change in the King's sentiments became
62 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
apparent to the watchful friends of the Princess,
they saw that the time had arrived when they
might venture to plead for a personal inter-
view.
One of these friends was the Archbishop of
Aix, a man skilled in diplomatic intrigues and
who possessed an intimate knowledge of the
King's character and habits of mind. The
Archbishop, St. Simon tells us, undertook to
break the ice. He artfully ushered in the
subject by speaking, with concern, of the
"abyss of humiliation" into which "a single
act of folly had precipitated the unfortunate
lady." He went on to describe, in exaggerated
terms, her grief at having offended the King
and her mortification "at not being allowed to
explain her conduct." "Her situation was
especially to be deplored," concluded his Grace,
" since the main object of her mission in Spain
had been to secure obedience to his Majesty's
behests, and in every possible way to afford
him satisfaction." As these remarks were
suffered to pass unchallenged, the Archbishop
returned to the charge again and again. He
SAINT SIMON
A ROYAL MANDATE 63
was supported on the one hand by the Marquis
d'Harcourt, who had originally accompanied
Philip V. to Spain as his chief counsellor, and
on the other hand, by Madame de Maintenon.
At this stage of affairs a letter arrived from the
young Queen of Spain to her grandfather,
urging, in earnest but dignified terms, the same
suit. Louis now yielded to the pressure put
upon him and consented to give the desired
audience.
No sooner were the words of acquiescence
fairly pronounced than a courier was des-
patched in all haste to Toulouse, bearing the
royal mandate. The lady's joy on its receipt
can easily be imagined ; but Madame des
Ursins, " ever mistress of herself," was " no
more shaken by this sudden prospect of a
brilliant future than she had been by the fall of
the thunderbolt at Madrid/'* Her judgment
remained cool and collected. She recognised
the critical position of her affairs and saw that
a false move would be fatal. The King still
"frowned on her and stood upon his guard."
* St. Simon.
64 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
His pride must not be wounded nor his sus-
picions of her ultimate designs aroused. In
spite, therefore, of her high hopes, she still
retained the air of a person suffering under
disgrace and humiliation, and she instructed
her friends to adopt the same tone on her
behalf.
Madame des Ursins had much to do before
leaving Toulouse. Diplomatic letters, further-
ing her interests both in France and Spain,
bad to be written ; in which, we are told, she
displayed "an admirable presence of mind."
Plans also had to be formed for her own future
conduct. In fixing a time for her departure
she showed her usual tact. She would not
hurry it lest she should appear unduly eager to
avail herself of the King's permission, but, on
the other hand, she was careful not to delay it
so long as to seem indifferent to the royal
favour. Finally, towards the end of December
1704, Madame des Ursins quitted the place of
her exile and commenced her journey to Paris.
CHAPTER V
FORTUNE'S CHANGES
"No sooner," writes St. Simon, "had the
courier left Paris with the important despatch
for Madame des Ursins than a rumour began to
circulate of her expected arrival, a rumour
which a few days later was publicly confirmed.
The commotion which this intelligence pro-
duced at Court is almost inconceivable. Every
one was on the alert, perceiving that the arrival
of so important a personage augured some
strange turn of events. All made ready, as it
were, to salute a rising sun which would change
the face of nature. People who had never so
much as uttered her name before now boasted
of her friendship and claimed congratulations on
her advent. Others, who had actually been in
league with her enemies, were not ashamed to
66 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
affect transports of joy and to pay the meanest
homage in those quarters where it would appear
as incense offered to the Princess.
" The Duke of Alva, who had formerly
judged it expedient to ally himself firmly with
the D'Estree faction, now endeavoured to atone
for that error by lavishing upon Madame des
Ursins the most flattering attentions." When
on Sunday, January 4, 1705, she was approach-
ing Paris, " he drove many miles beyond the
city, accompanied by the Duchess of Alva and
his suite, to meet her on the road. Many other
people of distinction also went out to meet her.
The Duke conducted the lady in state to his own
mansion, where she passed the first night and
where he gave a fete in her honour." It was
with much reluctance that he suffered his guest
to depart the following day, but upon this she
insisted in order to take up her residence with
Madame d'Egmont, the niece of her staunch
friend the Archbishop of Aix.
"A prodigious concourse of people went to
pay their court to Madame des Ursins, impelled
by curiosity, hope, fear, or fashion. M. le
SALUTING THE RISING SUN 67
Prince was among the first to go, and his
example was followed by all the distinguished
officers of the Court, whether they had been
previously acquainted with her or not.
" From this time forward Madame des Ursins
changed her tone. She now became aware
that, instead of having to sustain the part of an
accused person as she had expected, she might
herself become the accuser, and demand justice
in the face of those persons who . . . had
brought upon her such dire ill usage and who
had caused her to be regarded by two great
nations as disgraced and humiliated.
" The King (who had been at Marly)" con-
tinues St. Simon, " returned to Versailles on
Saturday, January 10, and Madame des Ursins
arrived there the same day. She stayed at the
house of D'Alegre. I went at once to call upon
her. We had always kept up our intercourse,
and I had received, on many occasions, marks
of her regard. I was well received, but I had
expected to be treated with less reserve than
she at first evinced. Presently Harcourt, who
had delayed until then to pay his respects,
68 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
entered the room, and I felt it would be wise to
retire. On rising to take my leave, Madame
des Ursins stopped me to make a few friendly-
remarks, and at once resuming all her former
openness of manner, observed that ' she pro-
mised herself the pleasure of soon seeing me
again, and of being able then to converse with
me more at her ease.' I noticed that Harcourt
was surprised at this. On quitting the house I
saw Torcy # entering.
"... The following day (Sunday) Madame
des Ursins, arrayed in sumptuous attire, repaired
to the palace for her interview with the King.
She remained with him tete-d-tete for two hours
and a half. Thence she proceeded to pay a
call of some length on the Duchess of
Burgundy ; and the next morning held a long
private conference with Madame de Maintenon.
On the Tuesday she again returned to the
palace, and remained closeted for a great while
with both the King and Madame de Maintenon.
... So many private audiences, attended
evidently with marked success, produced a
* Minister for Foreign Affairs.
A KING'S HONOURED GUEST 69
great effect at Versailles, and much increased
the general eagerness to pay court to Madame
des Ursins."
The King and Queen of Spain were not
slow in evincing their joy at the happy turn of
events. They "sent an envoy to Louis XIV.
for the express purpose of conveying their
thanks for his favourable reception of the
Princess. At the same time they desired their
Ambassador, the Duke of Alva, to pay her a
visit of ceremony, accompanied by his whole
retinue, an honour usually paid only to princesses
of the blood royal."
About this time the Court removed to
Marly, where Madame des Ursins was invited
to become the King's guest. St. Simon was
of the party. He writes : " Apartments were
given to her in the ' Avenue ' . . . . Nothing
could exceed the King's watchful solicitude to
do her honour. It could not have been greater
had she been the queen of some foreign country
on her first visit to his Court. As soon as
Madame des Ursins made her appearance he
became entirely engrossed by her. He enter-
70 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
tained her with conversation, pointed out
objects of interest, asked for her opinion and
sought her approval with an air of flattering
gallantry." All this attention rendered her
"the divinity of the Court; and the servile
homage that she received from all persons,
however exalted their rank or official position,
can hardly be imagined. Her very looks were
counted, and a remark from her lips to ladies of
the highest standing would throw them into
ecstacies of delight."
Even St. Simon himself expresses his satis-
faction at the pleasant footing upon which both
he and his wife stood with Madame des Ursins.
"I used to go and see her," he writes, "nearly
every morning. I avoided the hours when she
received official visits. We chatted together
with our usual ease and freedom, and she gave
me information upon many matters of interest.
I learnt from her the private opinions held by
the King and Madame de Maintenon concern-
ing many people. I was flattered at this mark
of confidence from the dictatress of the Court.
Our intimacy was noticed by all, and it brought
THE DICTATRESS OF THE COURT 71
me a sudden and unusual amount of deference.
Whenever Madame des Ursins met Madame
de St. Simon she accosted her in complimentary-
terms and was solicitous to introduce her into
any agreeable conversation that might be going
on. Sometimes she would lead my wife up
to a mirror and rearrange part of her dress
or coiffure, just as she might have done for a
daughter of her own. The bystanders asked
each other with astonishment, and many with
feelings of envy, whence sprang this great
friendship of which no one had suspected the
existence ? "
Several balls were given during the visit of
the Princess des Ursins. St. Simon informs us
that the " King and Queen of England " were
often at the Marly balls. By these titles he
designates the first Pretender and his mother,
the widow of James II. Since the former had
been publicly recognised by Louis XIV., he
was received with royal honours. He and his
sister always opened the ball, and as soon as
the dance commenced the old King would rise
from his state chair and remain standing until
72 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
it was concluded. This dance was probably
the "pavane" (peacock). It was a dance of
ceremony and was performed to a slow and
stately measure. The dancers were in full
dress. Judges, and other dignitaries of high
standing, wore their robes of office, and the
princes of the blood royal wore their swords
and their long mantles. As these gentlemen
bowed to their partners the points of their
swords lifted up their mantles behind, giving
somewhat the appearance of a peacock's tail.
Hence the name of the dance.
Madame de Maintenon, who rarely made her
appearance at festive gatherings, came to these
balls in honour of her friend the Princess des
Ursins. These two ladies occupied the highest
places of honour, being seated on either side of
the King. The conversation between the three
never flagged. " Conversation," says Madame
de Stael, "to the French is as it were a
musical instrument upon which they delight to
play." This was eminently the case with the
Princess des Ursins. The King was captivated
by her grace and lively talents. She appreciated
THE PRETENDER, STYLED "JACQUES III., ROI D'ANGLETERRE,'
AGED 16 YEARS
A BALL AT MARLY 73
fully his intellectual gifts; and even Madame
de Maintenon, usually so sedate and reserved,
seemed, for the moment, to grow young again.
A circumstance occurred at one of these balls
which created no small sensation. " Madame
des Ursins," writes St. Simon, "entered the
saloon carrying under her arm a lap-dog, just
as she might have done in the privacy of her
own parlour. The company were amazed
beyond measure at such an act of temerity, an
act which not even the Duchess of Burgundy
herself would have ventured to perform.
Their amazement was not diminished when
they observed the King turning frequently to
the lady to caress the dog. Never till then,"
adds the chronicler, " had a subject attained to
such a giddy height in royal favour."
When, during the period of Madame des
Ursins' disgrace, Louis XIV. gave his consent
to a personal interview with the lady, St. Simon
foresaw the inevitable result of that step. He
remarks that " the King, to whom the truth
never penetrated, imprisoned as he was in a
charmed circle of his own creating, was probably
74 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
the only individual within the two kingdoms
who had no suspicion that the appearance of
Madame des Ursins at his Court must be the
sure pledge of her return to Spain, and of her
return endowed with a power still greater than
before." The discovery, however, about fifty
years ago, by M. Geffroy, of a curious secret
correspondence proves that the old King was
fully aware of the consequence of his act. He
was far too shrewd and clear-sighted to be mis-
led ; and it is evident that he merely "played
the comedy " of relenting. This secret cor-
respondence was carried on, during the period
of Madame des Ursins' banishment, between
the King and the Due de Grammont, then
French Ambassador at Madrid. The Duke's
special mission, as has been already stated, was
to undermine the influence of Madame des
Ursins and to inspire Philip V. with a desire to
rule his dominions on his own account. The
Duke reports to his Sovereign his various
endeavours to compass that object, and Louis,
in his replies, gives his Ambassador directions
for his conduct. The King's letters are not in
A SECRET CORRESPONDENCE 75
his own handwriting, but "they contain without
doubt," observes M. Geffroy, "his thoughts and
views and the secret orders which he did not
choose to convey in the ordinary official docu-
ments." Pseudonyms are substituted for proper
names. They vary continually, but a key to
their meaning fortunately exists, the Duke
having himself written explanations between
the lines. The letters are also docketed by
him. On one of his own are the words : " Au
roi sous le nom de M. de la Graingaudiere,"
and on one of the King's, " Du roi sous le nom
de baron de la Roquerie," and on another of
the King's "Sous le nom de Lespine Blanche."
The French King is referred to as "l'ami,"
Philip V. as "la bonte," his wife as "l'espnt,"
and Madame des Ursins as "la confidente."
As time goes on the tone of the royal letters
gradually changes respecting the Princess des
Ursins, and in March, 1705, after her reception
at Versailles, Louis writes (under the name of
Des Laurens): " L'ami has always believed that
you were mistaken in your judgment of Ta
bonte,' and that he will never have sufficient
76 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
force of character to resist 'l'esprit.' This
circumstance has made it necessary to adopt
the course of sending 'la confidents ' back [to
Madrid]."
The complete failure of the Due de Gram-
mont's mission had convinced Louis of the
" absolute incapacity of Philip V. to govern on
his own account." It had also convinced him
of Philip's entire dependence on his wife and of
his wife's devotion to Madame des Ursins — a
devotion which neither separation nor the
degradation of the Princess had been able to
weaken. Whilst her friend was suffering under
disgrace and banishment, the indignation of the
Queen against Louis had frustrated French
influence in Spain, and it had become evident
to the mind of the Kin^ of France that if
amicable relations between the two countries
were to be restored, Madame des Ursins must
return to power. Here, then, is to be found the
reason which induced Louis to withdraw his
displeasure and to receive the lady at Ver-
sailles. He looked upon this act as an irksome
necessity. But no sooner had Madame des
AN INTELLECTUAL TRIUMPH 77
Ursins arrived at Court than a further change
affected the King's mind.
"Louis," remarks Ste. Beuve, "had expected
to find in the ex-Camarera-Mayor an intriguing
woman of the Fronde type . . . instead of this
he found a person endowed, indeed, by nature
with a capacity to command, but who also
shone brilliantly in society. Madame des
Ursins achieved an intellectual triumph." And,
describing the intercourse between her, the
King, and Madame de. Maintenon, he con-
tinues : " Of these three, if I may dare to say
so, the Princess des Ursins had the most com-
plete mastery of the situation. Her quick
intelligence had seized upon every point at
issue, and, being least bound to play a part, she
played hers the best."
Month after month passed by, and Madame
des Ursins still continued to reside at the
French Court. People began to wonder why
she did not return to Spain. St. Simon tells
us that she had some thoughts of settling her-
self permanently at Versailles, with a view of
succeeding to the position of Madame de
78 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Maintenon as wife to the King on the death
of that lady. But there is no proof that she
entertained such an idea, and Ste. Beuve does
not give credence to the supposition. She was
evidently waiting for the best opportunity to
make her own conditions respecting her return
to Madrid.
Affairs in Spain were becoming more and
more critical, and at last a time arrived when
Madame des Ursins was urged to return to
power. She now hung back, and gave expres-
sion to doubts and scruples. She "felt reluct-
ance," she remarked, " to assume a post of such
power and responsibility in a country which she
had quitted with all the ignominy of a supposed
criminal." She pointed out the fact that, how-
ever desirous she might be to serve the Kings
of France and Spain, success would be un-
attainable unless some marks of signal favour
and approval were publicly accorded to her as
evidence of the high authority under which
she acted. She acknowledged that she "felt
herself almost overpowered by the continued
marks of royal favour bestowed upon her
LADEN WITH HONOURS 79
during her residence at the French Court, but
these were done in private, and the knowledge
of them could not reach the Spanish nation."
In short, "her grace, her eloquence, her happy
turn of expressions, her wit, her tact — all con-
tributed to produce a result which surpassed
even her expectations."*
In a private conference between the King,
Madame de Maintenon, and the Princess des
Ursins which took place at Marly on June 15,
1705, the conditions were finally agreed upon
and a treaty signed. This treaty, M. Geffroy
tells us, was deposited in the hands of Madame
de Maintenon, who alludes to it in a letter to
her friend, written two years later. " I have
still in my casket," she remarks, " the treaty
containing the articles which you drew up in
my room at Marly."
The result of this treaty was as follows.
The King promised that henceforth no credence
should be given at Versailles to any reports,
whether verbal or by letter, censuring the ad-
ministration of the Princess des Ursins.
* St. Simon.
80 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
The Princess was, on her return to Madrid,
to be free to choose such persons for Ministers
as would be most likely to act in accordance
with her views. She was also to be free at all
times to adopt or reject, as she deemed best,
the recommendations made by the French
Ambassadors.
The King granted the Princess des Ursins
an additional pension of 20,000 livres and also
gave her 30,000 to defray the expenses of her
journey.
Her elder brother, M. de Noirmoutier, who
was afflicted with blindness and who led a
retired life, was created a Duke in his own
right ; and her second brother, the Abbe" de la
Trimouille, was created a Cardinal ; the King
making certain concessions to the Pope in order
to obtain this favour for the Princess.
Thus, laden with honours, Madame des
Ursins at last took her leave of the French
Court. " This was the woman," exclaims St.
Simon, " whose downfall the King had so
ardently desired," and which " he congratulated
himself he had so effectually compassed ! "
CHAPTER VI
A SPANISH OVATION
The journey of Madame des Ursins from
Paris to Madrid resembled a royal progress.
Her last French resting-place was the ancient
fishing town of St. Jean-de-Luz, nestling on a
spur of the Pyrenees. Here the royal Spanish
equipages with a crowd of Spanish nobles had
crossed the border to receive her. So we are
told by the Mircure Galant, a periodical of the
day. At each town through which she passed
she was received in state at the city gates,
addresses of welcome were presented to her
and fetes given in her honour. The Mdrcure
Galant goes on to say, " Dances, games, bull-
fights, fireworks, and cannonades celebrated her
return to Spain. At Vittoria, which is more
than sixty leagues from Madrid, the Princess
Si THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
was met by an equerry, at the head of a cortege
sent by the Queen Dowager to swell her
retinue and to accompany her to Madrid.
Honours multiplied as she approached the
capital, but they culminated on the last day of
her journey, when she reached Canillas, a
village two leagues from Madrid. Here the
King and Queen had sent their ' officiers de
bouche ' to prepare a magnificent banquet, and
here the Princess des Ursins was received by
the French Ambassador, by Marshal Tesse, by
several foreign Ministers, and by a prodigious
number of grandees." Strange to say, the
heroine of all this ovation could not be present
at this banquet given in her honour, as the
rules of Spanish Court etiquette forbade women
to eat in the presence of men. The Princess,
therefore, partook of the repast in the privacy
of her own apartment ; whilst the French Am-
bassador and Marshal Tesse did the honours
of the feast. " At half-past five o'clock their
Majesties the King and Queen, accompanied by
the whole Court, arrived to welcome her." We
fancv we see the brilliant gathering — the cava-
A ROYAL WELCOME 83
liers with laced coats and shining cuirasses on
their Flemish steeds, the ladies in their heavy-
gilded coaches drawn by teams of horses or
mules whose long silken traces mark the
traveller of distinction and are kept from en-
tanglement by the running lackies.
" The Princess des Ursins met their Majesties
at their carriage door. The King and Queen
kissed her on both cheeks, and evinced in every
possible way their joy on the occasion. . . .
On leaving Canillas their Majesties invited the
Princess to ride with them in their own carriage ;
but as it is forbidden by etiquette for any one
to enter the Queen's carriage when the King is
with her, she declined this honour, and begged
their Majesties to permit her, on this single
occasion, to disobey them. The Princess des
Ursins then took her seat in the official carriage
prepared for the use of the Camarera-Mayor,
and followed immediately behind the royal
equipage. Thus she resumed possession of a
post to which she had been already recalled by
the acclamations of the people."
A contemporary Spanish historian, "the
84 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
grave Marquess di San Phelipe," recounting
the above events, observes that, " while re-
ceiving these high marks of distinction, so
rarely paid by Sovereigns to their subjects, the
Princess des Ursins was complete mistress of
herself," and that "she wisely endeavoured, by
her attitude of deep respect towards their
Majesties, to moderate the effect produced
upon the lookers-on by their outspoken expres-
sions of royal favour."
Full and particular accounts of the reception
of the Princess were sent to Louis XIV. both
by his Ambassador and by Marshal Tesse\ who
commanded the French forces in Spain. The
Marshal, after giving the same details that we
have quoted from the Mdrcure Galant, begs
leave to relate to his Majesty a laughable inci-
dent of Spanish etiquette, which he thinks may
amuse the young Duchess of Burgundy. One
of the maids of honour, who had accompanied
the Queen to Canillas, was to be married the
following day. A Court rule established by
Charles V. or Philip II. required that a lady in
such circumstances should weep the whole of
A CROWNING APPROVAL 85
the last day of her life in the palace. " This
girl," writes the Marshal, "felt herself therefore
bound to cry, and did her utmost to do so ; at
the same time she wished to appear joyful at
the return of Madame des Ursins, and the
result was a most comical struggle in her
countenance between mirth and melancholy,
which made us nearly die of laughing."
Madame des Ursins' triumph was rendered
complete by the following letter from Louis
XIV. to the Queen of Spain, written September
20, 1705. After responding to some expres-
sions of affectionate interest in his own con-
cerns, the King remarks to his grand-daughter :
" The Princess des Ursins will leave you in
no doubt of my sentiments towards you. I
learn with feelings of sincere pleasure of your
joy at her return, and of that joy being con-
tinually renewed. I am persuaded that her
excellent sense, and the confidence which you
place in her, will contribute greatly to improve
the condition of affairs."
Madame des Ursins had inaugurated some
important political changes even before she
86 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
re-entered Spain. At one of the many private
conferences held between herself, Louis XIV.,
and Madame de Maintenon, it had been re-
solved that the Due de Grammont should be
recalled from Madrid. But before any measures
could be taken the Duke sent in his resignation.
He had found his task a hopeless one ; and
even whilst he was doing his utmost to under-
mine the influence of Madame des Ursins he had
felt her value. Although she was then in exile
and in disgrace, he wrote to her as the person
most capable of rendering service to the country,
and, after complaining of the system of govern-
ment in Spain, he had made use of this expres-
sion : " Get this system changed. People have
confidence in you."
The Duke's successor had already been
chosen by Madame des Ursins. This was
Amelot, Marquis de Gournay, a man who
possessed a high reputation for successful
diplomacy and with whom the lady was well
acquainted. Amelot reached Madrid before
the arrival of the Princess des Ursins. The
latter wrote to Madame de Maintenon, whilst
AN ENEMY TO ALL INTRIGUE 87
yet on her journey : " I already know, generally
speaking, that affairs are going well as regards
he conduct of the war and the personal safety
of their Majesties.
" I saw a brother of Marshal Villars yester-
day, who assured me a great change for the
better has been remarked since the arrival of
M. Amelot and the Sieur Orry. They have
rendered a signal service to the State in
stemming, even for a time, the torrent which
was hurrying the monarchy to its ruin. But
you will see still greater things accomplished
before long . . . M. Amelot's zeal for his King
is untainted by motives of self-interest. He
will promote cordial intercourse between the
two monarchs, and their union, which is of such
vital importance, will be strengthened. Indeed,
all things must prosper in the hands of an
Ambassador who is himself free from evil
passions and who is an enemy to all intrigue."
During the late feeble government, when
traitors had grown bold by impunity, the
Marquis de Liganez, a powerful grandee, had
been carrying on secret negotiations with the
88 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Austrian party. The Marquis was now arrested.
" The arrest and imprisonment of the Marquis
de Liganez," writes Madame des Ursins, " has
been successfully carried through. This blow
was necessary in order to re-establish the King
of Spain's authority; and you have every reason
to augur well of M. Amelot's embassy, which
begins with a measure so wise and so bold."
From this time the Princess des Ursins
corresponded regularly with Madame de Main-
tenon. The readers of* her letters cannot fail to
be struck by their modern style. They contain
neither obsolete words nor pedantic expressions
such as we find in English letters of that period.
Compare, for instance a letter of Lord Peter-
borough's with one of Madame des Ursins'
both written from Spain under the same date.
One belongs to a past world, the other to the
world of to-day. This modern freshness of
style is a distinguishing feature of the best
French letters of a still earlier date ; notably of
Madame de Sevigne's. One cause of this lies
in the fact that the French language has
changed comparatively little during the last
A LITERARY REVOLUTION 89
two hundred and fifty years. Modern French
was modelled, so to speak, in the seventeenth
century, and modelled largely by women ; a fact
the more singular since, "with few exceptions,
women of rank and good breeding scarcely
knew how to spell." They felt this incon-
venience and were determined to remove it.
"In one of their literary assemblies a Madame
Leroi told Leclerc (secretary of the French
Academy) that spelling must be altered, so that
women could write correctly as well as men ;
and that words should be written as they were
pronounced. To this sensible, though revolu-
tionary proposal M. Leclerc politely acceded.
He took a pen, Madame de Ladurandiere took
a book, and Mesdames Leroi and de St. Loup
decided what letters should be omitted and
what retained in the words which she read and
he wrote. A long list of the words thus im-
proved has been preserved by Somaise, the
narrator of the anecdote."* "These literary
ladies — ' Precieuses,' as they were called —
numbered, at one time, more than eight
* See " French Women of Letters," by Julia Kavanagh.
90 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
hundred. They were divided into cycles, each
cycle having a distinct life of its own." Moliere
has ridiculed them, and doubtless there was a
comic element in their proceedings, but never-
theless they did a good work for French litera-
ture. " For depravity and impure language,
whether spoken or written, they substituted the
refinement of virtue and the delicacy of good
taste." *
Soon after the Princess des Ursins' re-estab-
lishment in Madrid, an opportunity occurred for
the disposal of a post of considerable import-
ance, that of Majordomo-Major, which had
become vacant by the death of the Marquis de
Villafranca. The Duke of Alva had long
coveted the post, and with a view to securing
it had paid assiduous court to Madame des
Ursins ever since her return to favour at
Versailles. The Duke's rank, his high official
position, his long services, all seemed to point
him out as the fittest person to be the new
Majordomo-Major, and besides all this Louis
XIV. approved his claims. But Madame des
* See " French Women of Letters," by Julia Kavanagh.
A COVETED POST 9 1
Ursins had other views. " The attachment
which the Duke of Alva had at one time
evinced for the D'Estrees," remarks St. Simon,
"could not be effaced from her memory, and it
cost him this great appointment."
Madame des Ursins' choice fell upon the
Duke de Frias, the High Constable of Castile.
This man had experienced some causes of
annoyance since the advent of the French
dynasty ; notably in not being created Com-
mander-in-Chief of the Forces, a post which he
considered to be his due. He was known to
have felt this disappointment so keenly that he
was suspected of secretly favouring the cause
of the Archduke. By conferring upon the
Duke de Frias such a distinction as the post in
question, Madame des Ursins knew she should
bind him securely to the interests of Philip V.,
and that, in addition, his powerful name would
serve as a means of rallying round the young
King many other grandees of wavering loyalty.
For her own part she would gain for an ally a
person of high distinction at the Court of
Madrid, and one who, since he owed his
92 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
brilliant position entirely to her influence, would
be prepared to act in accordance with her
views.
The Duke of Berwick was at the head of the
Spanish army, which had been increased in size
by a French contingent. The Duke was a son
of James II. by Arabella Churchill, a sister of
the Duke of Marlborough. " In these two
great soldiers the Churchills have the singular
honour of having produced the most formidable
antagonist and the ablest defender of the throne
of France." #
We have already spoken of the loss of
Gibraltar in 1704. Since then a vigorous
attempt had been made by the French and
Spaniards to wrest the rock from the English ;
but without success. As is well known, from
henceforth this " important key to the Mediter-
ranean " was secured to England. The Arch-
duke Charles, now proclaimed King of Spain
by the Allies, had been carrying on the war
from the side of Portugal. He now set sail,
escorted by the British fleet, and landed near
* See Kitchin's " History of France."
THE ARCHDUKE CHARLES, REPRESENTED AS CHARLES III. OF SPAIN
A RIVAL KING 93
Barcelona, where he was met by an English
army under the command of the celebrated
Earl of Peterborough. The Catalonians re-
ceived the Archduke joyfully, for he had pro-
mised to respect their ancient privileges, a
promise they had been unable to obtain from
Philip. The inhabitants of Barcelona com-
pelled the garrison to throw open its gates to
Charles, the province hailed him as King, and
its example was followed by Valencia and
Aragon.
" We have lost Barcelona, Madame ! " writes
the Princess des Ursins to Madame de Main-
tenon (October 30, 1705). "This disaster
renders the immediate succour of France ab-
solutely necessary. . . . We learn that the
greater part of the garrison have consented to
join the army of the enemy. . . . The evil
increases every moment, and there is none
under God to whom we can look for help save
to the King."
In another letter she remarks : "The Portu-
guese are mustering fresh troops, whilst the
Spaniards, who are urged in every possible way
94 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
to join the army, refuse to enlist. They satisfy
their consciences by declaring valiantly that they
will shed the last drop of their blood for their
Majesties, but in the meantime they will not
run the risk of shedding the first drop."
She writes to M. de Torcy, Minister for.
Foreign Affairs at Versailles (November 6) :
" The troubles which threaten us are far ereater
than you appear to be aware of, judging from
the letter with which you have honoured me.
It is impossible for us, unaided by France, to
arrest the fury of the rebellion. One course
only remains for us to adopt. I will enter into
that subject when I have replied to those
articles in your letter which demand explana-
tion. ... It is a well-known fact, sir, and one
which cannot be controverted, that this nation
accepted a French prince for their King solely
because they feared that the Emperor was not
sufficiently powerful to protect them. The
League at that time was disunited, and the
House of Austria seemed to be abandoned by
her allies, who were loudly demanding the
division of the kingdom. France, on the other
A DISASTROUS EVENT 95
hand, had powerful armies all along the frontiers
of Spain. Here, then, is to be found the main
argument used by those who counselled
Charles II. to make a will in favour of the
Duke of Anjou. Philip V. was received with
acclamations of joy ; and not a single subject,
whether of high or low degree, appeared to be
discontented so long as affairs remained in the
same condition. But ever since the chief part
of Europe has declared in favour of the Arch-
duke, the French have ceased to be upon a
secure footing in Madrid. The defection of the
Duke of Savoy, and our reverses on the
frontiers of Portugal, have tended to shake still
further the confidence of the Spanish people ;
but what has affected them most of all is the
disastrous event of Hochstet, # which they
regard as the last fatal blow that will ruin
France.
" The Archduke may reach Aragon before
the end of this month with twenty thousand
men. We must not count upon the inhabitants
offering any resistance. The King of Spain
* Battle of Blenheim.
96 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
cannot leave garrisons in unfortified towns, or
he would run the risk of losing his best troops ;
nor can we with only eight thousand men arrest
the progress of an enemy so superior in
numbers. The least defeat might terrify the
people of Madrid, and their Catholic Majesties,
finding themselves no longer in a place of
safety, would have no course open to them but
that of a humiliating flight, a course which would
inevitably seal the fate of Spain.
" Under the present circumstances it appears
to me that the King should desire Marshal
Tesse to march as soon as possible to this part
of the country with all the French soldiers at
his command, and that the Marshal should
hand over the defence of the Portuguese fron-
tiers to some of the Spanish troops. The
Spaniards, it seems, will not surrender them-
selves to the Portuguese in the cowardly
manner they have done to the Archduke.
They would, therefore, suffice, during the
winter months, to prevent the enemy from
penetrating into this country, especially if a few
regiments of cavalry were left behind. If this
A FEMALE MINISTER OF WAR 97
plan were carried out, the King of Spain could
command an army numbering, with his own
and the French troops, at least twenty thousand
men, and with it he could enter Catalonia, dis-
arm its inhabitants, and force the enemy to
retreat to Barcelona.
" I am well aware that this course offers
some disadvantages, but any other would offer
many more. We shall lose all, to a certainty,
if we refuse to make some sacrifice now."
Madame des Ursins writes to Chamillart,
Louis XIV.'s Minister of War (November 20) :
" I have the honour of informing you, sir, that
I consider your being so ill informed regarding
the affairs of this country as a grave evil. It is
impossible for you to inaugurate just measures
if you are not thoroughly conversant with the
facts of the case.
" The plan which you have sent to M.
Amelot is based upon the theory that the
campaign in Catalonia is now at an end, and
that the Archduke cannot attempt any serious
operations from that quarter till the month of
April ; but the war in Catalonia will continue
G
98 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
throughout the winter, and if we do not put
ourselves in a position to attack the enemy, the
enemy will enter Aragon, and even Castile,
before Christmas with twenty thousand men.
The Archduke has already with him seven
thousand Englishmen as well as three thousand
Neapolitan and Spanish deserters, and he can
count upon twelve thousand Catalonians. If
we content ourselves with merely assuming a
defensive attitude, all these forces will come
down upon us, and as we have not a single
town on the Catalonian frontier that can be
garrisoned, the Archduke will soon oblige our
troops to retreat to Madrid, a city which can be
forced to surrender, through famine, in eight
days."
Madame des Ursins goes on to urge that
troops should be sent from France without
delay, both in the interest of Philip V. and of
Louis XIV.
Early in 1706 Philip V. endeavoured to
carry out the plan suggested by Madame des
Ursins in her letter to M. de Torcy. He
marched with Marshal Tess6 to Barcelona and
AN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN 99
besieged it on the land side, while the Count of
Toulouse, who commanded the French ships of
war, blockaded the harbour. The place had
almost succumbed when the English fleet
unexpectedly appeared, and Barcelona was
relieved. Philip hastily broke up the siege and
fled, " abandoning his heavy artillery and stores,
and consigning the sick and wounded to the
humanity of the enemy." In the morning, we
are told, the sky was darkened by a total
eclipse of the sun, and as the sun was the
emblem of the House of Bourbon, this circum-
stance was considered by many as a sure omen
of the downfall of that family. There is a
curious medal at the British Museum, struck
by the Allies to commemorate their success at
Barcelona. Philip V. is represented on horse-
back flying from the field of action and hurling
his crown to the ground, whilst a winged figure
of "Victory" eclipses the sun with a shield
bearing the arms of Austria.
Madame des Ursins writes to Madame de
Maintenon : " The lamentable news has reached
us that the siege [of Barcelona] is raised, and
ioo THE PRINCESS DES URS1NS
that the King, being unable to effect his retreat
through Aragon, has been forced to retire into
France by way of Roussillon.
" It is melancholy to think that our unhappy
Sovereign is retreating with troops who have
been defeated, who are weary and dejected, and
who cannot even command the necessaries of
life. And we cannot forget that they are
traversing that infamous Catalonia, where they
are exposed at every turn to be harassed by
ambushed ruffians. . . . Still, though we fully
recognise the crushing blow we have received,
I can assure you, Madame, that our courage
does not waver, and that no plan of action will
be adopted until it has received the most
mature consideration."
She writes again (April 1 6-1 8, 1706): "Alas!
Madame, what sad news awaits you from Estra-
madura ! We have just lost Alcantara, and
with it ten battalions whom the enemy have
made prisoners of war. We knew that the
place could not hold out for long as it is not a
stronghold, but we hoped that the garrison
would, at least, have been saved. It is evident,
COURAGE UNDER TRIALS 101
however, that Marshal Berwick was unable to
prevent this disaster, since his zeal for the
service is equal to his skill and knowledge. I
know not what would become of us if our
enemies were capable of taking every advantage
of their success, for in this country there is not
a single place than can be considered secure for
two days together. . . . The Queen, plunged
as she is in the midst of trials that might well
confound the understanding of the most experi-
enced head and daunt the courage of the
stoutest heart, shows no sign of weakness, but
bears with patient resignation whatever it may
be the will of God to send her. This conduct
affords me much consolation.
" It often happens, I find, Madame, that when
we fancy all is lost some happy turn of events
changes the aspect of our affairs. I now live
in this hope ; though I derive it, I believe,
rather from my cheerful temperament than
from my sober reason ; being at all times more
ready to believe in the coming of happy events
than to anticipate misfortunes."
Whilst the cause of Philip V. was suffering
LIBRARY
UNIVEI
SANTA I
102 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
in Spain it fared no better in the Netherlands.
On May 23, 1706, the great battle of Ramillies
was fought, when Marlborough completely
defeated Villeroy. This battle was " as decisive
for the Netherlands as Blenheim had been for
Bavaria. The Allies took Brussels and
Malines, Ghent and Bruges, and in them pro-
claimed Charles III. King of Spain and Over-
lord of the Netherlands ; Antwerp and Oude-
narde threw open their gates, and Brabant took
oath to the Austro-Spanish King. So strong
was the feeling in favour of Charles, that
Louis XIV. did not venture, as heretofore, to
make war in the name of the King of Spain."
The campaign in Italy had been equally
disastrous for French and Spanish interests.
The Austrians now "triumphed from Naples to
the Alps . . . and the Pope was compelled to
recognise Charles III. as King of Spain." *
The Princess des Ursins writes to Madame
de Maintenon on June 16: "Two days ago I
put a letter, which I had the honour of writing
to you, into the hands of the Due de Noailles.
* See Kitchen's " History of France."
THE ENEMY AT HAND 103
In it I acquainted you with the condition of our
affairs at that time and described our un-
certainty as to the wisest course of action for
the Queen to adopt. Marshal Berwick has
now solved the question, for he has informed
us that no doubt can be entertained as to the
movements of the enemy. They are marching
straight for Madrid, and since it is impossible
to defend the towns through which they must
pass, it is absolutely necessary for the Queen to
quit Madrid, and that without loss of time. . . .
The grandees do all in their power to persuade
their Majesties to remain quietly in their capital
and to submit to whatever conditions the
enemy may choose to impose ; but these
counsels find no favour. The King and Queen
consider that neither their honour nor their
safety would be secured by such a course. . . .
In this painful state of affairs, those of us who
are French might well feel special alarm, but
we entertain no such feeling : we do our duty
and trust in God for His help."
CHAPTER VII
A ROYAL FUGITIVE
The Duke of Berwick had been forced to re-
treat before the victorious army of the enemy,
and, knowing that it was impossible for him to
defend Madrid with his small band of 8000
men, he had advised the removal of the Court
to Burgos. It was high time for this, for
scarcely had Philip quitted his capital "than
the light troops of Galway and Das Minas
appeared in sight and, on the 28th day of June,
those chiefs, at the head of 20,000 men, made
a triumphant entry into Madrid."
Philip joined his army, whilst the Queen,
accompanied by Madame des Ursins and a few
attendants, made her retreat northwards. They
were escorted by a French regiment under the
command of the Chevalier Bragfelonne. From
SEEKING SHELTER 105
Berlanga, where they halted to take rest,
Madame des Ursins writes to Madame de
Maintenon (June 24, 1706): " We were forced
to quit Madrid, and as it was deemed expe-
dient to conceal our intentions up to the last
moment, we came away without any proper
provision being made for the journey. The
Queen had not even a bed to sleep on during
the first few nights.
" It has been decided that the Queen shall
go to Burgos. The Count de Santestevan,
Grand Steward of her household, the Marquis
de Castel Rodrigue, her Chief Equerry, and
the Duke de Popoli, one of the four captains of
the King's Guard, were of opinion that she
should go to Pampeluna, where she would be in
greater safety and less exposed to the risk of
having again to retreat before the enemy. But
the King, the French Ambassador, and the
Duke de Berwick preferred Burgos, because it
is a city of Castile, and the King desires to
establish his Councils there, hoping by this
means to keep the people from revolt. . . .
The day after to-morrow the Queen must pro-
io6 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
ceed to Aranda de Douero which is only twelve
leagues from Segovia. It is to be hoped that
the enemy's reinforcements, now on board the
English fleet, may not land at Bilbao, because
in that case our retreat would be completely
cut off. The enemy would reach Vittoria
before the Queen could get there, and the
Miquelets, who have stirred up the rebellion in
Aragon, would effectually bar our retreat in that
direction. . . .
" The Queen's retinue is sadly reduced. It
consists only of myself, one lady-in-waiting, and
one maid. Our total want of funds is the cause
of this. The Queen had nominated two more
ladies of the Court to accompany her, but
when they learnt of their nomination, they each
demanded payment of a hundred pistoles that
were due to them. As this demand could not
be complied with . . . these ladies remained
behind. Our travelling expenses are heavy in
spite of the small number of the Queen's atten-
dants, for we are obliged to carry everything
we require along with us. The cost each day
amounts to nearly a hundred pistoles. The
THE CROWN JEWELS 107
money for this purpose has been obtained
mostly on credit — a source which must soon
fail us, and when that happens we may find
ourselves in an awkward position.
"The King has written to the Queen to pro-
pose their sending the crown jewels to France
in order that they may be sold or mortgaged.
Her Majesty has at once consented, and they
will be carried to France by the same courier
who bears this letter. Among the gems there
is the famous pearl entitled the ' Pelegrina
and also the diamond called by the Spaniards
the ' Estanque ' (clear pool). The Queen has
added to the store all her own personal orna-
ments. Vazet, an old retainer of the King's,
takes charge of the treasure. He will be
accompanied by an officer (a foster-brother of
the Due de Berri) who has been highly recom-
mended to me by Mons. de Bragelonne ... I
am addressing the packet to Mons. de Labour-
donnay, Governor of Bordeaux, who is now
staying at Bayonne."
Both the pearl and diamond alluded to are
mentioned in a letter, written by Madame
108 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
d'Aulnoy in 1680, describing the public entry
into Madrid of Charles II.'s bride. "She
wore," says the writer, "a hat and feathers on
which was displayed the pearl called the
Peregrina, which is as large as a small pear and
is of inestimable value. Upon her finger was
the great diamond belonging to the King
which is said to be the most beautiful in
Europe."
Leaving Berlanga the travellers proceeded
on their journey towards Burgos. Their route
lay through "a dreary, lifeless, treeless, water-
less country," where they were exposed to the
burning rays of a July sun. Madame des
Ursins writes from Lerma (July 4, 1706):
" The Queen reached this place yesterday.
The heat is unusually great, even for this
country, and such as is never experienced in
France. Her Majesty was obliged to make a
halt here in order that the horses might have
rest, for to-morrow they must take us to
Burgos. The Court and the Councils will be
established in that city until the time comes
when the King may return to Madrid.
WEARY TRAVELLERS 109
"We have travelled by a much longer route
than we should naturally have taken, in order to
avoid the enemies' troops. This measure was
deemed necessary by the Duke de Popoli and
others who are charged with the safe conduct
of the Queen. . . . But when we learnt there
was no cause for alarm in these districts, we
retraced our steps so that we might not
approach the borders of Navarre. Had we
advanced towards that province the enemy
would have supposed that the Queen was
retreating to France, and that the King's
intention was to join her there and to abandon
Spain to the Archduke. Our countermarch
has cost us four long days' journey, but it was
necessary in order to inspire the troops with
confidence, and to convince the loyal subjects
that their Majesties will defend them to the
last. The inhabitants of the country through
which we have passed appear to be warmly
attached to Philip V., but unfortunately for him
Castile is the poorest portion of Spain, and we
must remember that this nation is no longer
what it once was. Towns of even considerable
no THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
size have not sufficient courage to refuse a
summons to surrender, however insignificant
the enemy's force may be.
"... The Queen's health continues good in
spite of all the trials she has had to undergo.
Her courage could hardly be put to a severer
test, nor could she, I think, ever merit more
praise for her resignation to the will of God
than she merits now." " (Burgos, July 7.) I am
finishing this letter at Burgos, where the Queen
arrived the evening before last, and where she
was greeted by the acclamations of the inhabi-
tants. At night they collected beneath her
windows, and serenaded her with loyal choruses
celebrating the praises of herself and the King.
When the music ceased the Queen stepped on
to the balcony and cried ' Viva los Castellanos ! '
These words created transports of delight and
enthusiasm."
The travellers had suffered many privations
during their journey from Madrid to Burgos.
The Queen wrote to Madame de Maintenon
the morning after her arrival (July 6) : "After
a journey of eighteen days I arrived at Burgos
WELCOME FROM OLD CASTILE in
yesterday evening, much fatigued with rising
before daybreak, overpowered with the heat,
almost stifled with the dust, and having rested
only in the most wretched and ruinous hovels.
We hoped on arriving here to be more com-
fortably lodged, but have hitherto been greatly
disappointed. We shall not complain, however,
in spite of these hardships, if the King can but
prevail over his enemies. Unhappily, scarcely
a day passes without bringing us the news of
some fresh disaster."*
Madame de Maintenon, in her letters to the
Princess des Ursins, expresses heartfelt sorrow
for the trials of the young King and Queen and
for those of her friend. " How terrible it is,"
she exclaims, "to think of the Queen, at the
age of eighteen, deprived of her throne and a
wanderer, begging a night's shelter from her
subjects! . . . The Duchess of Burgundy f read
me your letter yesterday, and we both shed
many tears over it." And again she writes:
" Your cause is betrayed by the Spaniards,
* See " Memoires de Noailles."
t Sister to the Queen of Spain.
ii2 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
whilst our cause is abandoned by the Flemish.
Surely we must have incurred the wrath of the
Almighty ! "
Madame des Ursins, ever cheerful under
circumstances the most untoward, writes to
Madame de Maintenon from Burgos (July 13,
1706) : " I must give you some amusement, dear
Madame, by a description of my apartments.
They consist of a single room of about twelve
or thirteen feet square. A large window, facing
south, occupies nearly the whole of one wall.
This window is open and we are unable to close
it. A small door leads into the Queen's chamber,
and a second door, yet smaller, leads into a
winding passage. I dare not explore this pas-
sage, for although there are lamps hung here and
there which shed some light, it is so illpaved
that I might stumble and break my neck. I
cannot describe the walls as white, for they are
blackened with dirt. The furniture consists of
my small travelling bed, a camp-stool, and a
deal table. At this table I alternately arrange
my toilet, write my letters, and eat my bread
and fruit. As to appliances for cooking, there
A OUEEN'S REFUGE 113
are none, and perhaps if there were, we should
have no money to spend on dainties. Her
Majesty only laughs at all this, and I laugh
also." The house in which the Oueen was
lodged was the Casa del Cordon, the mansion
of the Constable of Castile, a grand structure,
with its towers, sculptured arms, and the sym-
bolic rope over the portal. Madame des
Ursins' description is evidence of the dire
poverty that affected even the nobles at this
period.
Many members of the Court now followed the
Queen to Burgos. Madame de Maintenon, in
one of her letters to the Princess des Ursins, had
expressed her concern at the discomforts which
these must suffer in the poor accommodation at
Burgos. To this the Princess responds : "Pray
do not trouble yourself to feel pity for the ladies
and gentlemen who have followed the Queen
here. . . . You are probably sympathising
with those who, for the most part, care little
whether Charles III. or Philip V. is their
master, and who are cautiously waiting to
declare their sentiments until they see which
H
ii 4 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
side is likely to be victorious. If you could
see and hear all that we see and hear you
would perceive how necessary it is for us to be
on our guard and to watch vigilantly the con-
duct of these persons, so that we may know in
time how we should act. . . . And now
Madame," she concludes, " I must leave off
writing, though much against my will, for I am
always happy and at ease whilst conversing
with you. It seems as if I were once more by
your side in that favoured spot where there is
perfect shelter alike from the winds of heaven
and from the treachery of men." Again
Madame des Ursins writes (Burgos, August
12): "The provinces continue to levy troops
for their defence. Even the poorest localities
are eager to contribute their share, and more
than their share, of men and money. The day
before yesterday a cure brought the Queen
120 pistoles.* His whole village contains but
120 people, all of whom are very poor. He
told her Majesty that his flock were ashamed
* The Spanish pistole, or doubloon, was at that time worth
£3 6s - 5H
4^8?
■£>-**.
Mir,
DOORWAY OK THE HOUSE OF THE CORDON, BURGOS
A VILLAGE OFFERING 115
to send her so little, but they wished her to con-
sider that their purse contained 120 hearts that
would remain faithful to the King's cause until
death. The good man wept as he spoke, and
we wept with him."
Even in Madrid, where the Archduke's army-
had now its headquarters, the common people
remained faithful to Philip. When Charles was
proclaimed King by his generals, no shout of
applause had greeted the announcement; "a
mournful silence reigned on every side."
Toledo declared for Charles. But this was
not brought about by the inclinations of the
inhabitants generally, but by the influence of
those in authority. The Queen-Dowager of
Spain, an Austrian princess, resided in that city.
She had, in her heart, always wished success to
her nephew the Archduke, although outwardly
professing attachment to Philip V. and his Queen.
She had a powerful ally in Cardinal Portocarero,
who had recently abandoned the Bourbon cause
and joined the party of the Archduke. No
sooner did a squadron of the enemies' horse
appear before the walls of Toledo than the
n6 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
gates were thrown open for their reception.
The Queen-Dowager evinced her joy in an
unusual way ; for, casting aside her mourning
garments, which Spanish widows were con-
demned to wear for the remainder of their lives,
she put on festival attire and, attended by all
her household, welcomed the conquerors. The
Cardinal, after performing a solemn " Te
Deum" in the cathedral, blessed the Austrian
standards in person ; and at night, the archi-
episcopal palace blazed with a joyful illumina-
tion and spread forth a costly banquet in honour
of the day.
Saragossa revolted without even seeing the
enemy, and " the Governor of Carthagena
betrayed his trust and surrendered to the
Allies the best arsenal and the best ships which
Spain possessed."
The Princess des Ursins writes to Madame
de Maintenon from Burgos (September 23,
1706) : " I sincerely wish, dear Madame, that I
could relieve your anxiety by giving you better
news of our unhappy Spain, but that is out of
my power. It is true that the Archduke will
A BARBAROUS DEED 117
probably return to Valencia, and that he leaves
Castile undefended on that side ; but, in the
meantime, five or six thousand Portuguese, who
had invested Salamanca, have taken the city by
storm. They burnt down several churches . . .
and afterwards seized upon the monks of St.
Jerome, whose fidelity to their legitimate
Sovereign was well known, and massacred
them all. This barbarous deed has pierced
me to the heart, and the Queen, who has
just learnt the terrible news, is deeply
affected."
Madame des Ursins, in the midst of such
trials as these, could yet cheer and comfort
Madame de Maintenon in her trials. The
French armies were suffering defeat after defeat
in Italy. After expressing her sympathy and
concern, she observes : " but we may well hope
that the Almighty, who has witnessed the re-
signation of our two kings to the divine decrees,
will one day reward their virtues and display
His own power by some signal act in our
favour. Let us, then, keep up our courage,
dear Madame, and let us use all the means
n8 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
put in our power to mitigate the dire evils of
France and Spain."
Madame des Ursins' actions during this un-
happy period did not belie her words. By-
indefatigable exertions and wisely conceived
plans she obtained large gifts of money from
the province of Burgos and from the cities of
Andalusia. With this timely aid the troops
were paid, clothes and provisions were pro-
vided, and the danger of desertion was warded
off. Philip, delighted with this unexpected
help, wrote to Madame des Ursins to express
his gratitude for the great service she had
rendered his cause.
From this time forward the face of affairs
began to change in favour of Philip. The
Castilians had hitherto remained strangely
inactive. They had allowed the enemy to
sweep across their country, conquering city
after city, and at last to enter their very capital
itself. But now when resistance seemed to be
well-nigh hopeless "the national spirit awoke
fierce, proud, and unconquerable." The Cas-
tilians threw off their lethargy and rallied round
GENEROUS DEVOTION 119
their young King with generous devotion.
Religious enthusiasm was mingled with their
feelings of loyalty. For in the eyes of the old
Catholics of Castile a king has always borne
a peculiarly sacred character ; so sacred, indeed,
that they apply to him the same titles which
they apply to the Deity. The attempt, there-
fore, of the enemy to wrest the crown from
Philip appeared to them an act of sacrilege,
and as such they felt bound to oppose it to the
uttermost.
The Allied Powers supposed that all the
territory they had conquered would remain in
the hands of the Archduke, but they now saw
their mistake. "There is no country in
Europe," says Macaulay, "which is so easy to
overrun as Spain. There is no country in
Europe which is more difficult to conquer. . . .
War in Spain has, from the days of the
Romans, had a character of its own : it is a fire
which cannot be raked out ; it burns fiercely
under the embers ; and long after it has, to all
seeming, been extinguished, bursts forth more
violently than ever." On all sides the country
120 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
was rising up in arms against the invaders.
" Every peasant procured a firelock or a pike ;
the Allies were masters only of the ground on
which they trod." To add to their difficulties
the Allies had endless causes of division in their
own camp, where too many nationalities were
represented. It was no easy task to maintain
concord amongst the English, the Dutch, the
Austrians, the Spaniards of Aragon and Cata-
lonia, and their hereditary enemies the Portu-
guese. But the Archduke Charles was not the
leader even to attempt it. There is a portrait
of him at the British Museum, taken soon after
he was proclaimed King of Spain by the Allies.
He bears the title of Charles III. and is repre-
sented with the crown by his side and all the
other emblems of regal dignity. The face is
that of a young man of about two-and-twenty.
The features are heavy, and the protruding
under-lip denotes self-will and obstinacy; qua-
lities of which his English Allies had bitter
experience. The Archduke usually followed
his own inclinations, or turned for advice to
his favourite German officers, who, had "great
A LOST OPPORTUNITY 121
arrogance and no military knowledge," and who
" were alternately bursting with presumption or
benumbed with fear." When the presence of
Charles was sorely needed by his party in
Madrid, and the English generals were urging
him to hasten to that city, he was wasting his
time in Catalonia. He told General Stanhope
that this delay was unavoidable, as his equi-
page was not ready to enter the capital with
becoming state. "Sir," replied the General,
"our William the Third entered London in a
hackney coach with a cloak-bag behind it, and
was made King not many weeks after."*
When, at last, the day arrived which Charles
had fixed upon for his triumphal entry into
Madrid, and when all his preparations were
complete, his opportunity was lost. By that
time his troops had been forced to evacuate the
capital, and they were retreating with all speed
to Aragon, whilst Philip's troops were entering
the city amidst the joyful acclamations of the
inhabitants. " Never was greater joy evinced,"
writes Madame des Ursins, " nor was there
* Lord Mahon.
122 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
ever perhaps a more striking example given
of devotion to a Sovereign. . . . The people
pillaged the houses of those who had been most
ardent in the cause of the Archduke. . . . But
not one of the men who perpetrated the deed
would touch the spoil. They carried all the
property they had laid hands upon into the
public squares, and burnt it, declaring that they
had not pillaged in order to enrich themselves,
but in order to punish traitors."
"At Toledo the people rose in insurrection
against Portocarero and the Queen-Dowager,
tore down the Austrian standard, which the
latter had hoisted on her palace, placed guards
at her door, and treated her as a prisoner of
state."*
On the 4th of October Philip V. returned to
his capital, and soon afterwards the Queen,
accompanied by Madame des Ursins, quitted
Burgos, and commenced her journey southwards.
She halted at a place called Cabaron near Burgos,
and alighted at a house which is now No. 2 in
the Calla del Rio. Over the door of this house
* Lord Mahon.
A JOYFUL REUNION 123
there is a tablet of stone bearing the arms of
Spain and Savoy, and having an inscription to
the following effect : " The Queen, our Lady
Dona Louisa Gabriela of Savoy, honoured this
house by staying in it on the 1 7th October, 1 706. "
Philip came to Segovia to meet his wife. The
royal couple had not seen each other since their
sorrowful parting in Madrid four months before.
" It is impossible to describe their joy in
meeting again," writes Madame des Ursins.
" When the State carriages appeared the Queen
ran out into the street to meet the King before
he had time to alight. Rain was falling in
torrents and she was wet to the skin, but she
had gained the pleasure of embracing him a
moment earlier than she could have done had
she awaited his arrival in the hall ; that was a
sufficient reward for her." They reached
Madrid on October 27. Before making their
entry into the capital, the King and Queen,
accompanied by their Court, attended high Mass
at the Church of the Virgin of Atocha, where
special homage is paid on occasions of import-
ance. The image of the Virgin is of such
i2 4 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
antiquity that it is blackened with age, but it
is always sumptuously attired, having for its
special perquisite the wedding dresses of the
Queens of Spain.
"The progress of their Catholic Majesties
through the city," writes Madame des Ursins,
"took nearly three hours, so much did the
throng of people who pressed round the
carriage impede its course. These shouted
and cheered without ceasing the whole
way."
Philip V. showed forbearance in his treat-
ment of those who had espoused the cause of
the Archduke. The " Cardinal Portocarero was
forgiven in memory of his past services, and
the Queen-Dowager was respectfully escorted
out of Spain."
The Duke of Berwick in his "Memoirs"
describes the campaign of 1706 as "one of the
most singular on record from its rapid changes
of fortune." "Had the enemy," he remarks,
" known how to profit by their success and
pushed their point, the Archduke must have
been King." But the "glaring faults of their
THE ENEMY DRIVEN BACK 125
generals, together with the unparalleled fidelity
of the Castilians, changed the course of
events." The enemy was driven back into
Valencia, and the number of prisoners taken
amounted to ten thousand.
CHAPTER VIII
A NEW HOPE
The scattered members of the Court of Madrid
were now rapidly returning to the capital. A
great many ladies-in-waiting had refused, as we
have seen, to follow the Queen to Burgos, and
their near relations had espoused the cause of
the Archduke. Here, then, was an opportunity
for effecting some reduction in the Queen's
household such as had already been effected in
the King's household. The number of ladies
at the Court had at all times been far too
large and was the cause of an extravagant
expenditure. At the suggestion of the Ca-
marera-Mayor Philip now dismissed no fewer
than three hundred maids of honour !
" The King of Spain," writes Madame des
Ursins, "who has barely sufficient money to
A CONGE FOR THE LADIES 127
pay his troops, thinks it advisable to retrench
his expenditure in every possible way. He
considers that the ladies-in-waiting are not as
indispensable to the Crown as are the means
for the maintenance of its soldiers. Monsieur
l'Ambassadeur is of the same opinion. His
Majesty, has, therefore, informed most of the
ladies [of the Court] that he is obliged, to his
great regret, to request them not to return
for the present to the Queen's service. This
proceeding will doubtless bring upon me
personally a great deal of enmity. Those who
are reasonable, however, are well aware that
we must avoid all expenditure which is not
absolutely necessary. The most pressing
question is how to repulse the invaders. All
else in comparison is a mere trifle."
Madame des Ursins' personal enemies were
already sufficiently numerous, and they were
ever active in fabricating reports to her dis-
advantage. Much licence of speech prevailed
at the beginning of the eighteenth century, as is
shown by the memoirs of that day. Calumnies
were circulated concerning all conspicuous
128 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
persons. The excellent Amelot was not spared
any more than was Madame des Ursins.
Philip V. was so much annoyed by the
malicious reports regarding affairs in Spain
which found their way across the border, that
he wrote to his grandfather urging him to put
a stop to them. The answer of Louis XIV.
is remarkable, coming as it does from such a
quarter : " I wish," he writes, " that I could put
an end to the kind of talk of which your
Majesty complains ; but it is impossible to
deprive the public of liberty of speech. The
public has enjoyed this right at all times and
in all countries, and more especially in France.
We must endeavour, for our part, to act in
such a manner as to afford occasion for approving
comments only." #
Madame des Ursins, it is needless to say,
was too sensible to suppose that any arbitrary
action in such a case could be of service. The
ultra- French faction, she knew, must always be
opposed to her more liberal policy, and she had
long borne their enmity with courage and
* " Memoires de Noailles."
A STAUNCH FRIEND 129
dignity. To her intimate friends alone she
occasionally opened her heart on this subject.
Writing this same year (1706) to Marshal
Villeroi, she alludes to the trials of her position,
and then proceeds to speak of their common
friend Madame de Maintenon : " It is from this
staunch and generous friend," she remarks,
"that I derive my chief consolation. What
should I do without her goodness ? — I, who am
persecuted more than ever by my enemies in
France, and subjected in Madrid to ill-will and
envy, because my sole aim is to further the true
interests of the two Kings ! "
In a letter to Madame de Maintenon, dated
December 20, she points out, half playfully,
how busy the tongue of calumny has been with
both herself and her correspondent. "I re-
ceived two letters some time ago," she writes,
" which I ought to have communicated to you
ere this. The first letter informed me that you
were betraying the interests of France by
means of a secret correspondence with Queen
Anne ; and that the Queen knew you to be the
best friend the Prince of Orange ever possessed!
130 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
The second letter disclosed the fact that you
were sending large sums of money to the
Emperor to enable him to maintain his troops.
For Heaven's sake, Madame, cure yourself of
that dangerous practice of self-seeking which
leads you to commit such crimes ! You will
reply, perhaps, that I should do well to follow
my own salutary advice, and should forthwith
abandon my practice of selling the high offices
of this country for my own profit." Here
Madame des Ursins changes her tone of irony
to one of indignation. " Such," she exclaims,
" is the idle gossip of the world, where men and
women are for ever slandering each other ! "
Responding to some observations of her
friend, she remarks : " I entirely agree with you,
Madame, that there is as much ability as there
is virtue in upright conduct. Duplicity and
falsehood are discovered sooner or later, and
more advantages are to be gained than lost by
just dealing, which commands the respect of
all honest men, not to speak of the peace of
mind which results from a desire to act openly
and to deceive no one."
A SUNNY NATURE 131
The recent Austrian occupation of Madrid
had left behind it much bitterness of feeling,
and revived many animosities. Madame des
Ursins writes to her friend : " You ask me
if I am able to retain my usual tranquillity in
the midst of so many causes for disquietude. I
will answer your question by telling you frankly
that I do at times experience agitation, espe-
cially on hearing suddenly some painful piece of
news. At such moments I feel almost ready to
faint. . . . But the weakness is quickly over-
come, and I am myself again. I cheer my
mind with the thought that affairs may change
for the better. I turn the medal and look on
the reverse side, whence I derive cause for hope.
I wish, Madame, that you could do the same,
and that your own temperament were your best
friend, as mine has ever been to me. . . . For
my part, I owe to the Almighty, among
countless other blessings, a cheerful disposition
which prompts me to despair of nothing. In-
deed, I am fully persuaded that by courage,
perseverance, and firmness the direst difficulties
may be overcome, provided the motive for
1 32 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
action be the welfare of the public." Well
might Madame de Maintenon respond : " Your
letters communicate your very self in the most
inspiring manner. They bring before me that
courage which can endure all things without
wavering, and that sunny nature which can
regard nothing with melancholy or bitterness."
It seems remarkable that Madame des Ursins
could write with such freedom at a time when
letters were often tampered with by the
emissaries of Government. The Duchess of
Orleans (mother of the Regent), complains
that her letters from Germany were frequently
opened by the French officials, who passed
them on to her with their seals broken, not
even taking the trouble to fasten them up
asrain. But Madame des Ursins had this
advantage over the Duchess, that her letters
were conveyed to Versailles by the French
Ambassador Amelot's special couriers, and that
she and Amelot were at all times fast friends.
It is at any rate certain that the contents of
the private letters of Madame de Maintenon
and the Princess des Ursins were not publicly
A FREE CORRESPONDENCE 133
known, since, had they been known, the ladies'
opinions of the Kings of France and of Spain,
and of all the leading statesmen of the day,
would have been circulated with avidity, and
must have transpired in the memoirs of that
period.
The character of the young King of Spain
had gained some strength from the trials to
which he had been exposed. Madame des
Ursins writes to her friend (December 6,
1706) : " The King displays an interest in the
affairs of State and a steadiness of application
to business that is quite remarkable. He is no
longer the same being who had to be urged to
exert himself and to act with authority. He is
now fully conscious that he possesses authority,
and the consciousness affords him pleasure.
He desires to understand all that goes on, and
forms his opinion with sense and judgment. . . .
He decides boldly, and, what is of still more
importance, his decisions are marked by justice,
generosity, and firmness. I leave you to judge,
Madame," she continues, " how rejoiced I must
be at this change — I, who have so long and so
134 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
ardently desired it." Madame de Maintenon
responds : " Nothing is more astonishing than
the sudden alteration in the King [of Spain] !
It is certainly a miracle. Our King is greatly
pleased and hopes there may be no relapse."
These last words show in what estimation
Louis XIV. held his grandson. In fact, Madame
des Ursins had, in her enthusiasm, given Philip
credit for more than was his due. "If the King
inspired respect and fear," remarks Francois
Combes, " it was through Madame des Ursins
that he did so. She alone, in spite of her
eulogium on his change of character, kept him
up to a high standard of principle and of
action."
At the commencement of the year 1707 a
source of satisfaction arose for those who
favoured the Bourbon dynasty — namely, the
hope of an heir to the throne ; a hope which
Spain's reigning family had not known for
more than forty years. The news was publicly
announced on January 29, and on the following
day Madame des Ursins writes to Madame de
Maintenon : "The transports of joy with which
AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION 135
the news was received can hardly be described.
The people thronged the streets [round the
palace] singing and shouting as if they were
mad."
It was customary for the Queens of Spain,
under such circumstances, to repair in solemn
procession to the Church of the Virgin of
Atocha in order to pay their homage at her
shrine. " The important function," writes
Madame des Ursins, "took place last Saturday.
The Oueen was borne in a sedan-chair ; I fol-
lowed in another; next came the equipages
of the ladies of honour ; and then those of
the gentlemen of her Majesty's household."
Barriers had been erected all along the route
to keep off the pressure of the crowd. " These
barriers," continues Madame des Ursins, "ex-
tended the whole way from the palace to the
Church of Atocha. They were lined with
soldiers under arms, and at intervals stood
trumpeters and hautboy-players. The streets
were gaily decorated. Rich tapestries of
various colours hung from the balconies and
window ledges. In some places pictures and
136 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
mirrors were suspended in front of draperies of
crimson silk, while beneath them glittered
articles of silver plate. Here and there foun-
tains appeared surrounded by allegorical figures
and decorated with flowers and green tracery.
A throng of people accompanied the procession,
singing and shouting their praises of the King
and Queen. Some wept for joy and called
upon Heaven to grant the royal couple fifty
children, who should live for ever ; others
laughed aloud. . . . The grandees walked on
either side of her Majesty's sedan-chair.
Some who are old or infirm could hardly
drag themselves along. The Queen graciously
desired these to leave her, but this they could
not bring themselves to do, so they accom-
panied her right into the Chapel of the Virgin.
The King, who had already arrived there
attended by the chief officers of his household,
stood on the steps of the church to receive the
Queen, and with ready gallantry opened the
door of her sedan-chair. Their Majesties
returned to the palace (after the service was
over) in the same manner, and although the
PREPARATIONS IN THE PALACE 137
function lasted for four hours, the Oueen has
not suffered from over-fatigue."
Preparations | were now commenced to wel-
come a Prince of Asturias. Apartments in
the palace were assigned to his future use,
the furniture and decorations for which were
ordered to be sent from Paris. Madame des
Ursins gives minute directions in her letters as
to the carrying out of these orders, urging at
the same time the necessity for economy. She
specifies the amount of yellow silk to be used
for covering the chairs, and remarks that she
will arrange for some of the pictures in the
royal collection to be hung on the walls of the
apartments to obviate the necessity of having
new tapestry hangings. She desires that the
lace upon the bed linen should be narrow.
" Lavish expenditure," she remarks, " would
indeed be out of place at a time when the
King of Spain is resolutely denying himself
every luxury. . . . People hold widely different
views," she continues to her friend, " as to what
constitutes true dignity in this world, but I am
happy to know that we both agree in thinking
138 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
that a Prince of Asturias is equally worthy of
our homage whether he lies in a plain cot or in
one bedizened with gold."
Money was indeed needed at this period to
maintain the army. The enemy had, it is true,
been driven from Madrid, but they occupied
strong positions in Valencia, Aragon, and
Catalonia, and might at any moment return as
victors to the capital. The French contingent
of the forces received so little support from
home that the Spanish Government had to
advance money for its maintenance as well as
for that of its own troops. Madame des
Ursins writes to Madame de Maintenon :
" The French military secretary, Monsieur
Meliaud, has received only one month's pay
for the French soldiers from Monsieur de
Chamillart, out of six that are due to them. . . .
Marshal Berwick knows not how to act. His
troops must either desert or they must pillage
Castile, a choice of evils equally disastrous to
our cause."
CHAPTER IX
TIDINGS OF VICTORY
In the early part of 1706 Madame des Ursins
had endeavoured to obtain a loan from the
clergy towards the expenses of the war. Her
project failed owing to the determined opposi-
tion of Cardinal Portocarero, who had secretly
joined the Archduke's party. The Cardinal
was, moreover, encouraged in his opposition by
the Pope. Francois Combe, in his " Essai sur
la Princesse des Ursins," has pointed out the
curious attitude assumed by the Pope at this
period. The War of the Spanish Succession
was, he reminds us, in many respects a religious
war, in which the old Catholic interest was
represented by the two Bourbon Kings, and the
Protestant by the Archduke Charles. For
although Charles was himself a Catholic, his
140 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
powerful supporters were all Protestants, a
circumstance which was ridiculed in a satirical
medal of the day. It bears the head of the
Archduke encircled by the words, " Charles III.,
by the grace of the Heretics the Catholic
King." Parties being thus divided, it would
seem natural for the Pope to have done all in
his power to aid the cause of Philip V., but, on
the contrary, he acted continually as his oppo-
nent. It is true Clement IX. had recognised
the Bourbon succession, but he secretly favoured
the cause of the Allies because they advocated
the dismemberment of the Spanish dominions,
and he ardently desired to see the Kings of
Spain forced to give up the kingdom of
Naples.
In the autumn of 1706 Madame des Ursins
renewed her efforts to obtain a loan from the
Spanish clergy for the expenses of the war, and
this time her efforts were crowned with success.
M. Geffroy tells us that she obtained a sum of
no less than four million dollars (equal to
^800,000). By this means the wants of the
army were supplied, and the Duke of Berwick
A GREAT BATTLE 141
found himself in a position to make head against
the enemy.
Madame des Ursins writes to Madame de
Maintenon on April 17, 1707 : "We are on the
eve of some decisive action, and we have reason
to hope it may be in our favour. The two
opposing armies are now only four leagues
apart. All our officers, whether Spanish or
French, are confident of victory, and declare
openly that unless our general gives battle they
shall be driven to despair. But we may be
sure that Marshal Berwick will do his duty, and
in the meantime let us pray the Almighty to
enable him to come to a wise decision."
On April 25, just a week after the above
letter was written, the great battle of Almanza
was fought. The Duke of Berwick commanded
the French and Spanish forces, and the Earl oi
Galway, the English, Dutch, and Portuguese.
Galway, known in France as the Marquis de
Ruvigny, was a Huguenot who had fled to
England after the Revocation of the Edict of
Nantes. In recognition of his military services
he had been created an Irish peer. Thus, by
i 4 2 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
a curious coincidence the French and Spanish
armies were commanded by an Englishman,
and the English army by a Frenchman. No
Spanish troops fought this day in the ranks
of the Allies, as the Archduke at this critical
moment had withdrawn his Spanish contingent
and retired with it into Catalonia.
The battle, which raged fiercely for some time,
resulted in a victory for Philip V. " The victory
was most complete," writes Lord Mahon ; " all
the baggage and artillery was taken, together
with one hundred and twenty standards bear-
ing the arms of almost every nation leagued
against France and Spain, besides those of the
insurgent provinces of Valencia, Aragon, and
Catalonia. . . . The Allies left above four
thousand men dead upon the field, and twice as
many prisoners. ... So large was the booty
that for some days after the battle a horse
might be purchased in the camp of Berwick for
one dollar, a coat for fifteen French pence, and
a musket for five."
The news of the great victory was received
at Madrid with transports of joy — a joy that
DUKE OF BERWICK, GENERALISSIMO OF THE FORCES IN SPAIN
EXCITEMENT AT MARLY 143
was soon afterwards shared by the Court of
Versailles. Madame des Ursins writes to
Madame de Maintenon : "Let us rejoice to-
gether, and let us render thanks to God who has
enabled us to gain such a victory over our foes!
What happiness the news will afford the King
and all the royal family ; and what consolation
it will bring to you, Madame! I will not
attempt to describe what my feelings are on the
occasion ; you can well imagine them by your
own."
" You judged rightly," responds her friend,
" of what the joy of the King and the royal
family would be. I must describe to you the
way in which the news reached us. You know
Marly and will remember my private apart-
ments. The King was in my small room. I
had just sat down to my supper in the ante-
chamber, when I heard an officer calling loudly
at the King's door to announce Monsieur de
Chamillart. ' How is this ? ' exclaimed the
King, for in the ordinary course of things a
Minister is not permitted an audience at such a
time. I threw down my napkin and turned to
i 4 4 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Monsieur de Chamillart in much agitation.
" It is good news," said he, and immediately
entered the King's room, followed by Monsieur
de Silly. You may well believe, madame, that
I followed also. I soon learnt from the King
of the defeat of our enemies, and returned to
my supper in the most happy frame of mind.
Soon afterwards Monsieur le Dauphin came to
see the King, and next the Duke of Burgundy,
who appeared with a billiard cue in his hand. . . .
Madame de Dangeau quitted the supper table
in order to write to her husband, who is in
Paris, and our invalid Madame d'Heudicourt
likewise quitted the supper table in order to
seek quiet in my chamber."
Madame des Ursins was delighted with the
foregoing account. Her vivid imagination at
once pictured the whole scene, and she gave
back to Madame de Maintenon a reflex of her
story in the following letter. "All that you
relate, Madame, from the appearance of the
officer who announced the arrival of Monsieur
de Chamillart, . . . when you were seated
quietly at supper in your antechamber, until
A VIVID REFLECTION 145
the moment when his Majesty proclaimed the
great news, is so lifelike that I begin to think
I must have been present myself and seen you
throw down your napkin and hurry into the
adjoining room to hear what was being told. I
can see Madame de Dangeau flying from the
supper table to write to her husband, Madame
d'Heudicourt walking about as if her limbs
were young and strong, hardly knowing what
she was doing, and Monsieur de Marson, in
spite of his gout, jumping on to a chair with as
much agility as if he had been a tight-rope
dancer, to see what was going forward. As for
Monseigneur the Duke of Burgundy, who, we
know, is somewhat absent-minded, I wonder
that, in the first transports of his joy, he did not
mistake a lady's head for a billiard ball, and
give her a blow with the cue which he carried
in his hand ! "
Madame de Maintenon responds to her
friend : " You have certainly pictured the whole
scene far better than I who witnessed it."
When the tidings of the great defeat reached
the Archduke and his Court at Barcelona, the
146 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
effect produced was curious. The jealousy and
dislike of the English was so strong amongst
Charles's German followers that at first "feel-
ings of gratified pique rose uppermost." When,
however, the magnitude of their own loss was
comprehended, " the Germans were stunned
and fell into a profound lethargy." #
Meanwhile the victorious army marched
steadily forward, and within a month of the
battle of Almanza, both the provinces of
Valencia and Aragon were subdued. Berwick
treated the vanquished with stern severity. In
the case of the town of Xativa the carnage
was terrible, but that General states distinctly
in his " Memoirs " that the inhabitants persist-
ently refused all offers of capitulation.
Alluding- to the taking of Xativa, Madame
des Ursins writes : " Although there never
were people more deserving of their punish-
ment, and although that punishment may serve
as a warning to others who are equally violent
in their opposition to their Sovereign, still the
affair strikes one with horror. War brings
* Lord Mahon.
A MAN OF HONOUR 147
many a crime in its train, and I cannot conceive
how kings who carry on unjust wars can expect
that the Almighty will ever forgive them."
Although Berwick acted sternly towards the
vanquished, he was a man of strict integrity and
did not spare himself when occasion required.
After the battle of Almanza he was created
Duke of Liria and a grandee of Spain, dignities
which he afterwards transferred to his second
son. "In the year 17 19," writes Lord Mahon,
"this son found himself a general officer in the
Spanish army, and opposed to his father, who
commanded the French, the two nations being
then at war. With his true and characteristic
sense of honour, however, Berwick wrote an
earnest letter to Liria, exhorting him to do his
duty against himself."
Upon the subjection of Valencia and Aragon,
the Spanish Government issued a decree
abolishing the Fueros (or provincial privileges)
of those districts, and making their laws and
customs conform to those of Castile. This
measure had its grave disadvantages, because
Valencia and Aragon still enjoyed a remnant of
i 4 8 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
their ancient liberties, whilst Castile had long
since been deprived of hers. Madame des
Ursins, however, gave the measure her ap-
proval and powerful support. This is not
surprising, since it was impossible for her to
have any experience of constitutional govern-
ment. She had, moreover, seen Spain torn by
adverse factions and invaded by foreigners,
and she would naturally suppose that a measure
which promoted unity of action and undivided
authority must be beneficial. The increase of
power it must give to the King would also
seem to her a great advantage. She had
continually witnessed the evils produced by a
too powerful aristocracy and an overbearing
priesthood. She had seen prominent members
of both these classes abandon the cause of
Philip at its utmost need, and join the ranks of
his enemies ; and she was well aware that the
King owed his triumphant return to his capital,
not to the lords of Castile, but to the common
people. Madame des Ursins saw these people
frequently oppressed by the nobles and unable
to obtain justice, and knew them to be over-
STATE CREDIT RESTORED 149
burdened by taxation, whilst the priests and
nobles claimed their right of exemption and re-
fused to contribute their share to the expenses
of the State. To Madame des Ursins the best
mode of remedying such evils seemed to consist
in rendering the Sovereign independent alike of
the nobility and of the provincial councils.
Amelot, in one of his despatches to Louis
XIV. written at this period, remarks: "The
time has now gone by when Philip V. had
neither troops nor arms, nor yet artillery ; when
his very servants' wages were not paid ; and
when his half-starved bodyguard were thankful
to obtain a share of the soup which was doled
out to beggars at the convent doors. This
state of things existed only four years ago."
Affairs had indeed changed since then. The
State credit was restored, a great and important
victory won, and both invaders and rebels
driven to the remoter parts of the kingdom.
" Such was the result," declares Francois
Combes, "of a succession of political and financial
measures initiated by Madame des Ursins or
carried into effect under her guidance."
CHAPTER X
JOY IN THE PALACE
The victory of Almanza and its results released
the Court of Madrid from all cause for imme-
diate anxiety. Madame des Ursins' letters
reflect this happier state of affairs. We find
her occupied at this time with preparations for
the arrival of the much-desired heir to the
throne. She arranges for no fewer than twelve
wet-nurses to be brought to Madrid in readi-
ness for the important event. These were
peasant women from the province of Biscay.
Madame des Ursins thus describes their arrival
at the palace of Buen Retire, where she and the
Queen were staying. "On their way here the
nurses passed through the city of Madrid,
where the people hailed them with delight and
showered blessings on their heads. ... I
PEASANTS IN THE PALACE 151
received them at the end of a gallery in the
Queen's apartments. I saluted each one
heartily, and then conducted them to her
Majesty, who graciously stepped forward to
meet them. At this moment all the babies,
who were carried in their mothers' arms, set up
a lusty roar ! The women fell on their knees
to kiss the Oueen's hand ; some were struck
dumb with astonishment at their surroundings,
others expressed their delight in a thousand
simple and natural words, straight from the
heart, which would have touched you as they
did me. . . . Supper was then served for the
nurses, and as I wished to make them feel at
ease in my presence, I sat down myself at the
head of the table, occupying a pretty wicker
chair whilst the guests sat on the carpet after
the manner of their country. I tasted the
various dishes in order to ascertain that they
were not too rich nor too highly flavoured, and
finding them to my liking I took occasion to
take my own supper with the nurses. We
drank to the health of all the royal family and
to the welfare of the prince about to be born.
iS2 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Never did I partake of a more agreeable
meal ! "
The social creed of those days placed such
an impassable gulf between a noble lady and a
peasant woman that the above details amazed
Madame de Maintenon, and she responds : " I
do not believe that devotion to our royal
family ever moved any one to carry kindness
and condescension to such a point as you did,
dear madame, in your reception of the nurses
for the Prince of Asturias (for I earnestly hope
the child will be a boy). I wish I could have
been present at the feast. Nothing could have
afforded me more pleasure. You are admirable
in everything that you do, and are very sure to
find an admirer in me."
In some of the letters of this period the two
friends discuss matters relating to the manage-
ment of infancy. Madame des Ursins ex-
presses her disapproval of the plan of swathing
infants upon a mattress. Referring to the
absence of this practice among the English,
she remarks, "The method followed in
England must certainly be good, for nowhere
AN HEIR TO THE THRONE 153
do we find better shaped people than the
English."
On August 25 the Queen of Spain gave
birth to a son. Madame des Ursins writes the
same day to Madame de Maintenon, dating
her letter " Madrid, St. Louis's Day, 1707. My
prophecies are now fulfilled. We have the
finest prince in the world, and the Queen is
doing excellently. The people have one and
all remarked that God has favoured us with
this gift on the Feast of St. Louis. ... I
embrace you, Madame, a thousand times, and
wish you as much happiness for years to come
as I possess this day." The Gazette de France
of August 30 announces the birth of the Prince
of Asturias, observing that the child "is hand-
some, well formed, and robust. . . . His
Majesty (the King of Spain)," continues the
Gazette, "has been pleased to grant liberty to
all prisoners, excepting thieves, gipsies, and
those who have merited death. "
Madame de Maintenon responds to her
friend's communication with cordial congratu-
lations, and describes the joy experienced at
154 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Versailles on the arrival of the £Ood news.
She dwells especially on the joy of the Duchess
of Burgundy, the young Queen's sister. The
Duchess had recently given birth to the infant
Duke of Brittany, heir to the throne of France.
Madame de Maintenon was as much interested
in all that concerned this child as the Princess
des Ursins was in the little Prince of Asturias.
It is pleasant to come upon anecdotes of baby
life in the midst of the subjects for grave
reflection that fill so much of the correspond-
ence of the two friends.
" Never has a child given fairer promise of
life than our prince," writes Madame des
Ursins. " Her Majesty already amuses herself
with him as if she found him good company,
and it is the prettiest sight in the world to see
him in the arms of such a tender, gracious
mother. From all that you do me the honour
to relate, Madame, of the Duke of Brittany,"
she playfully continues, " I see plainly that the
two cousins have each their partisan, and I
begin to doubt if we shall manage to agree
about them ! " Often in the midst of accounts
BABY-CHARMS 155
of battles or sieges, or of plans for raising funds
for the army, Madame des Ursins will pause
to make such remarks as the following : " Our
little prince has just cut another tooth and we
expect him soon to cut two or three more."
" He already shows signs of an excellent dispo-
sition. If he gives me a little slap in play and
I pretend to be hurt, he turns to kiss me with a
sweetness of manner winning beyond expression,
and with tears in his eyes which show the
sorrow he feels for having given pain. If
such a disposition be well developed he
will be adored by his people." Speaking of
children generally in one of her letters, she
remarks : " I could pass my time very happily
with them if I had not other matters to demand
my attention. They have an innocence and
gaiety of heart which charm me greatly, and
which one hardly meets with elsewhere."
The tastes of Madame des Ursins and
Madame de Maintenon differed greatly in one
respect. Madame de Maintenon sought relief
from the trials of her life in solitude and medi-
tation, Madame des Ursins in intercourse with
156 THE PRINCESS -DES URSINS
the enlightened men of her day. Madame de
Maintenon so much disliked making new-
acquaintances, that her doors were usually
closed to strangers, however distinguished they
miorht be. Her friend remonstrates with her
on the subject again and again. Alluding to
her refusal to admit the Prince de Vaudemont,
late Governor of Milan, to her "impenetrable
apartments," Madame des Ursins writes:
" Would it have been a misfortune, think you, to
become well acquainted with such a man by
conversing with him upon various subjects and
hearing his thoughts and opinions ? For my
part, there is nothing I enjoy more keenly than
drawing out the thoughts and opinions of those
who have played a distinguished part in the
world, and who, from their long experience,
have had occasion to mark the prevailing
characteristics of humanity. By this means we
acquire knowledge that may be of great service.
I know your predilection for solitude ; but
would to Heaven I could pursuade you to
exclude yourself less from commerce with the
world ! "
IMPENETRABLE APARTMENTS 157
Madame de Maintenon in her reply allows
that perhaps she might have done well to see
the Prince de Vaudemont, but adds, " You
know, madame, how little I enjoy receiving
visitors. You are the only person who ever
caused me to change my sentiments on that
point. I can never forget the pleasure I ex-
perienced in your society, and the eagerness
with which I hastened to your quiet boudoir,
which I should infinitely prefer at this moment
were you in it, to all the fine grounds of Marly
or Trianon ! "
The two friends each suffered, at times,
from ill health. Madame des Ursins invariably
makes light of her ailments, though sometimes
she must have been greatly inconvenienced by
them. She was subject to a weakness in one
of her eyes which often prevented her from
writing. Most of her letters are dictated to her
private secretary and friend d'Aubigny. When
recovering from an attack of fever she writes
to Madame de Maintenon : " If it was the
will of fate that one of us should have the
fever, it was well that I should be that one, for
158 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
illness does not make me melancholy, and I
have observed that you are always more cheer-
ful when you are in good health." In another
letter she remarks, " There is a right time
for most things, but surely none for melan-
choly."
Madame de Maintenon suffered much from
rheumatism, which was aggravated by the cold
draughts of air that circulated through the great
palaces in which she lived. This over-ventila-
tion was encouraged by Louis XIV. 's love of
fresh air. On one occasion Madame des Ursins
sends a folding-screen to her friend and begs
her to make use of it as a protection against the
cutting draughts at Fontainebleau ; but the gift
was declined. Even Madame de Maintenon's
power at Court was insufficient to introduce
such a simple innovation. The old King held
rigid views as to the disposition of the furniture
in his apartments, where all was arranged in
formal order, and where no change was per-
mitted. " Do not suppose for a moment, dear
madame," writes Madame de Maintenon, "that
I can have screens placed between me and the
AN ADVANCED THEORIST 159
great windows of my apartments. It is not
possible to arrange a room according to one's
own liking which the King enters every day.
II faut perir en synidtrie"
On one occasion, Madame de Maintenon
having mentioned that she was going to be
bled, Madame des Ursins responds, " If you
mean to be bled pray conceal the fact from me.
I am fully persuaded, in spite of all that
Monsieur Fagon * may say to the contrary,
that nothing tends so much to shorten life as
the practice of bleeding, and I desire the pre-
servation of your life as much as I do that of
my own."
In one of her letters Madame des Ursins
expresses regret that her friend should be
debarred by illness from enjoying the grounds
of Fontainebleau. She wishes she herself could
be there, "for," she observes, " I always enjoy
long rambles, especially in forest glades, whose
solitude has a great charm for me." Alluding
to the gardens of the Trianon, she writes : " I
often walked over to them from Versailles,
* The Court physician.
160 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
sometimes early in the morning, sometimes in
the afternoon, and enjoyed the sweet perfume
of the flowers. I greatly admired both the
palace and the grounds. Indeed, the place
seemed to me to be enchanted. ... I re-
member your once telling me, dear Madame,"
she observes, " that you cared little for stately
mansions and fine grounds. Our tastes differ
in that respect, for I take a keen pleasure in
them." In another letter Madame des Ursins
refers to Louis XIV. having given up the
erection of some buildings which he had
planned, on account of the expense entailed ;
she goes on to say : " I can understand the
sacrifice better than most people, for there is no
occupation I relish more than that of altering
and embellishing mansions. I have effected
such trifling changes as lay in my power in this
palace. They have cost little, but have added
much to the comfort of the King and Queen.
The occupation has enabled me to pass many
an hour pleasantly that might otherwise have
seemed tedious." Madame des Ursins, we are
told, greatly improved the grounds of the
JANSENISTS AND JESUITS 161
palace of Buen Retiro by introducing planta-
tions of fine trees.
Many and various are the subjects touched
upon by the two friends in their correspond-
ence. Alluding to the strife between the
Jansenists and the Jesuits, Madame des Ursins
writes : " They would do well, I think, to lay
aside their bickerings until such time as peace
is restored to our countries. After that they
might recommence their private warfare and
tear each others' eyes out anew, but for the
present there are more serious affairs to occupy
public attention. For my own part, I regard
both parties with so little favour that I have no
desire to hear of their doings, and I make a
point of choosing my confessor from among
those ecclesiastics who neither love nor hate
either party."
CHAPTER XI
REVERSES
A rumour was afloat at this time that Madame
des Ursins and the Duke of Berwick were at
variance. There seems to have been no found-
ation for it. " The Duke of Berwick," writes
Madame des Ursins, " writes to me in a more
obliging and friendly way than ever, and yet it
is reported in Paris that we have quarrelled
with each other. One needs to be well armed
with patience to endure all these ridiculous
calumnies. . . . There are people who delight
in evil speaking, and their statements are often
more readily credited than the statements of
their honest neighbours. . . . Happy those
who can pass their lives in peace and retire-
ment ! "
Madame de Maintenon responds, " We learn
A LOSS FOR SPAIN 163
from all quarters, dear madame, that nothing
can be more untrue than the reports respecting
the Duke of Berwick and yourself. . . . One
must make up one's mind to live with people
who are malicious, ungrateful, and treacherous,
since the world is full of them, and since they
abound especially in Courts, where contending
interests naturally give rise to evil passions."
A few months later, when it was believed
that the Duke of Berwick was likely to be
removed from his command in Spain, Madame
des Ursins wrote to Mons. de Torcy (Minister
for Foreign Affairs at Versailles) : " If we are
to credit public rumour we are about to lose
Marshal Berwick. It is affirmed that he is to
return to France to assume command of the
troops in Dauphine. The King and Queen are
at a loss, sir, to imagine why a General should
be taken away from them whose services they
had especially desired, and whose presence is
necessary to their well-being, owing to his
thorough knowledge of all matters connected
with the war in this country ; a general, too,
who is universally loved by the Spaniards. . . .
1 64 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
We endeavour to disbelieve the report, but
should it prove true, the results will be most
pernicious." Unfortunately it did prove true,
and Berwick was withdrawn in the autumn of
1707.
But still greater evils were in store for Spain.
Louis XIV. had for some time past been
making secret overtures to the Allies. The
result of his negotiations was a treaty for the
neutrality of Italy, known as the Treaty of
Milan. The French garrisons were, in conse-
quence, withdrawn from the Milanese towns,
and the Austrian troops were set at liberty to
march southwards for the conquest of Naples.
This they soon accomplished.
The Princess des Ursins writes to Madame
de Maintenon : "I cannot think of the sad
fatality by which the State of Milan was lost,
and which led to all the other losses in Italy,
without heartfelt sorrow. I feel profound pity
for the good subjects of our Catholic King.
Some of the Neapolitan nobles have evinced
their zeal and fidelity in such a striking and
touching manner that they merit the highest
A SPANISH HISTORIAN 165
reward. The Duke of Popoli, captain of the
guards, is one of these. He is devoted to his
royal master, and he esteems as nothing all the
sacrifices he has made for the sake of his duty."
In the summer of 1708 the island of Sardinia
was lost to the Spanish crown. It was captured
by the English with little difficulty, as the
inhabitants were already disaffected towards
Philip V. The only attempt at opposition was
made by a native gentleman, Don Vicente
Bacallar, but his efforts were fruitless. This
gentleman was afterwards created Marquis de
San Phelipe by Philip V., and under that title
he is known as the best contemporary historian
of the War of the Spanish Succession in Spain.
The loss of Sardinia was followed by that of
the island of Minorca, whose chief harbour,
Port Mahon, was a place of great importance.
" The loss of Port Mahon," observes Madame
des Ursins, " is most serious. The enemy will
now harass our trade in the Mediterranean, and
will threaten our very coasts."
France was suffering no less than Spain at
this period. A large army had been raised with
1 66 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
incredible difficulty, and sent into Flanders
under the command of Vendome and the Duke
of Burgundy. But these two leaders, who were
diametrically opposed in character and prin-
ciples, could not work in unison, and they were
defeated at every encounter with Marlborough
and Prince Eugene. At last the important
frontier town of Lille was captured by the
enemy, and the very capital of France
threatened. To add to the general distress, the
winter of 1708-9 set in with unusual severity.
The cold, St. Simon tells us, was greater than
had ever before been experienced. "In four
days [after the commencement of the frost]," he
writes, " the Seine and all the other rivers were
frozen over, and for the first time the sea was
turned to ice all along our coasts." This severe
cold lasted for nearly three months. The fruit-
trees throughout France were killed, and the
grain perished beneath the soil. Money was
scarce and famine seemed imminent. A letter
from Madame de Maintenon to the Due de
Noailles reflects the general gloom. She
writes : " Affliction and bitterness of spirit
A TERRIBLE WINTER 167
prevail on all sides — in the Church and in the
State ; in great matters and in small ; among
men and among women, in business and in
private life, in society at large and in the family
circle — all is affliction and bitterness of spirit."*
"The fall of Lille," writes Madame des
Ursins, " has astonished this Court. . . . My
heart bleeds at the news, and I confess that I
can scarcely recognise my own nation, so
changed it seems from what it once was. A
noble desire for glory once inspired our people,
but now they seem insensible to such a
motive."
Louis XIV. wrote to Philip declaring that
"the loss of Lille must put an end to all
thoughts of peace, and that both he and his
grandson must make renewed efforts to secure
to Philip his possession of the crown of Spain.
Madame des Ursins, who had begun to suspect
double-dealing on the part of Louis, now writes
to Madame de Maintenon : " His Catholic
Majesty would not willingly suspect that these
words are insincere and that the King is de-
* " Memoires de Noailles."
i68 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
luding him with false hopes, whilst in reality he
intends entering into such another treaty with
the enemy as that of Milan : of that treaty, as
you are well aware, Madame, the King of
Spain had no knowledge whatever."
Madame des Ursins further perceived that
Louis XIV. was becoming weary of upholding
his grandson's cause, and she endeavoured by
every argument in her power to prevent his
abandoning it. The Duke of Orleans, who had
been sent to Spain as Generalissimo of the
Forces in the place of the Duke of Berwick, was
now in Paris on an embassy to the King. The
Princess des Ursins writes to Madame de
Maintenon : " The Duke of Orleans will repre-
sent to the King the terrible evils which must
accrue to France as well as to Spain if the
cause of his Catholic Majesty is abandoned.
The arguments [which prove this] are so
powerful and so well supported by facts, that I
cannot doubt their making an impression upon
the mind and heart of the King. I hope
earnestly that his Majesty's long and glorious
career may not now be tarnished by his sub-
SORROW AND SUFFERING 169
scribing to an ignoble peace. Surely the
counsels of those who advocate such a measure
should be repudiated with indignation ! "
Madame de Maintenon herself, however,
was beginning to desire peace at any price.
" Our enemies triumph on all sides," she
writes, " but we must bow our heads and sub-
mit to the strokes of the Almighty. . . . We
are at Marly. In this delicious spot we hear
now of nothing but sorrow and suffering. No
poor countryman can be as absorbed as we are
in questions concerning the condition of the
crops and the price of corn which mounts
higher and higher. Few market days pass
without riots. ... I used to think," she adds,
" that no evil could be greater than the war,
but the approaching famine is infinitely worse.
Could you witness our condition you would
blame us less and pity us more."
" You are indeed to be pitied," responds her
friend, " and I can assure you that your suffer-
ings afflict me as much as they do yourself.
But beyond this I have to witness the suffer-
ings of a King and Queen whose virtures I
170 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
know and realize more fully than you can do,
and whom I certainly love better than it is
possible for any one else to love. If I appear
unwilling to believe all that you desire me to
believe it is not that I doubt your power of
discernment nor your good intentions, but that
I desire by my arguments, whether good or
bad, to arouse the courage of those about you
who are now giving way to depression."
" Your courage and resolution are marvel-
lous ! " exclaims Madame de Maintenon in
reply, " but to what do they tend ? Is your
enterprise practicable ? . . . You hold, dear
madame, that we should perish rather than
surrender. I hold that we should yield to the
superior force of our enemies, and above all to
the mighty arm of God, which is now visibly
turned against us."
" Is it possible," writes Madame des Ursins
(April i, 1709), "that all your able men are at
their wit's end ? — that not one of them can
devise a helpful measure ? It is a proof of
faint-hearted dejection that does them little
credit, for great minds rise above difficulties
A HELPFUL MEASURE 171
and manfully resist the attacks of evil fortune.
God can work miracles at all times, and the
miracle I pray for now is that a spirit of courage
and hopefulness may be revived in your Court,
and that unity and concord may be restored to
those personages in power who are now at
variance."
The Princess des Ursins was certainly her-
self one of those whose powers of mind and
character were manifested in times of trial.
She now carefully thought out and suggested
such plans as seemed likely to afford relief to
the general distress. She forwarded a memorial
to the Court of Versailles containing a scheme
for raising money on good security, drawn up
probably under her supervision, and which had
been seen and approved by Amelot. In her
letters on this subject she displays an accurate
knowledge of the state of the finances of both
France and Spain, and also of the condition
of the crops in these countries. Madame des
Ursins sent the memorial through Marshal
Villeroy, who showed it to the Ministers and
also to Madame de Maintenon. The latter was
172 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
alarmed at the novel measures it advocated,
and wrote to her friend : " Is it possible, think
you, for a King to change in a moment the
forms of government that he has maintained
for sixty years ? And how can we militate
against the dearth of money and of food which
are God's scourges ? . . . The state to which
France is reduced would fill you with grief
could you behold it." The Princess des Ursins
responds by vindicating the sound policy of the
financial scheme, and then remarks : " Do not
imagine, dear Madame, that I underrate the
evils to which France is exposed. Our opinions
on that head differ only in so far as I am
persuaded that there are remedies at hand, and
that if we perish it is by our own fault." The
French Ministers shared Madame de Mainte-
non's dread of innovation in financial measures,
and they therefore rejected the scheme at first
sight. "They had at least the satisfaction,"
observes Ste. Beuve, " of perishing in the old
grooves, since they would not leave them for
new."
Madame des Ursins endeavoured to lessen
A KEEN EYE 173.
the strength of the enemy by suggesting a
scheme which might induce the Duke of Savoy
to quit the side of the Allies and join that of
the Bourbons. He was greatly harassed at
that time by the Austrian invasion of Italy,
which threatened his own frontiers, so there
seemed to be a chance of success.
Madame des Ursins' alert mind was ready
to take advantage of every opportunity that
might arise to improve the state of affairs.
" She kept a keen eye," writes Francois Combes,
" upon all that passed — upon foreign politics,
upon the war, upon the movements and the
sustenance of the troops, upon questions of
finance, and upon the augmentation of the
royal power, just as if she had been Regent of
Spain."
It has been already remarked that the
French troops were so ill paid as to be depen-
dent on the Spanish Government for the
necessaries of life. In spite of this fact, how-
ever, the Duke of Orleans was loud in his
complaints against the Spaniards for the mea-
greness with which his troops were supplied
174 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
and his anger was especially directed against
the Princess des Ursins. On one memorable
occasion, recorded by St. Simon, the Duke gave
public expression to his anger. It was at a
great banquet in Madrid, when he proposed
a mock toast, using coarse epithets intended to
designate the Princess des Ursins and her friend
Madame de Maintenon. His meaning was too
obvious to be mistaken and his wit too keen
not to excite laughter. From that day forward
all social intercourse between the Camarera-
Mayor and the Duke was at an end.
In her endeavours to prevent Louis XIV.
from abandoning the cause of Philip V.,
Madame des Ursins was earnestly seconded by
Amelot, who pointed out to his Sovereign that
the mere rumour of his desertion was already
doing great harm. But the old King was
bowed down by the trials that beset France,
and he declared that "peace must be obtained
at any price." The Allies demanded, as a first
condition, that Philip should be withdrawn
from Spain, and the Archduke Charles pro-
claimed King in his stead. " It is impossible,"
A GREAT SECEDER 175
writes Louis to his Ambassador, "for the war
to cease as long as he (Philip) remains on the
throne of Spain. This is a painful declaration
for you to convey to the King, but it is the
truth, and, painful as it is, must be made known
to him." Louis goes on to advise that his
grandson should renounce the kingdoms of
Spain and of the Indies, and content himself
henceforth with reigning over the remnant of the
Spanish dominions in Italy.
CHAPTER XII
LEFT TO FIGHT ALONE
Louis XIV.'s message came as a thunderbolt
upon the palace of Madrid. For a moment
Philip's courage wavered, and he was almost
ready to accept the hard terms demanded by
the Allies. But he had a counsellor at hand
over whom fear had no dominion. The Prin-
cess des Ursins, we are told, addressed him in
these words: "How is this, sire? Are you
a king ? Are you a man ? — you, who value so
lightly your sovereignty and who evince more
weakness than a woman ! " * Such words had
their desired effect : Philip's courage was re-
kindled, and he wrote a letter to his grandfather
declaring that he would rather die than renounce
the throne of Spain and abandon his subjects.
* Histoire secrete de la cour de Madrid, annee 1709.
HIDDEN ENERGY 177
The excitement in the city of Madrid was
great when it became known that Louis XIV.
was actually in treaty with the enemy with a
view to handing over Spain and the Indies to
the Archduke. "The effect which the tidings
produced upon the grandees," writes the author
of the " Memoires de Noailles," " was strange
and unexpected, and brought into light the
hidden energy that underlies the Spanish
character. The grandees not only denounced
the conduct of Louis XIV., declaring that he
was robbing them of a King whom he had him-
self placed upon their throne, but they professed
themselves ready to sacrifice both their lives
and their property in support of the cause of
Philip V." The Due d'Arcos, as well as many
of the other grandees who now stepped forward
to the rescue, had been far from satisfied with
the Government, the interference of France
being a constant source of irritation to their
pride. Now, for the first time, they were in a
position to defend their King against the
manoeuvres of France, and this circumstance
united them in one body for determined action.
M
178 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Madame des Ursins fully comprehended the
critical state of affairs. She saw that the time
was come when Spain must act independently
of France, and she counselled Philip to throw
himself unreservedly into the arms of the
Spanish nation and to trust to the professions
of attachment now made by the grandees
regardless of what their former sentiments
might have been. In pursuance of this advice
Philip called a meeting of his Ministers and
nobles, and " declared to them his firm reso-
lution not to renounce the throne of Spain,"
assuring them that he "counted upon their
fidelity as he did upon that of the people at
large, and that he felt sure they would not
abandon him." Philip's auditors responded
cordially to this appeal. They declared
"that if the King of France was compelled
to withdraw his troops they would strain
every nerve to supply their loss, that they
would never suffer England and Holland to
dispose of the Spanish crown, and that the
whole nation, rich and poor alike, would take
up arms and fight to the death in defence
A BOLD DECREE 179
of their King, their country, and their
honour." #
During this crisis of affairs great agitation
prevailed among all classes. Louis XIV.'s
conduct had suddenly reawakened the old
feeling of hostility towards the French nation.
Outrages were daily expected, and it became
necessary that some measure should be passed
that would reassure the Spaniards and calm
public feeling. The Princess des Ursins took
the initiative. She caused a royal decree to be
issued banishing all Frenchmen from Spain.
This was indeed throwing Philip into the arms
of his subjects and making a direct appeal to
the ancient loyalty of the Spanish nation.
"The event," writes Geffroy, "justified this
generous policy." The effect it produced at
Versailles can be readily imagined. The anger
of the Court was directed against the Camarera-
Mayor, and rumours were soon afloat of a
second recall. But she continued her course
with courage and firmness.
A change of Ministry in Spain had become
* " Memoires de Noailles."
180 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
necessary on account of the altered condition of
affairs. Madame des Ursins turned to the
national party, and chose the Due de Medina-
Cceli as the leader of the new Ministry. The
Duke had been formerly a member of
Charles II.'s Cabinet and was one of the most
powerful noblemen in Spain. But he was
proud, suspicious, and easily offended, and had
of late kept aloof from public affairs. Still,
Madame des Ursins had always contrived to
be on good terms with him, and she felt con-
vinced that the special circumstances of the
time made it necessary that he should be
selected as a prominent upholder of Philip V.
The Duke was therefore given the post of
Minister for Foreign Affairs.
An assembly of the representatives of the
State was now called to take the oath of
allegiance to the infant heir to the throne.
The ceremony took place on April 7, 1709,
amid great rejoicings. This function, besides
strengthening feelings of loyalty to the Bourbon
dynasty, was an act of defiance to those who
imagined that its reign was coming to an end.
HARD TERMS OF PEACE 181
In the following June Louis XIV. issued an
order for the withdrawal of all his troops from
Spain. We find Madame des Ursins writing
at once to Chamillart to obtain some mitigation
of the decree, and at her instance some batta-
lions were left behind under the command of
Marshal Besons. Louis was the more willing
to make this concession as the Spanish Govern-
ment offered to pay his troops. He also saw
the danger of suddenly leaving the Spanish
frontier of France unprotected.
The old King was sorely pressed at this
time by troubles both within and without his
kingdom. The terms of peace demanded by
the Allies "were needlessly harsh," as our own
historians admit. Louis was required " not
only to withdraw all help from Philip V., but
actually to assist in driving him out of Spain."
Large concessions were also demanded in the
Netherlands — notably the surrender of five
cities belonging to the Spanish crown. Louis
urged Philip, through his Ambassador, to give
up these cities, and told him that " if he refused
to do so, he (Louis) feared he might be obliged
182 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
to agree to one of the conditions [of peace]
most repulsive to him, namely, to join his forces
with those of the enemy and take the cities by
storm." # But in spite of this declaration the
mind of Louis recoiled from such a course.
He made an appeal to his subjects to enable
him to continue the war and to reject the
humiliating terms of the Allies. The appeal
was not made in vain ; "the cry for peace was
hushed," and the negotiations with the enemy
were broken off in June 1709. But France
was not in a position to help Spain, and from
this time forward the two countries began to
act more independently of each other.
The French Ambassador Amelot sent in his
resignation to the Court of Versailles. Madame
des Ursins writes to the Marechale de Noailles :
" I am about to lose Monsieur Amelot. I am
sorry for this, not only on account of the loss it
occasions to the service of the King and Oueen,
but because our intercourse has always been
that of friends who have perfect confidence in
each other."
* " Memoires de Noailles."
A TRAITOR IN HIGH PLACES 183
A new danger now arose from a quarter little
suspected by the general public — namely, from
the Duke of Orleans, who had recently held the
high post of Generalissimo of the Spanish and
French Forces. The Duke had secretly formed
the design of getting possession of the throne
of Spain for himself. He was, like Philip V.,
distantly related to Charles II. of Spain; but
Philip had the prior claim to the succession as
belonging to the elder branch of the Bourbon
family. The Duke actually entered into secret
negotiations with the Allies, offering to make
various concessions to them if they would make
him King of Spain instead of their protege the
Archduke Charles. The negotiations were
carried on with General Stanhope, who in
former times had been on friendly terms with
the Duke. "Stanhope received," writes Lord
Mahon, " a confidential overture, and afterwards
several secret visits from Monsieur Flotte, one
of the Duke's aides-de-camp." This Flotte
and a man named Renaut were employed to
carry on the intrigue, as the Duke of Orleans
himself was not at that time in Spain.
1 84 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
General Stanhope reported the Duke's pro-
posals to the English Government, and suggested
that it would be well to make use of this plot
to detach the Duke of Orleans from the side
of their enemies. The negotiations therefore
continued. But the English were only making
a tool of the Duke, as the Spanish historian San
Ph^lipe has pointed out. " It was not to their
interest," he remarks, " to have a prince of the
House of Bourbon on the throne of Spain,
and whether that prince called himself Philip
or Louis was merely the question of a name."
The affair was carried on with the utmost
secrecy, but a vigilant eye was upon the Duke
of Orleans. The Princess des Ursins knew his
character and mistrusted him. " She read the
very secrets of his heart," writes San Phelipe,
" and was the first to suspect that, although
quitting Spain himself, the Duke had left
agents behind him to carry on his designs."
She discovered that Flotte paid visits during
the night to the camp of General Stanhope, and
she discovered also that Renaut was intriguing
amongst the disaffected in Madrid. " The
'/ "k
DUKE OF ORLEANS (AFTERWARDS REGENT OF FRANCE)
DISCOVERY AND ARRESTS 185
Princess des Ursins watched every secret
movement," observes Lord Mahon, "she caught
every unguarded word ; and above all, gave
herself full time to complete and mature her
proofs, well knowing that in political affairs it is
almost incredible how much time may be lost
by hurry and precipitation. At length, having
awaited the favourable opportunity and ob-
tained the authorisation of Philip, she gave
orders for arresting first Renaut at Madrid,
and afterwards Flotte at the Spanish camp in
Aragon. Their papers were seized and found
to contain several writings in an unknown
cipher, and parts of the correspondence between
the Duke of Orleans and Stanhope."
When the affair became public it aroused a
widespread feeling of indignation against the
Duke. Philip gave vent to his feelings in a
letter to Louis XIV., to which Louis replied by
endeavouring to excuse as far as possible the
conduct of his nephew. St. Simon observes :
" I have never been able fully to unravel the
threads of this intrigue, and still less have I
been able to discover how much of it was
186 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
previously known to the King." That Louis
found himself in a difficult position is certain.
Had the Duke been less nearly related to
himself, severe measures would probably have
been taken, but as it was, the affair was gra-
dually hushed up. Louis informed his grandson
that " he had been obliged, under the circum-
stances, to show a clemency which, he admitted,
was not quite consistent with justice."* He,
however, showed personal displeasure to his
nephew, who remained under a cloud for long
afterwards. So ended the Duke's schemes for
sovereignty in Spain.
* Frangois Combes.
CHAPTER XIII
TREACHERY IN THE CAMP
The Duke of Orleans' plot against Philip V.
failed, as we have seen, but its evil effects still
lingered. Marshal Besons, who acted as com-
mander-in-chief of the Spanish and French
troops in the north-eastern part of Spain, was a
friend and proteg6 of the Duke's, and he
secretly resented the arrest of his patron's
agents. His army was well appointed, and his
soldiers were eager to fight the Austrians, who
were quartered near to them on the open plains
beyond Lerida. But Besons refused to avail
himself of the most favourable opportunities to
do battle, and, though greatly superior to the
enemy in numbers, resolutely remained inactive.
At last Besons actually suffered the enemy to
cross the river Segres before his very eyes,
i88 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
capture Fort Belaguay, and take three of his
battalions prisoners,
The news of this affair aroused a burst of
indignation at Madrid. Madame des Ursins
gave vent to her feelings in the two following
letters, where, under terms of apparent respect
towards Louis XIV., her real opinion of his
equivocal conduct is very evident. " Marshal
Besons," she writes to Madame de Maintenon
(September i, 1709), "may have acted in
obedience to the King [of France] . . . but
we cannot attribute the responsibility to his
Majesty without failing in the respect which we
owe to him. It is impossible to believe that a
being possessing a character so lofty could be
capable of tarnishing his reputation by a deed
which must be detested by all honest men.
For these reasons, Madame, their Catholic
Majesties throw all the blame upon the General,
being unable to imagine that the King, his
master, could have ordered him to commit such
an act of cowardice. If the King chooses to
abandon his grandson, cost what it may to
France and to her people who are dishonouring
A LETTER OF BLOOD AND FIRE 189
themselves, there is nothing more to be said ;
but if at any rate the King does not himself
wish to promote his grandson's downfall, surely
as long as his troops are left in Spain, in the
pay of his Catholic Majesty, they should pre-
vent the enemy from passing over our rivers
when we are far stronger in every respect than
they are. . . . The King [of Spain] leaves
Madrid to-morrow, determined to die rather
than to allow himself to be covered with
infamy."
The second letter is addressed to the Mare-
chale de Noailles, and was despatched the
following day. " The King of Spain," writes
Madame des Ursins, " has started this morning-
in all haste for Aragon, in order to place himself
at the head of his army. He is full of indigna-
tion at the conduct of Marshal Besons, which
is equally injurious to the Spanish cause and
disgraceful to the French. It appears that the
Marshal was not even content with refusing to
fight the enemy when they offered him the best
opportunity in the world for so doing, and were
greatly inferior in numbers, but that he actually
igo THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
fled before them, . . . abandoning both the
troops and forts that belong to his Majesty.
The Spanish people are so much incensed at
the whole affair that it is impossible to say what
they may do. They declare aloud that their
King has been betrayed, and that there is a
plot on foot to snatch his crown from his head.
Appearances certainly justify their assertions,
and do little honour to our [French] nation."
Madame de Maintenon, in her reply to her
friend's letter, calls it a " letter of blood and
fire." She laments the cause that has provoked
it, but evidently fears to censure Besons'
conduct. Nor was it censured by Louis XIV.
The same reasons which had led the King to
condone the offence of the Duke of Orleans
led him to condone that of his protege. But
Besons had made himself too unpopular to
remain in Spain, and before long he was re-
placed by another commander.
The intercourse of Madame des Ursins and
Madame de Maintenon was somewhat em-
bittered at this period by their widely different
views. Madame de Maintenon persisted in
COURAGE AND CHEERFULNESS 191
believing that all efforts to retain the throne of
Spain for Philip V. were vain, and that the hand
of God was visibly turned against the Bourbons.
"It is resisting His will," she writes, "to offer
opposition to peace. I fully appreciate your
attachment to their Catholic Majesties, but do
you wish to ruin France and to see the English
in Paris ? . . . Peace alone can save us. The
famine grows worse every day. We have no
supplies and shall all starve in the winter if the
sea is not thrown open to us as a passage for
corn. How little could I have foretold," she
adds, " even when most beset with fears, that
we should be reduced so low as actually to wish
to see the King and Queen of Spain de-
throned ! "
Madame des Ursins, could answer even this
letter with her usual courage and cheerfulness.
Alluding to the gallant conduct of the French
in a recent defeat in Flanders, she writes : " The
Allies will be obliged to change their ill-opinion
of the French nation, and can no longer count
on invading their country with impunity. . . .
But I forget, dear Madame," she remarks play-
192 THE PRINCESS DES URS1NS
fully, " that these poor French have forfeited
your esteem, and that you fear they will be
unable to prevent the terrible enemy from
penetrating to Versailles ! If your courtiers
would but cease to lament and to predict mis-
fortunes, things might well take a turn for the
better and money begin to circulate once more.
I admit that the dearth of food is a grievous
evil, but you must remember that long before it
existed the courtiers made the same lamenta-
tions. They declared more than four years ago
that all would be lost unless the whole Spanish
kingdom and a great part of the King [of
France's] own territory were thrown into the
jaws of our enemies, and that if this were done
we might hope they would be kind enough to
forbear devouring the remainder of France!
. . . Your faith," she concludes, " is too narrow.
Mine has a far wider scope, for I am persuaded
that Heaven will continue to be gracious to
us . . . provided we endeavour to merit its
favours by neglecting nothing that depends on
our own exertions."
But Madame de Maintenon could not brave
PERSISTENT CHAMPIONSHIP 193
the trials of the terrible year 1709, and she
began to be weary of Madame des Ursins*
persistent championship of Philip V. and her
reiterated arguments against the acceptance of
the terms of peace offered by the Allies. In
one of her letters Madame des Ursins, after
treating this subject at some length, had pro-
ceeded to vindicate the principles of the financial
scheme recently forwarded by her to the Court
of Versailles and there rejected. Madame de
Maintenon replies with an affectation of humility
which she sometimes assumed, " Your letter is
so far above my powers of intellect that I am
sorry it should have been addressed to me. . . .
I cannot venture to show it [to those in
authority]. People here do not approve of
women giving their opinion upon public
affairs." This observation, coming as it did
from a woman whose invisible hand had held
the reins of power in France for nearly thirty
years, nettled Madame des Ursins, and she
ironically retorted : "If women's expressing
their opinion upon public affairs is disapproved
of in France, so much the better. If we are
N
194 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
to be allowed no share in State matters we
shall at least be able to hold men responsible
for all that goes wrong. It seems to me," she
adds, " that ways of thinking must have greatly
changed at Versailles since I was there, for the
King appeared to me to hold widely different
sentiments when I had the honour of convers-
ing with him."
We have seen how, through the Princess des
Ursins' influence, the Due de Medina- Cceli
had been given the most important post in the
Ministry. She was not blind to his character.
She knew that he had, like many of the
grandees, caballed against Philip's rule, and
even suspected him of approving the Duke
of Orleans' plot. His elevation was a bold
measure, but the critical state of affairs justified
boldness. In April 1710, not many months
afterwards, the Due de Medina-Cceli was
suddenly arrested and thrown into prison. He
was accused of high treason. The principal
evidence against him is given by the historian
San Phelipe. An expedition for the recovery of
the island of Sardinia had been planned by the
AN ARREST 195
Spanish Government in which San Phelipe was
to take part. In the meantime he was engaged
in assisting in the preparations which were
being made at Genoa. The Due de Medina-
Cceli entrusted the command of the expedition
to the Due d'Uzeda, a man already suspected
of favouring the Austrian cause. San Phelipe
declares that the Due d'Uzeda had several
secret interviews with the Austrian Envoy at
Genoa and also with the English Ambassador,
and that he betrayed to them the secret of the
projected expedition, and thus caused its total
failure. When Medina - Cceli was arrested, a
correspondence in cypher between him and
D'Uzeda was discovered among his private
papers. But the whole affair was involved in. a
good deal of mystery, which, we are told, has
never been quite cleared up. It is certain,
however, that the party of the Duke of Orleans
in Madrid looked upon Medina-Cceli as one of
their supporters, for they resented his fall as a
blow to their patron's cause. Their anger was
directed chiefly against Madame des Ursins,
and they succeeded in raising a new cabal
196 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
against her in the Court of Versailles, where her
opposition to peace made her unpopular. Her
recall was pressed for, and at one time seemed
to be imminent.
Madame des Ursins' conduct during this
crisis of her affairs was dignified as usual. She
considered her plans for the future in case of
her retirement from public life, and held herself
in readiness for whatever turn fortune might
take. " I am by no means dependent for
happiness," she writes to Marshal Villeroy,
"upon the titles and grandeur which fortune
bestows. I could pass without any difficulty, I
assure you, from the act of guiding a State to
that of guiding a plough." But before long
affairs took a new turn in her favour, and her
position at Madrid was once again rendered
secure.
Meanwhile Philip V. had joined the campaign
in Aragon, where for the first time during these
long wars he and his rival, the Archduke
Charles, met face to face. A battle was fought
at Saragossa on August 20, 17 10, in which
Philip's army sustained a severe defeat.
A SECRET MISSION 197
About four thousand men were left dead on the
battle-field, and as many more taken prisoners.
Philip himself escaped with difficulty. The
Archduke entered Saragossa in triumph, and
was acknowledged Kino; throughout Aragon.
Philip returned in all haste to Madrid to take
measures for defending his capital, as the enemy
was preparing to march southward.
When the news of the disaster reached Paris
it aroused a fresh outcry against the war and
a reiterated demand for peace at any price.
Louis XIV. considered that the cause of the
Bourbons in Spain was lost, and he determined
to make a fresh effort to persuade his grandson
to accept the terms of peace offered by the
Allies. The Due de Noailles, who was then
in Spain, was commissioned confidentially to
promote this end. There exists a letter from
Torcy (Minister for Foreign Affairs) to the
Duke, containing instructions to him to use
every means in his power, to induce Philip to
renounce the sovereignty of Spain and of the
Indies, and to accept in lieu of them the rem-
nant of the Italian dominions belonging to
i 9 8 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
the Spanish crown. " In order to attain your
object," writes Torcy, "you must endeavour
to win over the Princess des Ursins to your
side. There is no doubt that she is disin-
terestedly attached to the King and Queen
of Spain. Urge her to make use of her
influence over them to second your views.
After you have employed all the arguments
suggested by the necessity of the case ... do
not scruple to employ any further means of
persuasion that you may deem likely to succeed.
. . . Possibly the Princess may not be in-
sensible to her own personal interests. ... I
leave you free to offer her any recompense that
you think she would most value to bring her
to our purpose. If, however, the promise of
rewards and the promise also of the King's [of
France] assured protection cannot move her,
do not hesitate to frighten her by the declara-
tion that the King will look upon her henceforth
as the cause of his grandson's ruin. Tell her
(but this only in case of dire necessity) that
his Majesty is well aware of the absolute
control she possesses over the mind of the
A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY 199
Catholic King ; and that the firmness evinced
by him in his letters and conversations regarding
the throne of Spain is her handiwork. It is
on her shoulders, therefore, that his Majesty
will lay the blame, if his grandson is hurried on
to loss and failure while there still remains a
course open to him by which a part of his
possessions may yet be saved."
Madame des Ursins' response to such over-
tures was to inspire Philip V. with yet more
courage to defend his throne against the attacks
of both friends and foes. Philip wrote a
spirited letter to his grandfather (penned
possibly by herself), declaring that " no argu-
ments of the Due de Noailles could change his
determination to die rather than to abandon
Spain.
This decision was looked upon at Versailles
as final, and no further attempt was made to
induce Philip V. to reverse it, although the
results of the defeat of Saragossa seemed to
threaten the cause with total ruin.
CHAPTER XIV
A CAUSE WON
In the beginning of September 1710 the army
of the Allies had approached so near to Madrid
as to necessitate a second flight of the royal
family from their capital. Valladolid was
chosen this time as the city of refuge, and
thither the King and Queen and their infant
son repaired, accompanied by Madame des
Ursins, the Ministers of State, the Judges, and
the Court. Philip's misfortunes, far from
damping the ardour of his subjects, aroused a
fresh spirit of loyalty and attachment in all
classes. This was especially remarked in the
nobility. The grandees, who as a body had
stood aloof from him in 1706, now eagerly
gathered round him. " Nearly thirty thousand
persons are said to have crowded the road to
A DESERTED CITY 201
Valladolid. Even ladies of high rank were
seen to follow on foot rather than not follow at
all."* When the Archduke Charles made his
triumphal entry into Madrid, he found a silent
and abandoned town. Shops, manufactories,
and private houses were all closed, and hardly
an inhabitant to be seen. " This city is a
desert ! " exclaimed the Archduke, and, deeply
mortified at such a reception, he ordered the
procession to halt and to disperse. He now
tried every means in his power to gain new
adherents to his cause, sparing neither money
nor promises of high honours, but in vain.
" Nothing could shake the stubborn loyalty of
the people, and very few men of rank and
influence espoused his cause." The Marquis
de Mancera, a statesman of the venerable age
of one hundred years, had been obliged by his
infirmities to remain behind his master at
Madrid, but his spirit was undaunted. When
General Stanhope endeavoured to persuade
him to acknowledge the Archduke as King of
Spain, he replied, " Sir, I have but one God
* Lord Mahon.
202 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
and but one King ; and during my short rem-
nant of life I am determined to be faithful to
both." *
Ever since the withdrawal of the Duke of
Berwick, Spain had sorely needed a wise and
able commander-in-chief. The Spanish generals
who succeeded him had not sufficient experi-
ence in warfare to fit them for the highest post
of command. The Princess des Ursins, ever
alive to the needs of Spain, had written to the
Court of Versailles, even before the flight from
Madrid took place, to urge that the Due de
Vendome should be sent to Spain to take
command of the army. He had held that post
in 1702, and was popular with the Spanish
nation. She wrote a letter to the Duke him-
self on September 8, in which she remarks :
" I have so much confidence in your ability
that, if his Majesty [the King of France] will
consent to your coming, I make no doubt you
will completely change the state of affairs in,
this country. In the meantime, sir, we are
greatly in need of your wise counsels." A month
* Lord Mahon.
A NEW COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 203
later the grandees themselves drew up a petition
to Louis XIV., urging him to send the Due de
Vendome to take command of the Spanish
army. Louis at last gave his consent, and the
Duke was sent to Spain, being provided at the
same time with a large reinforcement of French
troops. He reached Castile by the end of
September, and after stopping at Valladolid to
concert measures with the Court, proceeded
with his battalions to join the Spanish army.
Venddme's first care was to prevent a
junction of the Imperialists with the Portu-
guese who were advancing from the frontiers
of Portugal. This he succeeded in doing,
and the result of his manoeuvre was to
render the Archduke's position at Madrid so
insecure that he had to abandon the city. The
Archduke and his followers had experienced
great difficulty in remaining there even for a
few weeks. " Straitened for want of supplies,
debarred from all communication with Aragon or
the sea," their conviction became daily stronger
that " Castile, a country of open plains and
resolute inhabitants, may soon be overrun
2o 4 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
but never subdued. They found it a morsel
easy to swallow, but hard to digest."* As
Charles retreated from Madrid on the morning
of November 9, he had the mortification of
witnessing the satisfaction of the inhabitants
at his departure and of hearing it announced
by the joyful ringing of the city bells.
On December 3 Philip re-entered his capital.
" He was received with something better
than pomp or pageant — the loud, repeated,
and affectionate acclamations of his people.
Eager to behold him, their throngs encumbered
his carriage and delayed his progress ; and the
city, which all day resounded with their loyal
greetings, at night blazed forth in a general
illumination. On his part, Philip gave every
token of his gratitude and attachment to his
brave Castilians." f He paid a visit to the old
Marquis di Mancera to thank him for his
loyalty, and it is recorded by St. Simon (that
chronicler of Court ceremonial) that this was
the only visit paid by a King of Spain to a
subject since the days of Philip II., when that
* Lord Mahon. t Ibid.
VICTORY AT LAST 205
monarch visited the Duke of Alva on his death-
bed. But Philip could not remain long at
Madrid. He hastened to join his army at
Guadalaxara.
On December 10 a Qreat battle was fought
at Villaviciosa, a town on the river Tajuna,
not many miles north of Guadalaxara, and
this time the cause of Philip V. was tri-
umphant. Madame des Ursins writes to a
friend from Vittoria, whither the Court had
removed temporarily : " The King of Spain has
just achieved a complete victory over Count
Staremberg, after a battle fought with the
utmost valour on both sides. We have taken
three thousand prisoners, killed and wounded a
vast number, and seized all the artillery and
baggage wagons of the enemy. On the same
day . . . eight battalions and eight squadrons
of English soldiers, under the command of
Generals Stanhope, Carpenter, and Wills, who
had entrenched themselves in Brihuaga, were
forced to lay down their arms. In short, no-
thing could be more glorious nor more full of
promise for the future than this victory."
206 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
" The zeal and enthusiasm displayed by the
grandees on this occasion," writes Francois
Combes, " can hardly be described. Their
desire to distinguish themselves and to atone
for past indifference, rebellion, or treason was
so great, that when some regiments of raw
recruits fled in panic before the enemy, their
officers (the flower of the Spanish nobility)
pressed forward to take their places in the
ranks, formed a compact line to protect the
centre, and fought like lions." When night fell
the battle was over and the victory achieved.
4i It is said that, the royal baggage not having
arrived, Philip was unprovided with a bed-
1 You shall have the most glorious bed,' cried
Vendome, ' that ever monarch slept on ; ' and
so saying he ordered the standards taken in the
battle to be brought together and spread upon
the ground for a couch."*
Before day dawned Staremberg and his
broken army were retreating with all possible
speed, and a few weeks later the Archduke
Charles, ''who so lately seemed triumphant
* Lord Mahon.
DUC DE VENDOME
A WOMAN'S WORK 207
Sovereign of Spain, found his possession in it
scarcely extend beyond the two sea fortresses
of Tarragona and Barcelona."*
How far did the Princess des Ursins' exer-
tions contribute to bring about this sudden
change of affairs, a change which at last estab-
lished Philip V. securely on the throne of
Spain ? "If her courage had wavered after
the defeat of Saragossa," writes Francois
Combes, " if she had not had confidence in the
ultimate success of the Spaniards into whose
hands she had confided the fate of the King,
. . . and if finally she had not set an example
of firmness to Louis XIV. himself, which that
monarch felt bound at last to imitate, there is no
doubt whatever that Philip V. would have lost
Spain, and with it the Indies." But Madame
des Ursins had steadily pursued her course
unshaken by defeats and unmoved by bribes
or threats from Versailles. " Thus it is," he
observes, " that events can be moulded before-
hand by persons of character and resolution."
* Lord Mahon.
CHAPTER XV
A WILY PRIEST
The long wars of the Spanish Succession were
now drawing to a close. The Allies had
become convinced by their complete defeat at
Villaviciosa that further efforts in favour of the
Archduke would be vain, seeing that Spain had
declared unreservedly for Philip V. And soon
afterwards an event occurred to cause them no
longer even to wish to see the Archduke on the
throne of Spain. His elder brother, the
Emperor Joseph, died, leaving no son to suc-
ceed him, and the Austrian crown, with all its
dependencies, therefore, devolved upon the
Archduke Charles. The English and Dutch
now considered that it " was just as important
to guard against the union of the Spanish
dominions with those of Austria as with those
A THRONE SECURED 209
of France." In the meanwhile a change of
Ministry in England had dismissed the Whigs,
the promoters of the war, from power, and had
brought in the Tories, who eagerly desired
peace. Negotiations were commenced early
in 17 1 2.
There was no longer any question, among
the contending parties, of Philip V. abandoning
the throne of Spain. His position had become
unassailable. The King was well aware to
whom he mainly owed his success, and he
showed some appreciation of Madame des
Ursins' services by conferring upon her a rank
equal to that of the princesses of the blood
royal. At this juncture of affairs Madame des
Ursins committed a fault, in policy at least, for
which she has been much blamed. She desired
Philip to endow her with a small principality in
the Netherlands, which she wished afterwards to
exchange for part of the province of Touraine,
in France. The province, at her death, was
to revert to its lawful Sovereign. The request
does not seem to be unreasonable. Madame
des Ursins had experienced strange vicissitudes
210 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
of fortune, and she knew that royal favour
could not be relied upon. She desired, there-
fore, to secure for herself a retreat where she
might enjoy peace and independence for the
remainder of her advanced life. But her
project was regarded with a jealous eye at
Versailles. At that Court her desire for sove-
reignty, though on so small a scale and for so
limited a period, was looked upon as an act of
gross presumption. Not only was it disap-
proved of by her active enemies of the Orleanist
faction, but even by some of her friends, and
much opposition had to be encountered. The
very difficulties in its way seemed to sharpen
Madame des Ursins' desire to obtain her
object, and she continued its pursuit when it
would have been wiser to have abandonded it.
So confident was she of ultimate success, that
she purchased the manor of Chanteloup in the
neighbourhood of Tours, and made arrange-
ments for the erection of a mansion which she
hoped soon to occupy.
The claims of the Princess des Ursins were
discussed at the Peace Congress at Utrecht,
THE TRUE REWARD 211
and they caused some delay in its proceedings.
At last on April n, 17 13, a treaty of peace was
finally concluded, but the article concerning
Madame des Ursins' principality was left out.
She failed to obtain her desired retreat, but her
long and gallant championship of Philip V. had
not been carried on for personal ends. Amelot,
writing to Louis XIV. in the troubled year of
1709, remarks : '* The Princess des Ursins is so
disinterested that she does not receive either
her salaries or pensions, simply because she
does not ask for them. She even does good
to those whom she knows to be her enemies."
The true reward of Madame des Ursins' work
in Spain was obtained when she saw Philip V.
firmly established on his throne, and the Bour-
bon dynasty acknowledged by the whole of
Europe. It is true that there was some
division of the vast possessions of the Spanish
crown, but, in retaining Spain and the Indies,
Philip kept by far the most important portion.
After the conclusion of peace the Princess
des Ursins inaugurated several changes in the
Constitution and Government of Spain. Some
212 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
of these tended too much to exalt the power of
the Sovereign and to depress that of the nobles ;
some, however, were wise and just reforms.
One of the latter affected the finances. A
"formless and confused system" of ancient
standing was replaced by the most enlightened
system of that day.
Another wise reform had reference to the
Inquisition. We have seen how, in the early
part of her career as Camarera- Mayor, Madame
des Ursins withstood that power. She now
renewed the contest. Not because the Inqui-
sition was opposed to Philip's rule, for, on
the contrary, it claimed to be his staunch
supporter and used its grim weapons in his
defence, but Madame des Ursins abhorred
those weapons and desired no help from such
an ally. She endeavoured to arouse public
opinion against the proceedings of the Inquisi-
tion, but unfortunately the nation still regarded
it as an integral part of their religion and there-
fore stood aloof. Her brave contest, however,
did not fail to produce good results.
"Through her active intervention," writes
REFUGE FOR THE PERSECUTED 213
Geffroy, "a request of the English Govern-
ment was granted that the residence of their
Ambassador at Madrid should form a legal
refuge for all persons pursued by the emissaries
of the Inquisition. Thus," he continues, "a
Protestant nation set up in the very capital of
the Catholic King a permanent place of shelter
from the cruel acts of the Holy Office. It was
a remarkable innovation, and was the first blow
struck by the spirit of modern thought against
the old institutions of Spain, which were the
outcome of the superstitious and often barba-
rous religion of the Middle Ages." A further
concession was made by which British ships
lying in Spanish ports should also become
refuges for the victims of religious persecu-
tion.
The rulers of the Inquisition, who well
knew that "terror formed the basis of its
power and universal submission its prestige,"
saw that a breach had been made in its strong-
hold, that might never be repaired. Anger
and fear alike produced a secret determination
among them to compass the downfall of their
214 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
enemy, "the audacious Frenchwoman who
was the cause of all their trouble." #
In the commencement of the year 17 14
sorrow fell upon the Court of Madrid through
the death of the young queen after a lingering
illness. Her loss was deeply mourned by the
nation, for her undaunted courage under severe
trials and her affectionate and unselfish nature
had greatly endeared her to the Spaniards.
St. Simon, who visited Spain seven years later,
writes : " All classes, whether nobles, military
men, or common people, still regard their loss
as irreparable, and dwell upon it, even now,
with tears." Philip, who had always been
much attached to his wife, was almost crushed
by her death. He could not face the thought
of reigning without her by his side and talked of
abdicating in favour of the Prince of Asturias,
a child only six years old. Madame des Ursins
alone could induce him to listen to counsels of
reason. She reminded him of the courage and
resignation recently shown by the King of
France when death had suddenly cut off the
* Frangois Combes.
SORROW IN THE PALACE 215
flower of his family in the persons of the Duke
and Duchess of Burgundy and their eldest son
the Duke of Brittany- All the hopes of Louis
XIV. for a direct successor to his throne now
centred upon a sickly child of three years of age.
Yet the old King bore up bravely and continued
to rule the affairs of his State. Philip's courage
was aroused, and he abandoned the idea of
abdication.
The Queen had left three young children.
At Philip's earnest request, the Princess des
Ursins assumed the office of their "gouver-
nante." From this period her position at Court
was beset with difficulties. Philip, melancholy
and indolent, leant more and more upon her for
counsel and help, thus exposing her to constant
jealousy and ill-will. The situation of affairs at
the palace was eagerly discussed in the salons
of both Madrid and Paris, and St. Simon, who
never fails to record the gossip of the day,
relates the following anecdote. Philip, he tells
us, had retired one evening with his confessor,
Pere Robinet, into the recess of a window in
order to converse privately. Robinet, wishing
216 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
to excite the King's curiosity, assumed an air of
constraint and mystery which naturally pro-
voked a question as to its cause. He then
replied that since his Majesty commanded him
to speak openly he felt bound to tell him that
no one, either in France or Spain, doubted that
he intended to marry the Princess des Ursins.
"/ marry her!" exclaimed the King, "no,
indeed ! " The story recalls the former words
of the Princess herself, when accused by the
Abbe d'Estree of being married to d'Aubigny.
" Pour mariee, non ! "
Philip was annoyed by this idle gossip,
though affecting to despise it. To cut it short
he requested Madame des Ursins to select a
new Queen for him. It was an important
commission, and its result would materially
affect her own future, as well as that of the
King. Her loss in the late Queen was irrepar-
able. It was the loss of a warm friend and a
staunch supporter. Where could she find such
another woman ?
There happened to be in Madrid at this time
an Italian priest, a native of the Duchy of
ITALIAN DAINTIES 217
Parma, whose name, hitherto unknown, soon
became famous, the Abbe Alberoni. He was
ambitious and insinuating. He had managed
to attract the grandees to his entertainments, in
spite of their dislike of foreigners, by means of
his "seductions ctilinaires." His feasts were
celebrated for their dainty Italian dishes and
Italian wines. In Alberoni's letters to his friend
Rocca, Prime Minister to the Duke of Parma,
we find reiterated requests for the despatch of
Parmesan cheese, sausages, confectionery, fruits
and wines, amidst grave discourses on political
events. When the Abbe discovered that a
second marriage for Philip V. was under con-
sideration he formed a scheme for advancing
the interests of the Duchy of Parma and at the
same time for securing his own fortune. Its
object was the marriage of the King with
Elizabeth Farnese, a niece of the Duke of
Parma. Alberoni began at once to gather up
and to weave the various threads of his plot.
He had always paid especial court to Cardinal
Giudici, the Grand Inquisitor. He now went
to visit him at Bayonne, where the Cardinal
218 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
was in a condition of semi-banishment. The
Abb6 told him that he had a project in hand
which would ward off all the dangers that
threatened the Inquisition and would restore
him, Giudici, to his former position of eminence.
Having unfolded his plan, the Abbe remarked
that the lady in question was of a high spirited
and determined character, little likely to be in-
fluenced by the Princess des Ursins, and she it
was who might be looked to as the instrument
for reinstating the Inquisition in its former
position of absolute power. Cardinal Giudici
eagerly caught at the suggestion and promised
to speak in favour of the match to Louis XIV.
Alberoni next paid his court to Madame des
Ursins. His manners were open and sincere,
and, accustomed though she was by long habit
to detect falsehood and double dealing, she felt
in this case perfectly secure. "On peut etre
plus fin qu'un autre, mais pas plus fin que tous
les autres," as the great French moralist has
remarked. The priest and the lady entered
one day into conversation on the subject of the
choice of a new Queen. The wily Italian, well
CUNNING OVERTURES 219
knowing the qualities that Madame des Ursins
would look for, observed, " You must find a
lady who is quiet and docile, and not likely to
interfere in State affairs." "Where shall we
discover such a person ? " asked his companion.
Alberoni ran through the royal families of
Europe, and then, as if by accident, carelessly
mentioned Elizabeth Farnese, daughter of the
late Duke of Parma, adding, with the same
tone of simplicity and indifference, " She is a
good girl, plump, healthy, and well bred,
brought up in the petty Court of her uncle
Duke Francis, and accustomed to hear of
nothing but needlework and embroidery. You
would find no difficulty," he added, " in making
her manners assume the proper Spanish gravity
and, by keeping her retired from society, as
you could naturally do in the capacity of her
Camarera-Mayor, you would soon acquire the
same influence over her as over her pre-
decessor." # Alberoni did not fail to add a
hint of the political advantages of the match.
The Princess Elizabeth had reversionary claims
* San Ph61ipe, also Coxe.
220 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
to the Duchies of Parma and of Tuscany, which
might afford a means, hereafter, of regaining
the Spanish power in Italy. Whilst the Abbe
was using these arguments to the Princess des
Ursins we find him remarking in a letter to his
friend Rocca, " Mais diable ! Louanges et
graces a Dieu ! It is we (natives of Parma)
who are the gainers in this affair."
Madame des Ursins advised Phillip to de-
mand the hand of the Princess Elizabeth, and
Alberoni was himself sent to the Duke of
Parma to negotiate the marriage. His mission
was successful. The Duke readily gave his
consent to so splendid a match for his niece,
and Alberoni, in return for his services, was
endowed with a title of nobility and sent back
to Madrid in the capacity of Ambassador of the
Court of Parma.
CHAPTER XVI
A KING'S GRATITUDE
Madame des Ursins, in the midst of her
fancied security, had a sudden suspicion that all
might not be right. It is true she had been
duly appointed by Philip Camarera-Mayor to
the Queen-elect of Spain, but she had written
twice to that lady and had received no answer.
Was is possible that Alberoni had deceived her
respecting the character of Elizabeth Farnese ?
She had an interview with the Abb6 at once
and questioned him closely, taking care, at the
same time, to betray no sign of uneasiness.
Alberoni replied to her questions with his usual
air of openness and bonhomie. There seemed
to be no cause for alarm. Still Madame des
Ursins did not feel satisfied. She made
inquiries in other quarters, and her suspicions
222 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
were so far confirmed as to determine her
to postpone the marriage. The ceremony-
was to take place on August 16 at Parma by
proxy. Madame des Ursins, who represented
the Court of Madrid in the various arrange-
ments, despatched a trusty messenger on
August 8 with a commission to stop the pro-
ceedings. But her opponents were as vigilant
as herself. Arrived at the Court of Parma, her
messenger was either thrown into prison or
bribed to keep silence. The marriage took
place and the new wife of Philip V. commenced
her journey to Spain.
In spite of the failure of her efforts to delay
the marriage, Madame des Ursins had cause to
feel somewhat reassured as the new Oueen
ratified her appointment as Camarera-Mayor.
But her anxiety, though lessened, was by no
means removed. The future was wrapped in
ominous clouds. Still " ever mistress of her-
self" through every phase of fortune, she gave
her mind, to the last, to the interests of Spain.
"She assisted the Duke d'Escalone in founding
an Academy of the Spanish language formed in
THE POISON WORKS 223
imitation of the Acad^mie Franchise." # This
noble institution was established while Elizabeth
Farnese was making her journey towards Spain,
and when the train that was laid in the path of
the Camarera- Mayor was about to explode."
Alberoni had, for long past, been preparing
the catastrophe, as is now proved by his
published letters.f He had instilled jealousy
of Madame des Ursins' influence into the mind
of the new Oueen, and had done all in his
power to make her think ill of her Camarera-
Mayor, whom he describes as " the most knavish
woman in the world." The poison worked, and
one day Philip V. received a private letter from
his bride-elect to the following effect : " I only
make one demand, and that is the dismissal of
Madame des Ursins. Give me full powers in
this matter. My happiness in my Court will
depend upon the issue." And what did the
King reply ? He feared to offend the Queen,
and he feared yet more to provoke the resent-
ment of the Inquisition if he espoused the cause
* Francois Combes.
t " Lettres Intimes de J. M. Alberoni," publiees par Emile
Bourgeois.
224 T HE PRINCESS DES URSINS
of Madame des Ursins. He, therefore, gave
Elizabeth carte blanche to act as she chose,
and basely delivered his staunch friend to her
mercy.
The new Queen halted on her journey
through the south of France at St. Jean-Pied-
de-Port, where she was the guest of her aunt
the Queen- Dowager of Spain, who was a close
ally of the Grand Inquisitor and of Alberoni.
Here the plot for the fall of the Princess des
Ursins was conceived, but it was matured at
Pampeluna, where the Queen was met by
Alberoni himself. There every detail was
settled, and every precaution taken for the
success of the scheme. The meeting between
the Queen and the Princess des Ursins was to
take place at Guadraque, a small village in
advance of Guadalaxara, where the King and
Court were to await her arrival. Alberoni
arranged that whilst the interview was taking
place he would stand outside the door of the
Queen's apartment talking with apparent care-
lessness to two officers of the guard, whom he
could trust to support his action. Meanwhile the
THE PLOT COMPLETED 225
attendants of the Princess were to be secured to
prevent their rendering her assistance, and the
high road to Guadalaxara was to be guarded
so that she could not despatch a messenger to
the King or to her friends at Court. Finally
the master of the village inn was to be for-
bidden to provide her with post horses.
Alberoni drafted two letters in the Queen's
name, which she copied out in her own hand-
writing and put aside to be used at the right
moment. One was an order to the captain of
the guard to carry out the military measures
necessary for the success of their conspiracy,
the other was a letter of explanation to the
King to be despatched after the blow had been
struck.*
The King and Court left Madrid on
December 19 (17 14). "Three hours before
her departure the Princess des Ursins' salons
were thronged with nobles and State dignitaries
of all ranks, who formed a Court equal in
numbers and distinction to that of the King
himself. . . . The new Queen had allowed her
* See Armstrong's " Elizabeth Farnese."
p
226 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
to retain her position of Camarera-Mayor.
That fact was sufficient for the courtiers, who
doubted not that in personal intercourse with
her Majesty, Madame des Ursins' genius
would again ensure her dominance. Their
expectations were confirmed by her exultant
bearing, both on receiving their compliments
and good wishes, and on returning from her
audience with the King, an audience which was
to be her last." *
" On the 22nd December," writes St. Simon,
" the King of Spain reached Guadalaxara.
The following morning, the 23rd, the Princess
des Ursins, accompanied by a very few attend-
ants, proceeded seven leagues farther on the
road, to a small village called Guadraque, where
the bridal train was to halt that night. On
reaching Guadraque she found that the Queen
had already arrived. She alighted at a lodging
prepared for her close to that of the royal
traveller. Madame des Ursins was in full
Court costume, richly jewelled. Having paused
a few minutes to adjust her attire, she was
* Geffroy.
THE BLOW STRUCK 227
ushered into the Queen's presence. The cold-
ness of her reception surprised her extremely,
but she attributed it to natural embarrassment,
and endeavoured to thaw the lady's icy reserve.
Meanwhile the company who were present
gradually dispersed, and the two were left
alone.
" Conversation now began, but the Queen
abruptly put a stop to it by angrily reproaching
the Princess for venturing to come into her
presence in festival costume, and with manners
that were disrespectful. Madame des Ursins,
whose dress was in strict accordance with
Spanish etiquette, and whose courteous de-
meanour might well have restored the Queen
to a right mind, was astounded. She attempted
to reply to these charges, but the Queen broke
out into vehement abuse, and then called loudly
for the officers of her escort to come to her
assistance. Again Madame des Ursins at-
tempted to speak, but the Queen's fury was
redoubled. ' Turn out this mad woman,' she
cried, and seeing them hesitate, she herself
pushed her guest out by the shoulders."
228 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
The Queen then gave orders for the im-
mediate arrest of the Princess des Ursins, and
commanded that she should forthwith be placed
in a travelling coach and six, and sent off with
all speed under a guard of soldiers to the
Spanish frontier. " When Amenzaga, the
officer in command, ventured to inform her that
the King of Spain alone possessed the right to
give such an order, she asked him haughtily if
he had not received instructions from the
King to yield her implicit and unquestioning
obedience ? He could not deny that he had
received such instructions, but to what they
tended he had had no conception.
" The Princess des Ursins was therefore
arrested. She was allowed no time to change
her dress nor to take any precautions against
the cold. She had neither money nor food for
the journey. One of her female attendants only
was permitted to accompany her. She was
hurried into her State carriage* wearing her
magnificent attire just as she had quitted
the presence of the Queen. Two officers
were on horseback ready to accompany her r
BANISHED 229
together with a guard of fifty dragoons. It
was nearly seven o'clock in the evening. The
ground was covered with snow. The cold was
intense, so intense that the coachman's hand
was frostbitten. Black darkness prevailed, save
for the faint light afforded by the glimmering
snow. Under such conditions the Princess des
Ursins was borne onwards, whilst the lone
winter night gradually wore away. When morn-
ing dawned it was necessary to halt in order
to bait the horses. But for human beings there
was no decent food to be obtained."
At each halting-place Madame des Ursins
expected to find a messenger from the King of
Spain bearing a letter of apology and explana-
tion, and expressing a desire for her return to
Madrid. But no such messenger appeared, and
" in proportion as she journeyed further and
further away as time ran on and no information
reached her, she gradually realised that all hope
of succour was vain. . . . The Princess, who
had now attained the age of seventy years, had
no rest, no proper food, nor even a change of
clothes for twenty-three days, at the end of
230 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
which time she reached the border town of St,
Jean-de-Luz." Here what vivid recollections
must have assailed her of her triumphal entry
into Spain at the same place ten years before !
The contrast between her condition then and
now must indeed have added poignancy to her
mental sufferings. " But Madame des Ursins
was true to herself. Neither tears, regrets,
reproaches, nor the slightest irritability escaped
her. The two officers who guarded her were
struck with admiration at such self-control."
At St. Jean-de-Luz her physical sufferings
ceased, and she regained her liberty, for here
her military escort left her. Here also she
found friends. Her two nephews Messrs. Lanti
and Chalais, who were in Madrid at the time of
her disgrace, had requested permission of
Philip V. to join their aunt at St. Jean-de-Luz.
Their request was granted, and the King made
use of the occasion to send her a final commu-
nication by their hands. The long-expected
letter was therefore at last delivered to Madame
des Ursins. But what did it contain ? A few
polite expressions of concern at what had
A CHAMPION'S RECOMPENSE 231
occurred, and of regret at " his inability to
oppose his authority to the wishes of his
Queen."
It was well for Madame des Ursins that her
brilliant successes had never blinded her eyes
to the nature of Court favour. When she first
entered Spain with the royal couple in the
autumn of 1701, she wrote to Madame de
Maintenon : " I hardly know which of their
Majesties seems to honour and love me most.
I should feel greatly flattered if I could but
forget the fact that Kings are made to be
loved, but that they in their hearts love no
one."
CHAPTER XVII
PEACE AFTER STORM
The Princess des Ursins wrote to Louis XIV.,
to Torcy, to Villeroy, and to Madame de Main-
tenon, informing them of the extraordinary
treatment she had received. She writes to the
latter: " I await the King's [of France] orders
at St. Jean-de-Luz where I am staying in a
small house by the sea shore. I see the ocean
often stormy — sometimes calm. Such is the
life of Courts, such has been my own life. . . .
I do indeed hold with you that we must look
for stability in God alone. Certainly it is not
to be found in the hearts of men, for who could
have felt more secure than I did of the friend-
ship of the King of Spain ? "
Once more she requested permission to
make her appearance before the King to vindi-
AN ENEMY IN POWER 233
cate her conduct. The permission was granted.
Madame de Maintenon wrote in reply : " Be
assured that I shall not fail you. My affection
for you has not been won by the public person-
age whom I admire, but by the woman whom
I esteem."
Madame des Ursins reached Versailles in the
month of March (17 15). She still hoped to
retrieve her fortunes. But Versailles was no
longer the Versailles of ten years ago. The
old King's reign was drawing to a close, and
the whole Court was at the feet of the Duke of
Orleans, the Regent that was to be. What
favour could be expected for the person who
had discovered and exposed his treasonable
conduct in Spain ? Even St. Simon, who had
formerly boasted of his intimacy with the
" dictatress of the Court," now humbly applied
to the Duke for permission to visit her. He
was in a ludicrous dilemma, desiring to satisfy
his curiosity as a chronicler, but by no means to
injure his position as a friend of the man who
would soon be all-powerful. " We came to a
compromise," he naively remarks. " The
234 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
Duke and Duchess of Orleans gave me leave
to visit the Princess des Ursins twice — once at
Versailles, and once here (in Paris) before she left.
But I promised not to see her a third time, and
I engaged that Madame de St. Simon should
not visit her at all. This last condition was
hard to swallow, but there was no help for it."
St. Simon gives us a detailed account of his
conversations with the Princess, whom he found
brave and cheerful as ever, and ready to re-
count the particulars of her downfall as if they
related to another person. Their first interview
lasted eight hours. " One can easily imagine,"
he writes, " what a number of subjects passed
under review in such a long tete-a-tete. She
predicted many things which have since come
to pass. Those eight hours, enriched by her
curious and varied discourse, flew by like eight
seconds."
The Duke of Orleans' whims and caprices
were now regarded as laws. Louis XIV. him-
self felt bound to make concessions respecting
his intercourse with the Princess des Ursins,
and, in accordance with the Duke's desire,
SEEKING SAFETY 235
requested her not to appear at any social gather-
ing that was attended by a member of the
Orleans family. This prohibition greatly re-
stricted her visits to the palace. But in her
brother Mons. de Noirmoutier's house, in Paris,
she had the comfort of intercourse with some of
her oldest friends, such as the Marechale de
Noailles and Marshal Villeroy. She was glad
to be again at times with Madame de Mainte-
non, but that lady was now in constant attend-
ance upon the old King, whose strength was
rapidly failing.
The alarming condition of the King's health
determined Madame des Ursins to quit France
without loss of time, for she knew that she
could not count even upon personal liberty in a
country governed by the Duke of Orleans.
She left Paris on August 14, accompanied by
her two nephews, and made all speed to reach
the frontiers of Savoy. Just before she arrived
at Chambery she received intelligence of the
death of the King. " We must bow beneath
the hand that strikes us," wrote Madame de
Maintenon from Saint Cyr, where she had
236 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
promptly retired ; " I wish your condition were
as blessed as mine. I have seen the King die
like a saint and a hero. I have left the world
which I never loved, and I am established in a
calm and peaceful retreat." Madame des
Ursins responds by expressing her own admira-
tion for the King's " noble death," and then
adds, "For myself, I know not where I shall be
allowed to die."
The political career of the Princess des
Ursins was ended. In one of her letters,
written after her fall, she declares that the main
objects of her policy had been to place Philip V.
firmly on his throne, and to promote a friendly
union between the great nations of France and
Spain for their mutual benefit. " We fully
believe this," writes Francois Combes. " The
statement is confirmed by all her public acts.
But to these lofty aims she added another — a
desire to institute reforms in Spain for which
the country was not yet ready." "In our
opinion," observes the Marquis de San Phelipe,
11 the storm which tore down Madame des
Ursins had its origin at St. Jean-Pied-de-Port."
A TITLE TO FAME 237
Now the same historian declares that the Grand
Inquisitor was the hidden life and soul of the
famous interview which there took place.
Setting aside, therefore, some minor circum-
stances which hastened the catastrophe, " Ma-
dame des Ursins fell a victim to her contest
with the Inquisition — a contest which, though
an error in policy, was a noble error, and one
which, in the eyes of many, will confer upon
her a lasting title to fame."
As soon as the Princess des Ursins was out
of the way Philip gave his consent to the
Inquisition being reinstated in all its former
power, and made Cardinal del Giudici, the
Grand Inquisitor, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The wily Alberoni also managed to secure for
himself a post of importance. There was a
general retrograde movement in Spain, brought
about largely by the new Queen and her sup-
porters. Many wise reforms were abolished,
and the old laws and customs of the Austro-
Spanish rule re-established. Frederick the
Great said of Elizabeth Farnese that " Spartan
pride, English obstinacy, Italian finesse, and
238 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
French vivacity made up the character of this
singular woman. She proceeded with an auda-
cious directness to the accomplishment of her
designs. Nothing could change her course,
nothing could stop her." Carlyle has called
her " the Termagant of Spain." It is curious
to turn to Alberoni's letters, written after his
triumph, and to see the thraldom under which
he lived. The Oueenwas an ardent huntress,
and she pursued the sport at all seasons and in
all weathers. The Abbe was expected to ac-
company her, and he had to spend many hours
in the depth of winter in the snowy mountains
of the Guadarrama, standing by the side of his
mistress, loading her guns and handing them to
her. No wonder that he exclaims to his confi-
dant, in the bitterness of his spirit, " I had
rather be a galley slave to the Grand Turk ! I
only wish that those who envy me could be in
my place for a single day ! "
Madame des Ursins took up her residence at
Genoa. She writes from St. Pierre-d'Arene to
her nephew, just a year after her fall : " I am
enjoying a privacy and solitude such as I have
THE PHILOSOPHIC MIND 239
not known for many years, and which certainly
has its advantages. I now begin to feel that
there is no blessing in this world equal to
repose. . . . The wise will neither be uplifted
nor cast down by the changes of fortune.
Time is the great master of all things, and
whatever troubles may arise we should never
esteem ourselves unhappy if we are guiltless of
having produced them ourselves."
Two years later Philip V., who perhaps felt at
last some compunction for his treatment of her,
sent the Princess des Ursins a friendly message
by his Ambassador at Genoa, the historian San
Phelipe. She writes to her friend Orry, who
had shared her disgrace (Genoa, April 25,
1 7 18) : "The King of Spain has done me the
honour to assure me by the mouth of the
Marquis de San Phelipe, whom he sent to me
for this purpose, that he will continue to bestow
upon me his esteem, his friendship, and his pro-
tection ; and that in whatever countries I may
choose to sojourn, his Ambassadors will be
ordered to act in accordance with these senti-
ments."
2 4 o THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
At the same time Philip accorded her a
pension. Madame des Ursins was gratified by
these tokens of returning favour, and the assur-
ances respecting the conduct of Philip's Ambas-
sadors enabled her to carry out a cherished
wish of spending the remainder of her life in
Rome.
In the meanwhile strange changes had taken
place in Spain, where Alberoni had caused a
war to break out with France. When the
Quadruple Alliance put an end to this war
Alberoni's ascendancy also came to an end, and
he quitted Madrid, but not before he had
succeeded in ousting the Grand Inquisitor,
Cardinal Giudici, from power.
When, in the year 17 19, the Princess des
Ursins took up her residence in Rome, whom
should she find there but her old enemies
Alberoni and Giudici ! The three exiles met
in that city, the resort " des grandeurs dichues
et des disgraces de'centes."
" The Princess was received in Rome," writes
St. Simon, " with every mark of respect by the
Pope and his Court, by the Sacred College, and
A PEACEFUL END 241
by all the leading personages, and she was
welcomed by the Court of the exiled Stuarts,
having been formerly on terms of friendship
with the ex-Queen Mary of Modena.
On December 5, 1722, the Princess des
Ursins died. She had reached the advanced
age of eighty, but " was still fresh complexioned,
upright, graceful and attractive, and her mind
was as clear and vigorous as ever." * " One of
the most original and distinctive features of
Madame des Ursins' character," remarks Ste.
Beuve, "was her tranquillity of mind in the
midst of so active and stormy a career, and it
was this tranquillity which enabled her, after her
terrible fall, to live peacefully in retirement and
to die of old age at eighty." Her letters un-
fold her character. They are the true reflec-
tion of her mind in its varying moods. " Her
style," writes Geffroy, "is delightfully playful
when she is dealing with social or domestic life,
polished and graceful when she is soliciting or
bestowing favours, incisive, ardent, impassioned
when she is in the crisis of a contest, firm and
* St. Simon.
Q
242 THE PRINCESS DES URSINS
imperious when she commands, solemn in
triumph, and calm, dignified, and reticent in
defeat."
St. Simon, who was often unjust in his
estimate of Madame des Ursins' motives and
conduct, was, nevertheless, strongly impressed
by her character. " She was," he remarks,
"an extraordinary personage throughout the
whole course of her long life, one who figured
in a grand and exceptional manner, one whose
courage, perseverance, and powers of resource
were most rare. Her rule in Spain was so
absolute and so widely recognised, and her cha-
racter of so unique a combination of qualities,
that her life deserves to be written, and to take
its place as one of the most curious chapters in
the history of her times."
So writes a contemporary historian, and more
than a hundred years later the verdict of
posterity is thus recorded by Geffroy : " A
reaction followed the fall of the Princess des
Ursins, but the fruit of her labours has not
perished. In contributing largely to prevent
the wreck, at one time so imminent, of the
THE VERDICT OF POSTERITY 243
Bourbon dynasty in Spain, she laid the
foundation of all modern reforms in that
country. The history of her life is the first
page of the history of Spain in the eighteenth
century."
INDEX
Abrantes, Due d', 2-3
Aix, Archbishop of, interviews with Louis XIV. respecting Princess des
Ursins, 62-3
Alberoni, Abbe (afterwards Cardinal), his banquets, 216-17 '> forms scheme
for marriage of Philip V. with Elizabeth Farnese and wins approval
of Cardinal Giudici and of Princess des Ursins, 217-20 ; is sent to ne-
gotiate marriage, 220 ; made Ambassador to Court of Parma, 220 ;
instils jealousy of Princess des Ursins' influence into mind of new
Queen, 223 ; meets Queen at Pampeluna, 224 ; arranges plot for down-
fall of Princess des Ursins, 224-5 5 secures post of importance, 237 ;
thraldom under Elizabeth Farnese, 238 ; ascendancy in Spain ends;
ousts Cardinal Giudici and retires to Rome, 240
Alcantara, loss of, 100-1
Allies proclaim Archduke as Charles III. King of Spain, 60 ; victories of,
in Netherlands, 102 ; causes of division in camp, 120-1 ; defeated
at battle of Almanza, 141-2 ; their terms of peace harsh, 18 1-2 ;
negotiations with Duke of Orleans, 183 ; victory of Saragossa, 196-7 ;
re-enter Madrid, 200-1 ; defeated at Villaviciosa, 208 ; change of
views, 208-9
Almanza, battle of, 141-2; results of, 146
Alva, Duke of, 66, 90-1
Alva, Duchess of, 66
Amelot, Marquis de Gournay, at Canillas, 82 ; appointed French Ambassa-
dor, 86, 87, 88, 97 ; advises Queen's retreat to Burgos, 105 ; letter to
Louis XIV., 149; 171, 174; resigns his post, 182; testimony in favour
of Princess des Ursins, 211
Amenzaga, 228
Anjou, Duke of. See Philip V.
Aragon, Province of, hails Archduke as King of Spain, 93 ; Philip V.
retreats through, 100 ; subjection of, 146 ; deprived of privileges,
147, 184-5
Arcos, Due d\ 177
246 INDEX
Asturias, Prince of, preparations for birth of, 137-8, 150-3 ; description
of, 154-5 ; oath of allegiance to, 180 ; flight from Madrid, 200, 214
Atocha, Church of the Virgin of, State ceremonies at, 123-4, 135-7
Aubigny, Le Sieur d', 44-6, 157
Auto-da-fe, description of, by eye-witness, 21-4
Barcelona, inhabitants of, welcome Archduke as King of Spain, 93 ;
siege of, 98-9
Benevente, Count de, 15
Berlanga, Queen halts at, 105, 108
Berwick, Duke of, 51 ; Generalissimo in Spain, 92 ; praised by Princess
des Ursins, 101 ; advises the Queen to retreat to Burgos, 103-5 5
unable to defend Madrid, 104 ; remarks on campaign of 1706, 124-5,
138 ; is provided with means to pay soldiers, 140-1 ; gains battle of
Almanza, 141-2 ; conquers Valencia and Aragon, his severity, 146 ;
his integrity, created Duke of Liria, 147, 162-3 ; is withdrawn from
Spain, 164
Besons, Marshal, commands French troops in Spain, 181 ; treacherous
conduct of, 187-90 ; is withdrawn, 190
Blecourt, French Charg^-d'affaires, 2-3
Bourbon, House of, emblem of, 99
Bracciano, Due de. See Prince Orsini
Bragelonne, Chevalier, 104, 107
Brihuaga, defeat of General Stanhope at, 205
Brittany, Duke of, birth of, 154 ; death of, 215
Buen Retiro, palace of, arrival of nurses at, 150-2 ; grounds improved by
Princess des Ursins, 160-1
Burgos, Court removes to, 104-5 '■> Court leaves, 122
Burgundy, Duke of, 144 ; commands army in Flanders, 166; death of, 215
Burgundy, Duchess of, 4, 68, 84, ill, 154 ; death of, 215
Burke, Colonel, 40
Cabaron, Queen halts at, 122-3
Canillas, 82
Carthagena, Governor of, surrenders to the Allies, 1 16
Carpenter, General, 205
Casa del Cordon, 113
Castel, Rodrigue, 105
Castile, Admiral of (Don Juan Henriquez of Cabrera), joins party of
Archduke, 38-41
Castile, poverty of, 109 ; difficult to subdue, 203-4
Castilians, rally round Philip V., 118-19
INDEX 247
Catalonia, revolt in, 60; acknowledges Archduke Charles as King of
Spain, 93
Chalais, Prince de, 7
Chalais, M. de, 230
Chambery, arrival of Princess des Ursins at, 235
Chamillart, Marquis de, 97, 138 ; brings news of victory of Almanza to
Louis XIV., 143, 144, 181
Chanteloup, manor of, 210
Charles II., King of Spain, death of, 1; his Will, 1-3; witnesses an
auto-da-fe in 1680, 22-4 ; household of, 27 ; reasons for appointing
Philip V. as his successor, 94-5
Charles, Archduke of Austria, claimant to throne of Spain, 2, 30; is
acknowledged King of Spain by King of Portugal, 41 ; is proclaimed
King of Spain by Allies, under title of Charles III., 60; is welcomed
by the Catalonians, 93 ; is proclaimed by the Allies King of Spain
and Overlord of the Netherlands, 102 ; recognised as Charles III. of
Spain by the Pope, 102; is proclaimed King in Madrid, 115; his
portrait, 120; postpones triumphal entry into Madrid, 121 ; satirical
medal, 140 ; withdraws Spanish contingent to Catalonia, 142 ; learns
of his defeat at Almanza, 145-6 ; enters Saragossa in triumph,
acknowledged King throughout Aragon, 197 ; enters Madrid in
triumph, 201 ; tries in vain to gain new adherents, 201-2 ; is forced
to retire from Madrid, witnesses joy of inhabitants at his departure,
203-4 ; defeat at Villaviciosa, 205-7 ; Tarragona and Barcelona the
only possessions left him in Spain, 207 ; succeeds his brother as
Emperor of Austria, 208
Chateauneuf, M. de, 58
Churchill, Arabella, 92
Coulanges, Madame de, 10-11
Court of Spain, reforms in, 27-9; is removed to Burgos, 104-51 1 10,
126-7 ! is removed to Valladolid, 200-1
Das Minas, triumphant entry of, into Madrid, 104
Dauphin, Monsr. le, 144
Diaz, Friolan, victim of Inquisition, 33-5
Egmont, Duchesse d', 66
Escalone, Due d' ( 222-3
Estree, Abbe d', replaces Cardinal d'Estree as Ambassador at Madrid, 44 ;
affair of mutilated despatch, 45-6, 49 ; letter to, from Louis XIV
50-1
Estree, Cardinal d', head of ultra- French party, 43 ; is recalled, 44
Eugene, Prince, 166
248 INDEX
Fagon, Court physician at Versailles, 159
Farnese, Elizabeth, is proposed by Alberoni as second wife for Philip V.,
and approved by Cardinal Giudici, 217-18; by Princess des Ursins,
218-20 ; her hand is demanded by Philip, 220 ; married by proxy at
Parma, commences journey to Spain, 222 ; writes to Philip demanding
dismissal of Princess des Ursins, 223 ; halts on journey at St. Jean-
Pied-de-Port, is guest of Queen-Dowager of Spain, meets Alberoni at
Pampeluna, 224 ; they arrange plot for downfall of Princess des Ursins,
224-5 5 meets Princess des Ursins at Guadraque, 226 ; their inter-
view ; orders her arrest, 227-8 ; character of, by Frederick the Great,
237-8 ; "Termagant of Spain," 238
Figueras, 13, 14
Fleet, English, off Vigo, 37-8 ; relieves Barcelona, 99
Flotte, M., agent of the Duke of Orleans, 183-4 ; is arrested, 185
French language, modern, modelled, 89-90
Frias, Duke de, High Constable of Castile, made Major-domo- Major, 91-2
Galway, Earl of (Marquis de Ruvigny), triumphant entry into Madrid,
104 ; commands allied forces at battle of Almanza, 141
Gazette de France, 153
Gibraltar, lost to Spain, 60, 92
Giudici, Cardinal (Grand Inquisitor), Alberoni pays court to, 217-18 ; plans
fall of Princess des Ursins, 224, 237 ; appointed Minister of Foreign
Affairs, 237 ; is ousted from power, retires to Rome, 240
Grammont, Due de, sent as Ambassador to Madrid, his secret mission, 55;
meets Princess des Ursins at Vittoria, 56 ; interview with the Queen,
57; his despatches, 58-9; curious correspondence with Louis XIV.,
74-6 ; failure of mission, 76 ; resigns his post, 86
Grand Alliance formed, 29
Grandees, loyalty of, to Philip V., 177-9, 200-2; petition Louis XIV. to
send Vendome as Generalissimo to Spain, 203 ; zeal at battle of
Villaviciosa, 206
Guadalaxara, 224-5
Guadraque, 224; meeting of Elizabeth Farnese and Princess des Ursins
at, 226
Harcourt, Due d', 5, 24-5, 63, 67-8
Harrach, Count d', 2, 3
Hochstet (Blenheim) battle of, 95
Hostelnuovo, 13
Inquisition, the, 21, 23; opposition to, by Princess des Ursins, 33-5 ;
English Ambassador's house and English ships made refuges for
INDEX 249
victims of, 212-13 > rulers of, determine to compass downfall of Princess
des Ursins, 213-14, 218; is reinstated in its former power, 237
Italy, campaigns in, 30, 102
James II., 29, 92
James Francis Edward, Prince. See Pretender
Jansenists and Jesuists, 161
Joseph, Emperor, death of, 208
King of Spain, See Philip V.
Labourdonnay, Governor of Bordeaux, 107
Lanti, M., 230
Lerma, Queen halts at, 108
Liganez, Marquis de, arrested, 87-8
Lille, captured by the Allies, 167
Lisbon, Treaty of, 41
Louis XIV. bids farewell to his grandson Philip V. of Spain, 4 ; chooses
a wife for him, 4 ; letter declaring choice of Princess des Ursins as
Camarera-Mayor, 5-6 ; describes character of Philip V., 25; recog-
nises the Pretender as James III. of England, 29 ; advice concerning
treasure-ships, 36 ; adopts plan of Princess des Ursins, 37 ; recalls
Cardinal d'Estree, 44; receives mutilated dispatch, 46-7 ; resolves to
recall Princess des Ursins, 47 ; letters on this subject, 47-9 ; sends
order of banishment, 51 ; takes measures to prevent her return to
power, 57-8 ; grants leave for private audienee, 63 ; tete-a-tete with
Princess des Ursins, 68 ; his flattering attentions, 69-70 ; at the Marly
balls, 71-3; secret correspondence with Due de Grammont on
subject of Princess des Ursins, 74-6 ; " treaty " signed at Marly, 79 ;
confers honours on Princess des Ursins, 79-80 ; letter in her praise to
Queen of Spain, 85 ; suffers defeat in the Netherlands, 102 ; letter to
Philip V. on freedom of speech, 128 ; receives news of victory of
Almanza, 143-4 '■> his love of fresh air, 158-9 ; secret overtures to Allies,
concludes Treaty of Milan, 164 ; letter to Philip V. on loss of Lille,
167 ; advises Philip to renounce the kingdoms of Spain and the Indies,
x 74 _ 5 j i s m treaty with the Allies, 177 ; issues orders for withdrawal
of his troops from Spain, consents to leave a few behind, 181 ;
threatens to fight with the Allies in the Netherlands against Philip,
1S1-2 ; rejects the Allies' terms of peace, 182 ; condones treasonable
conduct of Duke of Orleans, 185-6; and of Marshal Besons, 190;
renews efforts to induce Philip to accept the Allies' terms of peace,
197-9 ; consents to send Vendome as Generalissimo to Spain, 202-3 ;
resignation under bereavement, 214-15 ; reign drawing to a close, 233 ;
250 INDEX
concessions to Duke^ of Orleans, 234-5 ; strength failing, death,
235
Louville, M. de, 45
Madrid, scene in royal palace of, 1-3 ; unfit to resist an attack, 98, 104 ;
Queen's flight from, 104; Court returns to, 126; joy on hearing of
victory of Almanza, 142 ; excitement in, 177
Maintenon, Madame de, Franchise d'Aubigne, correspondence with
Princess des Ursins, 9 ; obtains change in sentence of banishment, 60 ;
gains permission for private audience, 63 ; at the Marly balls, 72-3;
" treaty " signed at Marly, 79; letters to Princess des Ursins on the
Queen's flight from Madrid, III, 113 ; on receiving news of victory of
Almanza, 143-4 '■> on domestic and social subjects, 157-9 ; on terrible
condition of France, desires peace at any price, 166-7, 169-70, 190-1 ;
alarmed at Princess des Ursins' financial scheme for France, 171-2;
fears to censure Besons' conduct, 190 ; urges the acceptance of Allies
terms of peace, 191 ; becomes weary of Princess des Ursins' cham-
pionship of Philip V., affectation of humility, 193 ; letter to Princess
des Ursins when at St. Jean-de-Luz, 233 ; letter on death of Louis
XIV., 235-6
Mancera, Marquis de, his loyalty to Philip V., 201-2; visited by Philip
V., 204-5
Marie Louise of Savoy is chosen as wife for Philip V., 4; married by
proxy at Turin, meets Princess des Ursins at Villafranca, 12 ; first
meeting with Philip V., 13-14 ; pleases the Spaniards, 25-6; discards
the "tantillo," 28-9; is created Regent, 30; supports Princess des
Ursins in the affair of the mutilated despatch, 46, 49 ; receives letter
from Louis XIV., 47-8 ; accompanies Princess des Ursins to Alcala,
54 ; interview with Due de Grammont, 57 ; thanks Louis XIV. for
his reception of Princess des Ursins, 69 ; welcomes her at Canillas,
82-3 ; courage under trials, 101 ; is advised to quit Madrid, 103 ;
commences journey to Burgos, 104; adds personal ornaments to
crown jewels to be sold, 107 ; halts at Berlanga and Lerma, 105, 108 ;
arrives at Burgos, no ; letter from, to Madame de Maintenon,
iio-in ; quits Burgos, halts at Cabaron, 122-3 1 meets Philip V. at
Segovia, 123 ; returns to Madrid, 123-4 ; heir to throne expected f
rejoicings in Madrid, 134-7 ; gives birth to Prince of Asturias, 153;
second flight from Madrid to Valladolid, 200; her death, grief of
Spanish nation, 214
Marlborough, Duke of, 92 ; gains battle of Ramillies, 102 ; takes Lille,
166
Marly, balls at, '7 1-3 ; " treaty "signed at, 79 ; arrival of news of victory of
Almanza at, 143-4
INDEX 251
Mary of Modena (ex-Queen of England) at the Marly balls, 71, 241
Medina-Creli, Duke de, 45 ; made leader of new Ministry, 180 ; is
arrested, 194
Mendoza, Archbishop of Segovia and Grand Inquisitor, 34
Mircure Galanl, account of Princess des Ursins' reception in Spain,
81-3
Milan, Treaty of, 164
Millot, Abbe, on French and Spanish character, 31-2
Minorca, island of, lost to Spain, 165
Miquelets, 106
Moliere, plays first acted in Spain, 21, 90
Monteillano, Duchess de, 52
Montellano, Conde di, head of the National Party, 33; made President
of the Council of Castile, 41
Netherlands, campaign in the, 102
Noailles, Due de, 28, 102 ; is sent on confidential mission to Madrid,
197-9
Noailles, Marechale de, 14, 235
Noirmontier, M. de, brother of Princess des Ursins, created a duke, 80,
235
Olmo, Joseph del, describes an auto-da-fe, 22-4
Orleans, Duke of (afterwards Regent of France), replaces Berwick as
Generalissimo in Spain, 168; goes on an embassy to Louis XIV.,
168 ; anger against Princess des Ursins, 173-4 ; intrigues to obtain
the crown of Spain for himself, 183-4 ; failure of plot, 185-6 ; party
of, 195-6 ; Court of Versailles at feet of, 233-4
Orleans, Duchess of (mother of the Regent), 132
Orleans, Duchess of, wife of the Regent, 234
Orry, Sieur, 87, 239
Orsini, Prince, and Due de Boracciano, 5-7 ; his death, 10 ';
Pampeluna, 105 ; new Queen met by Alberoni at, 224
Parma, Duke of, 217, 219-20
Peace, negotiations for, commenced, 209 ; Congress discuss Princess des
Ursins' claims, 210-11 ; Treaty of, concluded, 211
Peterborough, Lord, 88, 93
Philip V., King of Spain (Duke of Anjou), named by Charles II. as his
successor, 3 ; leaves France for Spain, 4 ; married by proxy to Marie
Louise of Savoy, 12 ; their first meeting, 13-14, 15; refuses to witness
auto-da-fe, 24 ; character of, described by Louis XIV., 25 ; joins
campaign in Italy, 30 ; approves conduct of Princess des Ursins, 46 ;
252 INDEX
receives letter from Louis XIV., 47 ; joins campaign in Portugal, 50 ;
thanks Louis XIV. for receiving Princess des Ursins, 69 ; welcomes
her at Canillas, 82-3 ; besieges Barcelona, 98-9 ; is defeated and flies,
99-100 ; obliged to quit Madrid, joins his army, 104 ; fixes upon
Burgos as retreat for the Court, 105 ; proposes to sell or mortgage
crown jewels, 107; change of affairs in favour of, 1 18-19 ; joyful
return of his troops to Madrid, 121 ; meets Queen at Segovia, 123 ;
returns to Madrid, 124 ; letter to Louis XIV. on license of speech,
128 ; battle of Almanza, 142 ; advised by Louis XIV. to renounce
kingdoms of Spain and the Indies, 175 ; refuses, 176 ; promises
grandees not to abandon the throne, 178, 185 ; joins campaign in
Aragon, 189 ; defeated at Saragossa, 196-7 ; returns to Madrid, is
urged again by Louis XIV. to accept terms of Allies, and again refuses
to do so, 197-9 ; second flight from Madrid, establishes Court at
Valladolid, 200 ; returns to Madrid, his joyful reception, visits aged
Marquis de Mancera, 204-5 '■> joins army at Guadalaxara, 205 ; victory
of Vallaviciosa, 205-6 ; his " bed of flags," 206 ; confers high rank
upon Princess des Ursins, 209 ; peace concluded, firmly established
on throne, retains best portions of Spanish dominions, 211; grief
at death of wife, 214-15 ; talks of abdicating, is dissuaded by Princess
des Ursins, 215 ; asks Princess des Ursins to choose a second wife for
him, 216 ; demands the hand of Elizabeth Farnese, 220 ; is married
to her by proxy, 222 ; consents to her demand for dismissal of Princess
des Ursins, 223-4 ; goes to Guadalaxara, 225-6 ; letter to Princess des
Ursins, 230-1 ; reinstates Inquisition in full power, 237 ; sends San
Phelipe to visit Princess des Ursins, 239 ; accords her a pension, 240
Pope, The (Clement IX.), 80 ; recognises the Archduke as King of Spain,
102 ; curious attitude of, 139-40, 240
Popoli, Duke de, 105, 109
Port Mahon, loss of, 165
Portocarero, Cardinal, character of, partisan of French interests, 30-1 ;
deals feebly with Admiral of Castile, 38-41 ; his influence declines,
42 ; joins party of Archduke, 115 ; performs Te Deum in his honour
116 ; people of Toledo rise against him, 122 ; pardoned by Philip V-,
124 ; opposes Princess des Ursins' efforts to obtain loan from clergy,
139
Portugal, King of, joins the Grand Alliance, 41
Pretender, is recognised as James III. by Louis XIV., 29; at the Marly
balls, 71-2
Queen of Spain, Dowager, 82; joins party of the Archduke, 115;
people of Toledo rise against her, 122 ; is escorted out of Spain, 124 ;
INDEX 253
Elizabeth Farnese visits her at St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, 224 ; is close
ally of Grand Inquisitor and Alberoni, 224
Queen of Spain. See Elizabeth Farnese
Queen of Spain. See Marie Louise of Savoy
Ramillies, battle of, 102
Renaut, agent of the Duke of Orleans, 183-4; is arrested, 185
Robinet, Pere, 215-16
Rocca, Count I., Prime Minister to Duke of Parma, 217, 220
Rousillon, 100
Salamanca, captured by Portuguese, massacre of monks of St. Jerome
117
San Phelipe, Marquis de (Don Vicente Bacallar), Spanish historian, 84 ;
defends island of Sardinia, 165 ; evidence against Medina-Cceli,
194-5 ; visits Princess des Ursins at St. Pierre d'Arene, 239
Santestevan, Conte de, 105
Saragossa, revolt of, 116 ; battle of, 196-7
Sardinia, island of, lost to Spain, 165
Savoy, Duke of, 4 ; defection of, 59-60, 173
Segovia, meeting of King and Queen at, 123
Sevigne, Madame de, 7 ; her letters, 88
Silly, M. de, 144
Spain, condition of, at end of seventeenth century, 16-18 ; position of
women, Oriental customs, 17, 18; Court life, 19-20; peculiar
character of warfare in, 119-20
Stanhope, General, urges Archduke to hasten to Madrid, 121 ; his secret
negotiations with the Duke of Orleans, 183-5 > tries to win the old
Marquis de Mancera to the side of the Archduke, 201-2 ; forced to
lay down arms at Brihuaga, 205
Staremberg, Count, defeated at Villaviciosa, 205-7
St. Jean-de-Luz, reception of Princess des Ursins at, 81 ; arrival of
Princess des Ursins at, 230
St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, new Queen halts at, 224 ; plot for fall of Princess
des Ursins arranged at, 224, 236-7
St. Simon, Due de, his description of Princess des Ursins, 8-9 ; his
account of her reception in Paris and at Versailles, 65-9 ; calls upon
her, 67-8 ; with her at Marly, 69-73 5 his opinion of the Duke of
Orleans' plot, 185-6; obtains leave of Duke to visit Princess des
Ursins, their interviews, 233-4
St. Simon, Duchesse de, 70- r, 234
Stuarts, Court of, exiled, welcome Princess des Ursins to Rome, 241
Sun, eclipse of, 99
254 INDEX
Tesse, Marshal," at Canillas, 82, 84-5 ; besieges Barcelona, 98-9
Toledo, city of, ^declares for 'the Archduke, 115; people of, tear down
Austrian standard, 122
Torcy, Marquis de, 36, 68, 94, 98, 163 ; letter from, to Due de Noailles,
197-9
Toulouse, Count of, blockades harbour of Barcelona, 99
Toulouse, town of, 60, 61, 64
Trimouille, Abbe de la, made Cardinal, 80
Ursins, Princess des (Anne-Marie de la Trimouille), chosen Camarera-
Mayor to the Queen-elect of Spain, 5-6 ; her birth and parentage,
6-7 ; first and second marriages, 7 ; is described by St. Simon, 8, 9 ;
friendship with Me. de Maintenon, 9 ; desires to obtain post of
Camarera-Mayor, 10; meets Queen at Villafranca and conducts her
into Spain, 12-13 ; letter written on journey by, 14-15 ; enlivens Court
life at Madrid, 20-1 ; influence on King and Queen, 24-5 ; attends
sittings of Junta, 30 ; dares to oppose Inquisition, 33-5 ; letter on
treasure-ships to M. de Torcy, 36-7 ; urges arrest of Admiral of Castile,
39 ; her influence increases, 41-2 ; enmity of the d'Estrees, 43-4 ;
affair of the mutilated despatch, 45-7 ; her recall determined upon,
47 ; reprimand from Louis XIV., 48-9 ; receives order of banishment,
51; chooses her successor, 52; quits Madrid, 54; meets Due de
Grammont at Vittoria, 56 ; takes up residence at Toulouse, 60 ;
receives permission from Louis XIV. for private audience, 63 ; com-
mences journey to Paris, 64 ; is welcomed by Duke of Alva and
French Court, 66-7 ; interviews with Louis XIV. , with Duchess of
Burgundy, and with Me. de Maintenon, 68 ; court paid to, 69-71 ; at
the Marly balls, 72-3 ; "intellectual triumph," 77 ; urged to return to
her post in Spain, 78 ; " treaty " signed at Marly, 79-80 ; triumphal
journey from Paris to Madrid, 81-5 ; chooses Amelot as French
Ambassador, 86 ; letter in praise of him, 87 ; modern style of writing,
88 ; confers post of Major-domo-Major upon Duke de Frias, 90-2 ;
letter on loss of Barcelona, 93 ; letter to Torcy urging that troops
should be sent from France, 94-7 ; ditto to Chamillart (same subject),
97-8 ; letters to Me. de Maintenon on loss of Barcelona and Alcantara,
99-101 ; on proposed flight of the Queen from Madrid, 102-3 !
accompanies Queen in flight, 104; letters written during journey
105-10; from Burgos, no; describes her apartments, 112-13; about
poor cure's offering, 114-5 ; upon loss of Salamanca and massacre of
monks of St. Jerome, 117; obtains money to pay troops, 118;
describes joyful return of troops and of King and Queen to Madrid,
1 2 1-4; letter on dismissal of 300 maids of honour, 126-7; ditto, on
calumnious reports, 129-30; free correspondence of, 132-3; letters
INDEX 255
on character of Philip V., 133; on hope of an heir to the throne,
134-8 ; writes urging payment to be made to French troops, 138 ;
obtains loan from clergy, 140 ; letter written before battle of Almanza,
141 ; ditto, announcing the victory, 143 ; pictures scene at Marly,
144-5 ; letter on carnage at Xativa, 146-7 ; approves of measure to
deprive Valencia and Aragon of their privileges, 148-9 ; her powerful
help to Philip's cause, 149 ; prepares for arrival of infant Prince of
Asturias, 150-3 ; letters on birth of Prince,i53 ; on infancy of, 154-5 ;
on domestic and social subjects, 156-61 ; on proposed withdrawal of
Berwick, 163-4 ; on Treaty of Milan, 164 ; on loss of Port Mahon,
165 ; on fall of Lille, 167 ; suspects double dealing on part of Louis
XIV., 167-8 ; tries to prevent his abandoning cause of Philip, 168-9;
endeavours to arouse the courage of Me. de Maintenon, 169-71 ;
sends a financial scheme to Versailles, 171-2 ; inspires Philip with
courage to refuse to give up kingdoms of Spain and Indies, 176 ;
causes decree to be issued banishing all Frenchmen from Spain, 179 ;
chooses Due de Medina-Cceli for leader of new Ministry, 180 ; urges
Chamillart to leave some troops in Spain, 181 ; letter on Amelot's
resignation, 182 ; discovers treason of Duke of Orleans, 184-5 > letters
upon Beson's treacherous conduct, 188-90; tries to imbue Me. de
Maintenon with hope, 191-2; isnettledat her remarks on female poli-
ticians, 193-4; causes the arrest of Medina-Coeli, 194; anger of Orleans
faction against, 195-6 ; position again secure, 196; rejects overtures of
Due de Noailles, 199 ; again inspires Philip to reject compromise, 199 ;
accompanies Queen toValladolid, 200; urges Court of Versailles to send
Vendome as Generalissimo to Spain, 202 ; letter to Vendome, 202 ;
announces victory of Villaviciosa, 205 ; success of Philip's cause due
to, 207 ; royal rank conferred upon, 209 ; desires to possess small
principality, 209-11; fails to obtain it, 211 ; disinterestedness in
serving Philip, 211; inaugurates constitutional changes, 211-12 ;
brave contest with Inqisition, 212-14 5 obtains concessions iu favour
of English refuges for its victims, 213 ; prevents Philio's aodication
after death of Queen, 214-15 ; made gouvernante of his children,
difficult position, 215 ; asked by Philip to choose his second wife,
216 ; induced by Alberoni to advise Philip to marry Elizabeth
Farnese, 218-20; appointed Camarera-Mayor to Queen-elect, 221 ;
suspects Alberoni of double dealing, tries to postpone marriage,
but fails, 221-2 ; assists in instituting Academy of Spanish language,
222-3 ; machinations against her by new Queen, 223-4 ; goes to
Guadraque to meet Queen, 226 ; is insulted by her, arrested and sent
off under escort of soldiers, 227-8 ; sufferings on journey to St. Jean-
de-Luz, 228-30 ; receives letter from Philip V., 231 ; letter to Me. de
256 INDEX
Maintenon, 232 ; arrival at Versailles, 233 ; conversations with St.
Simon, 234 ; leaves France for Chambery, 235 ; receives news of
death of Louis XIV., 235-6 ; objects of her policy in Spain, 236;
victim to contest with Inquisition, 236-7 ; takes up residence at
Genoa, and writes from St. Pierre d'Arene, 238-9 ; visited by San
Philepe and writes to Orry respecting messages brought by him from
Philip V., 238-9 ; takes up residence in Rome, is received with every
mark of respect, 240-1 ; her death, 241 ; testimonies to her character
by St. Simon, Sainte-Beuve, and Geffroy, 241-3
Uzeda, Due d', 195
Valencia, province of, hails Archduke as King of Spain, 93 ; subjection
of, 146 ; deprived of privileges, 147
Valladolid, Court established at, 200-1, 203
Vaudemont, Prince de, 156, 157
Vendome, Due de, commands army in Flanders, 166; is sent as General-
issimo to Spain, 202-3 5 obliges Archduke to evacuate Madrid, 203 ;
gains battle of Villaviciosa, 205-7 ; his " bed of flags,'' 206
Versailles, arrival at, of Princess des Ursins, 67, 233
Vigo, capture of galleons off, by English fleet, 35-8
Villafranca, Marquis de, 90
Villafranca, town of, 12
Villars, Madame de, letters from, 18, 24
Villaviciosa, battle of, 205-7
Villeroy, Due de (Marshal), is defeated at Ramillies, 102, 171, 232, 235
Vittoria, 59, 81, 205
William III., 29-30, 121
War of Spanish Succession commences, 30 ; in many respects a religious
war, 139-40 ; draws to a close, 208
Xativa, carnage at, 146
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