Unruly Daughters
omance
The House of Orleans
3-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
MADAME RECAMIER AND HER FRIENDS
MADAME DE POMPADOUR
MADAME DE MONTESPAN
MADAME DU BARRY
QUEENS OF THE FRENCH STAGE
LATER QUEENS OF THE FRENCH STAGE
FIVE FAIR SISTERS
QUEEN MARGOT
A PRINCESS OF INTRIGUE
THE WOMEN BONAPARTES
A ROSE OF SAVOY
THE FASCINATING DUC DE RICHELIEU
HENRI II. : HIS COURT AND TIMES
A PRINCESS OF ADVENTURE
THE LOVE-AFFAIRS OF THE CONDES
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Unruly 'Daughters
Ji T^pmance of the
House of Orleans ::
£y H. Woel Williams
JiuthoT of " Five Fair Sisters," &c.
With 21 full-page Illustrations, including
a Frontispiece in Photogravure
NEW YORK
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
1913
• •• • • • ,*«
i • • •• « » r t t f
TO
MY WIFE
Printed in Great Britain
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
TAGF.
The Due de Chartres gets his ears boxccl by his mother, in the
presence of the whole Court — Explanation of the maternal
indignation— Marriage of the Due de Chartres and Mile, de
Blois, younger daughter of Louis XIV. and Madame de
Montespan— Their children— Character of Philippe d'Orleans
— His precocious gallantries — His treatment of his mistresses
and his " roues "—His mother's opinion of him— Remarks
of Voltaire— His portrait by Saint-Simon— The Duchesse
d'Orleans— Her personal appearance— Her conversational
powers — Her incredible indolence — Her " almost Satanic "
pride — Her relations with her husband — Her affection for her
elder brother, the Due du Maine— Influence of her waiting-
women over her — Despotism which she aspires to exercise over
the members of her Household — Antipathy between her and
Madams — Uncomplimentary references of that princess to her
daughter-in-law — Deplorable manner in which the Duchesse
d'Orleans neglects her duty towards her children *
CHAPTER II
The Orleans princesses — Their neglected childhood— Serious ill-
ness of Mademoiselle, whose life is saved by her father's care —
Singular affection of the Due d'Orleans for his eldest daughter
— Unsuccessful endeavour of the Duchesse d'Orleans to obtain
precedence for her children over the Princes and Princesses of
the Blood — She determines to marry Mademoiselle to the Due
de Berry, youngest son of the Dauphin — Diplomatic move of
the young princess — Obstacles in the way of the proposed
marriage — Intrigues of Saint- Simon and the Duchesse de
Bourgogne on behalf of Mademoiselle — Louis XIV. decides in
favour of that princess and obliges the Dauphin to consent
to the marriage — The Due de Berry — Anecdotes of his boy-
hood— His appearance and character — Visit of Mademoiselle
to Versailles — A singular imbroglio — Marriage of the Due de
Berry and Mademoiselle — Early years of Miles, de Chartres
and de Valois, second and third daughters of the Due and
Duchesse d'Orleans— The two little princesses are sent to the
Abbey of Chelles 29
5739? s
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER III
The Duchesse de Berry— Her portrait by Largilliere— Madame' s
description of her— Her odious character — Her intimacy
with the Duchesse de Bourgogne — Her jealousy of that prin-
cess— Her husband's infatuation for her — She gets disgrace-
fully intoxicated at Saint-Cloud— She joins the *' Cabal of
Meudon " — Rupture between her and the Duchesse de Bour-
gogne— She persuades the Due de Berry to break off his
friendly relations with his sister-in-law — She is severely
reprimanded by the King— Illness and death of the Dauphin
— Despair of the Duchesse de Berry, who sees all her plans
ruined by this event— Magnanimity of the Duchesse de Bour-
gogne, now Dauphine — Indignation of the Duchesse de Berry
at being compelled to render ceremonial service to her sister-in-
law — Abominable rumours concerning her relations with her
father — Saint- Simon informs the Due d'Orleans of these, and
the prince, to his astonishment and indignation, reports the
conversation to his daughter — The Duchesse de Berry gives
birth prematurely to a daughter — Insolence of the princess
towards her mother — Madame is charged by the King to
reprimand her granddaughter— Mile, de Vienne— The affair
of the diamond necklace ....
CHAPTER IV
PAGE
56
Successive deaths of the Dauphine, the Dauphin, and the little
Due de Bretagne— Joy of the Duchesse de Berry— Altered
situation of the princess, who, by the death of her sister-in-
law, becomes the first lady of the Court — Lively passage-at-
arms between her and Madame — She becomes pregnant :
rigorous precautions insisted upon by the King — Cruel dis-
appointment which she inflicts upon the old Marechal de
Bezons — She gives birth to a son, who, however, does not long
survive — She gains the favour of the King, and her position
becomes a very enviable one — Her relations with her husband
— Intrigue between the Due de Berry and one of his wife's
waiting-women — Compact between the prince and princess,
which leaves them both free to follow their own inclinations —
Violent passion of the Duchesse de Berry for her husband's
first equerry, La Haye — She endeavours to persuade him to
carry her off to the Netherlands— Accident to the Due de
Berry — His illness and death — Exaggerated grief affected
by his widow — Birth of a posthumous daughter — Indulgence
of Louis XIV. for the duchess during the last months of his life 83
CONTENTS vii
CHAPTER V
PAGE
Philippe d'Orleans becomes Regent and the Duchessc de Berry
prepares to reap the fruits of her father's triumph — She
obtains the Luxembourg as a residence — Her attitude towards
her mother — She secures permission to have officers to com-
mand her guards — She endeavours to usurp the honours of
a queen — Her quarrel with the Prince de Conti — Her adven-
ture in the gardens of the Luxembourg — She closes them to the
public — She insults the civic dignitaries of Paris — She obtains
La Muette as a country-residence — Her amours — The
Chevalier de Rion — Portrait of this personage — Madame
de Mouchy — Her detestable character — Rion becomes amant
en titre of the Duchesse de Berry — Infatuation of the princess
— Singular attitude of Rion towards her — Supper-parties at
the Luxembourg — A complaisant confessor . . . 106
CHAPTER VI
The Duchesse de Berry takes an apartment at the Carmelite con-
vent in the Faubourg Saint- Jacques, and varies her scandalous
life by intervals of prayer and fasting — Indignation of the
Regent at the public reign of Rion, to which, however, he
tamely submits — The Duchesse de Berry assists at the orgies
of the Palais-Royal — Continuation of the abominable rumours
concerning the relations between Philippe d'Orleans and his
eldest daughter — The satires of Voltaire — The Philippiques
of La Grange-Chancel — Contemptuous indifference to public
opinion shown by the Regent and the Duchesse de Berry —
— Voltaire sent to the Bastille — First representation of the
poet's (Edipe — Conduct of the parterre— Visit of Peter the
Great to the Duchesse de Berry — Distressing embonpoint of the
princess — Her gluttony — A revolution of the palace : Rion
becomes first equerry to the princess and Madame de Mouchy
dame d'atours — Indignation of Mesdames de Clermont and de
Beauvau, dames de compagnie to the Duchesse de Berry,
who resign their posts — Episode at the Opera — Rion ap-
pointed Governor of Cognac . . . . . .124
CHAPTER VII
Mile. d'Orleans at the Abbey of Chelles — She announces her
intention of taking the veil — Attitude of her relatives towards
this project — She falls ill, and is removed, on the advice of
the doctors, to the Abbey of Montmartre — Unfounded report
that she has decided to renounce her religious aspirations —
Project of the Duchesse d'Orleans to marry her to the Prince
de Dombes, eldest son of the Due du Maine — Mile. d'Orleans
viii CONTENTS
PAGE
appears in Society — Her portrait by Madame — The singer
Cauchereau — M. de Saint-Maixent — Mile. d'Orleans persists
in her desire to enter religion — Futile efforts of her mother
to coerce her into marrying the Prince de Dombes — The Re-
gent refuses to sanction the princess becoming a nun — The
latter, having obtained permission to visit Chelles, announces
her determination to remain there — The Due d'Orleans en-
deavours to prevail upon her to renounce this resolve, but she
remains inflexible — She pronounces her vows — She intrigues
against the abbess, Madame de Villars, who is compelled to
resign her post — Mile. d'Orleans is nominated Abbess of
Chelles — Her consecration . . . . . .139
CHAPTER VIII
Visit of the Duke and Duchess of Lorraine to Paris — Magnificent
fete in their honour at the Luxembourg — An unbidden
guest — Attentions paid by the Duchesse de Berry to the
Duchess of Lorraine — Reconciliation between Madame and her
granddaughter — Alteration in the latter's conduct towards
her mother — She " greatly edifies " the Carmelites during
the Holy Week of 171S — Fetes in honour of the Duchesse
de Berry at Chantilly — Ungracious behaviour of the princess
— She resumes her effort to usurp the honours of a queen —
Indignation of the public — Protests of the Corps Diplomatique
— She becomes enceinte — Her efforts to conceal her condition
— She gives birth to a daughter, and her life is in serious
danger — Refusal of the Sacraments by the cure of Saint-Sul-
pice and the Cardinal de Noailles — The princess recovers —
Her secret marriage with Rion — Consideration of the question
whether this event took place before or after her illness . . 158
CHAPTER IX
The Duchesse de Berry leaves Paris for Meudon — Opposition
of the Regent to the declaration of her marriage with Rion —
He visits the princess but twice in three weeks— His conver-
sation with Saint-Simon — Rion ordered to join his regiment
on the Spanish frontier — Painful scenes between father and
daughter — A fatal supper-party — The Duchesse de Berry
falls ill — She removes from Meudon to La Muette — Her
cruel sufferings — She becomes better, but this improvement
is speedily followed by a dangerous relapse — Her condition
declared to be hopeless — Rival doctors — Death of the
Duchesse de Berry — Grief of the Regent, which, however, is
of short duration — Obsequies of the princess — Her debts —
Madame de Mouchy and the ring-case — Banishment of this
personage — Disgrace of Rion — His later years . . . 1S0
CONTENTS ix
CHAPTER X
TAGE
Charlotte Aglae d'Orleans, Mile, de Valois, makes her appearance
in Society — She refuses to marry the Prince de Dombes —
The young princess is sent to her grandmother at Saint-Cloud
— Madame' s portrait of her — The Due de Richelieu — His extra-
ordinary fascination for women — His liaison with Mile, de
Charolais — Refusal of the Condes to countenance their
marriage — Violent passion of Mile, de Valois for the duke —
Open rivalry between her and Mile, de Charolais — Indigna-
tion of the Regent — Richelieu conspires with Spain — He
falls into a trap prepared for him by the French Government
— Warning which he receives from Mile, de Valois — He is
arrested and conducted to the Bastille — Despair of the two
princesses, who make common cause to secure the liberation
of their idol — Their visit to the Bastille — Exasperation of
Madame against her granddaughter — Matrimonial projects in
regard to Mile, de Valois — A manage manque — Francesco
d'Este, Prince of Modena, proposed as a husband — The Regent
accords his daughter the liberty of Richelieu, in consideration
of her consenting to marry this prince — Amorous escapades
of the released gallant — Aversion of Mile, de Valois to the
alliance arranged for her — Her marriage — She falls ill of
measles, which she has purposely contracted, but recovers —
Her despair ......... 203
CHAPTER XI
Departure of Mile, de Valois — Her retinue — Premeditated delays
— Incessant quarrels between the French and Italians in her
train — Nightly gambling-orgies — Strained relations between
the princess and the Duchesse de Villars : the affair of the
soupcoupe — The Conte di Salvatico, Envoy Extraordinary
of the Duke of Modena — His ridiculous passion for the princess
— His love transformed into hatred by her refusal to listen to
him — Reception at Lyons — Arrival at Avignon : visit to the
Ghetto — Madame de Bacqueville, favourite of the princess —
Salvatico writes to the Regent demanding her recall — The
Regent consents, but it is decided to conceal this decision from
the princess until she has embarked at Antibes — Suspicions
of the princess : her letter to her father — Arrival at Antibes —
The princess is informed of the recall of her favourite . .233
CHAPTER XII
Arrival at Genoa — Unpleasantness over the payment of the
princess's dowry : impertinent conduct of Salvatico — Depar-
ture for Modena — The Duke of Modena and his two sons
meet the princess at Reggio — Portrait of Francesco d'Este —
CONTENTS
PAGE
Character of the Duke — Deadly monotony of his Court —
Persecution of the princess by Salvatico — The princess falls ill
of smallpox— Singular conjugal relations — Letters of the Abbe
Colibeaux, confessor to the princess, on this delicate subject —
Chavigny, French Minister at Genoa, sent by the Regent to
verify the facts — His report — Severity of the Duke towards
the young couple — Pilgrimage to Loretto — The princess per-
suades her husband to fly with her to France — Her letter to
her father — The Regent refuses to receive them, and de-
spatches the Abbe Philibert to persuade them to return —
Despair of the princess — Her return to Modena — Mortifying
reception — Salvatico resumes his persecution — Ineffectual
protests of Chavigny and Philibert — Return of Francesco
d'Este — Visit of the prince and princess to Lucca — They take
up their residence at a country-house near Reggio — Anguish
of the princess on learning of the reported marriage of the
Due de Richelieu — She becomes more reconciled to her lot —
Birth of a son ......... 245
CHAPTER XIII
Mile. d'Orleans as Abbess of Chelles — Improvements which she
executes at the convent — She constitutes herself the official
protectress of the Jansenists — Efforts of the Regent to induce
her to renounce her heterodox views — -He exiles Pere Ledoux,
almoner of Chelles — The abbess retaliates by driving away
Madame de Fretteville, who has been won over by the Jesuits
— Extraordinary conduct of the princess, who transforms her
abbey from a monastic retreat into a kind of country-house
and leads with her nuns a life of pleasure — Calumnies —
Sudden reformation of the abbess, who passes from dissipation
to austerity — She leaves Chelles, and, though still retaining
her title of abbess, becomes temporary superior of the Abbey
of the Val-de-Grace — Brief return to worldliness, followed
by increased austerity — She seeks to convert the Regent, and
reprimands him severely for the scandalous manner in which
he distributes the ecclesiastical patronage of the Crown . . 268
CHAPTER XIV
Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Mile, de Montpensier, fourth daughter
of the Regent — Negotiations concluded for the marriage
of Louis XV. to the Infanta Ana Victoria, and for that of
Don Luis, Prince of the Asturias, to Mile, de Montpensier
— Embassy of Saint-Simon to Madrid — -Festivities in Paris
— Departure of Mile, de Montpensier for Spain — Char-
acter of this princess — Her portrait by Madame — Her
CONTENTS xi
PAGE
journey to the frontier — The exchange of the princesses
—Meeting with Philip V. and Don Luis at Cogollos— The
marriage : an ignorant cardinal — Saint-Simon obtains the
public " consummation " of the marriage — Letter of the
Princess of the Asturias to her father— Philip V. and Eliza-
beth Farnese — Influence of the Queen over her husband — Their
daily life — Severity of Philip V. towards transgressors of the
moral law — Illness of the princess — Anxieties of the King
and Queen — Extraordinary behaviour of the princess — She
obstinately refuses to attend the State ball to be given in her
honour — Saint-Simon's interview with her — The ball is aban-
doned— Conclusion of Saint-Simon's embassy — Incredible
vulgarity of the princess at his farewell audience — Improve-
ment in her conduct — Affection of Don Luis for her . .279
CHAPTER XV
Ambitions of Elizabeth Farnese in regard to her eldest son,
Don Carlos — The Regent determines to offer to the latter the
hand of his fifth daughter, Mile, de Beaujolais— Beauty and
amiable character of the little princess — The affair is satis-
factorily concluded— Joy of the Queen of Spain — Dowry of
Mile, de Beaujolais — Her trousseau — She sets out for Spain
— Her reception at Madrid — Mutual affection of Mile, de
Beaujolais and her fiance — The little princess- conquers all
hearts — Jealousy of her elder sister — The Prince and Princess
of the Asturias begin to live together — Their affectionate
relations — Resumption of the eccentricities of the princess —
Abdication of Philip V. in favour of his eldest son . 306
CHAPTER XVI
The accession of Luis I. hailed with great satisfaction at Madrid
— The new King reigns only nominally, and Philip V. and
Elizabeth, from their retreat at San-Ildefonso, continue to
govern — Docility of Luis to his father's wishes— His boyish
pranks — The young Queen, freed from all constraint, treats
her husband with contempt, and behaves in an extraordinary
manner — She accuses her major-domo, Foucault de Magny, of
grossly insulting her— Despatch of the Marechal de Tesse to
the Due de Bourbon— Magny is recalled to France— An-
tipathy of Elizabeth Farnese towards her daughter-in-law —
Curious despatches of Tesse — Despair of Luis I. at the out-
rageous behaviour of his consort — Episode at San-Ildefonso —
The young Queen, refusing to listen to any remonstrances,
is conducted to the Alcazar and kept in close confinement —
xii CONTENTS
TAGE
After a captivity of nearly three weeks, she is set at liberty
and restored to favour — Illness and death of Luis I. — Pitiable
situation of his widow, the Court of Spain being unwilling to
keep her or France to receive her — It is finally decided that
she shall return to France — Rupture of the marriage arranged
between Louis XV. and the Infanta — Indignation of the Court
of Spain— The widowed Queen and Mile, de Beaujolais are
sent back to France — Sad life of the former — Her death —
Constancy of Don Carlos and Mile, de Beaulojais — Negotia-
tions for their marriage — Attitude of Fleury — Death of the
princess .......... 317
CHAPTER XVII
Unfortunate effect of the Regent's death upon the situation
of the Princess of Modena — Her discreet conduct — Arrange-
ment with her father-in-law, who, however, continues to
subject her to all kinds of petty humiliations — Death of her
little son — The prince and princess make their way to Stras-
bourg, in the hope of being permitted to enter France ; but
are compelled to return to Italy — Intolerable situation —
Interference of the French Government — New arrangement
with the Duke, which the latter again contrives to evade —
Cruel indifference of the Duchesse d'Orleans to her daughter's
unhappy lot — Invasion of the duchy of Modena — The prince
comes to Paris, but his wife, after reaching Lyons, is ordered
to return to Italy — She at length secures authorisation to visit
Paris, on condition that she preserves a strict incognito —
Odious behaviour of the Palais-Royal towards her — Quarrel
with the Queen of Spain — Repeated endeavours of her mother
and brother to secure an order for her departure — Death of
Duke Rinaldo and accession of Francesco d'Este — The
Duchess of Modena remains in Paris — Her departure for Italy 341
CHAPTER XVIII
The death of the Regent deprives the Abbess of Chelles of her
influence in ecclesiastical matters — She continues, however,
her efforts on behalf of the Jansenists — She issues a manifesto,
which is suppressed by a decree of the Council — Her adven-
ture with the Cardinal de Bissy — She is forbidden to leave her
convent — She resigns her abbey, and retires to the priory of
the Benedictines of la Madeleine du Trainel — Piety of her last
years — Her Reflexions morales sur le Nonveau Testament — Her
death .......... 354
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER XIX
i A'.r.
Louise Diane d'Orleans, Mile, dc Chartrcs, youngest daughter
of the Regent — Her birth — Her marriage with the Prince de
Conti — Dispute between the unmarried Princesses of the
Blood, on the question of bearing the train of her mantle —
A delicate conversation — Birth of a son — Death of the princess
— *' Joyous life " of the Duchess of Modena, which, however, is
soon interrupted by the outbreak of the War of the Austrian
Succession — The Duchess secures authorisation to return to
France, where she is now treated with all the honours due to her
rank — Her enviable situation at Versailles — She marries her
eldest daughter to the Due de Penthievre — She occupies her-
self with her husband's interests — Francesco d'Este, dis-
gusted with his treatment by France, throws himself into the
arms of Austria — The Duchess falls into disgrace at Ver-
sailles— She returns to Italy — Her death . . . 360
Index ......•••• 3D7
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Duchesse de Berry Frontispiece
From the painting by Largilliere.
TO FACE l'AOE
Philippe II., Due d'Orleans, Regent of France. . . 12
From an engraving by Francois Chereau, after the painting by J. B. Santerre.
Francoise Marie de Bourbon (Mlle. dk Blois), Duchesse
d'Orleans . . . . ... 20
From the painting by Largilliere, at Versailles.
Charles de France, Due de Berry . . . . 44
From a contemporary print.
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Duchesse de Berry . 58
From an engraving after the painting by Largilliere.
Elizabeth Charlotte of Bavaria, Duchesse d'Orleans
("Madame") . . . ... 84
From the painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud, at Versailles.
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Duchesse de Berry, in
Widow's Weeds . . . ... 102
From the painting by Louis de Silvestre, at Versailles.
Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia . . . 134
From the painting by Nattier, at Versailles.
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Duchesse de Berry . 172
From a painting at Versailles by an unknown artist.
Charlotte Aglae d'Orleans (Mlle. de Valois), Hereditary
Princess, and afterwards Duchess, of Modena . . 206
From the painting by Pierre Gobert, at Versailles.
Francesco d'Este, Hereditary Prince of Modena (after-
wards Francesco II., Duke of Modena) . . . 246
From an engraving by Cornelius Meysens.
Louise Adelaide d'Orleans, Abbess of Chelles . . . 270
From an engraving after the painting by Malherbe.
Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans (Mlle. de Montpensier), Princess
of the asturias, afterwards queen of spain . . 284
From the painting by Juan Rank, in the Museum of the Prado.
xv
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO FACE PAGE
Elizabeth Farnese, Queen of SrAiN . ... 294
From an engraving by Syfang.
Don Luis, Prince of the Asturias (afterwards Luis I., King
of Spain) . . . . ... 302
From an engraving by Picart, after the painting by Yiali.
Philippine Elisabeth d'Orleans (Mlle. de Beaujolais) . . 310
From a contemporary print.
Philip V., King of Spain . . . . . 314
From a contemporary print.
Luis I., King of Spain . . . ... 324
From a painting by an unknown artist.
The Infanta Maria Ana Victoria . ... 334
From the painting by Largilliere, in the Museum of the Prado.
Don Carlos, King of the Two Sicilies (afterwards Carlos III.,
King of Spain) . . . ... 338
From an engraving by Roy, after the painting by Delle Piane.
Louise Diane d'Orleans (Mlle. de Chartres), Princesse de
CONTI . . . . ... 362
From the painting by Pierre Gobert, at Versailles.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS
CHAPTER I
The Due de Chartres gets his ears boxed by his mother, in the presence
of the whole Court— Explanation of the maternal indignation —
Marriage of the Due de Chartres and Mile, de Blois, younger daughter
of Louis XIV. and Madame de Montespan — Their children — Cha-
racter of Philippe d 'Orleans — His precocious gallantries — His treat-
ment of his mistresses and his " roues " — His mother's opinion of
him— Remarks of Voltaire — His portrait by Saint-Simon — The
Duchesse d 'Orleans — Her personal appearance — Her conversational
powers — Her incredible indolence — Her " almost Satanic " pride —
Her relations with her husband — Her affection for her elder brother,
the Due du Maine — Influence of her waiting-women over her —
Despotism which she aspires to exercise over the members of her
Household— Antipathy between her and Madame — Uncomplimen-
tary references of that princess to her daughter-in-law — Deplorable
manner in which the Duchesse d'Orleans neglects her duty towards
her children.
ONE morning, in the winter of 1691-92, the courtiers
of Louis XIV. were assembled in the Galerie des
Glaces at Versailles, awaiting the rising of the Council
and the King's Mass. That something of unusual in-
terest was in the wind was evident, for they conversed
together eagerly, in low tones, casting ever and anon
covert glances in the direction of a rather pleasant-
looking youth of seventeen or eighteen, who stood apart
from the rest, speaking to no one, and manifestly very
ill at ease. Presently, at the far end of the gallery
B
2 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
appeared a strange figure. It was that of a middle-aged
lady, short and abnormally stout, with a crooked nose,
fat cheeks deeply pitted by smallpox, a large mouth
wrinkled at the corners, a square jaw, and a pair of keen
blue eyes. She was attired in a gown which, when the
world was younger, had doubtless been magnificent, but
was now frayed and soiled ; she wore no jewels, and her
hair was arranged in a style which would have distracted
a coiffeur. Nevertheless, as she passed down the gallery,
the courtiers bowed low before her, which showed that
she must be a very exalted personage indeed.
As the stout matron approached the spot where the
pleasant-looking youth was standing, the latter coloured
with embarrassment and looked about him as though
seeking some means of escape. Then, perceiving that all
eyes were fixed upon him, with a great effort he con-
trived to compose his countenance, and, stepping for-
ward, made a profound reverence and attempted to kiss
the lady's hand. But what was his confusion and the
amazement of the spectators, when the hand which he
was about to salute was angrily snatched away, and he
received from it so resounding a box on the ear that it
could be heard from one end of the gallery to the
other !
The stout lady was Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of
Charles Louis, Elector Palatine, and the second wife of
Philippe, Due d'Orleans, brother of Louis XIV. ; the
youth whose ears she had just boxed was her only son,
Philippe, Due de Chartres, the future Regent of France ;
and the offence which had earned him such treatment, in
the presence of the whole Court, was that, on the previous
evening, he had consented to wed Mile, de Blois, the
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 3
younger of le Grand Monarque's two surviving daughters
by Madame de Montespan.
Louis XIV. had always been keenly interested in the
aggrandizement of his legitimated children. In January
1684, he married his daughter by Louise de la Valliere
to Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti ; in the
summer of the following year, he married his elder
daughter by Madame de Montespan to the Due de
Bourbon — Monsieur le Due, as he was now officially
styled — grandson of the Great Conde ; and he had for
some time past determined to seek for her younger sister,
Mile, de Blois, a much more illustrious alliance and to
bestow her hand upon his nephew, the Due de Chartres,
a " grandson of France."
For the disapproval with which such a match would
be regarded by the public Louis cared very little ; but
he was aware that the opposition which his project would
be certain to encounter from both Monsieur and Madame
— to give the Due and Duchesse d'Orleans their official
titles — would constitute a more serious obstacle. Mon-
sieur was infinitely proud of his rank and exceedingly
tenacious on all points which concerned it ; while his
outspoken German consort had never troubled to con-
ceal her views regarding royal bastards and mesalliances.
He was also a little apprehensive as to the attitude which
the Due de Chartres might assume, for if he failed to
appreciate the honour of becoming the King's son-in-law,
his parents might very well make his reluctance a pre-
text for declining the proposal.
To overcome these difficulties, his Majesty applied to
his Grand Equerry, Louis de Lorraine, Comte d'Armagnac,
brother of the Chevalier de Lorraine, the unworthy
4 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
favourite of Monsieur. The two brothers readily en-
tered into the scheme, and undertook to answer for the
consent of Monsieur, in consideration of their services
being rewarded by their inclusion in the next promotion
to the coveted Ordre du Saint-Esprit, to which the King
somewhat reluctantly agreed. Monsieur, who was com-
pletely under the influence of the Chevalier de Lorraine,
was soon won over ; and, in order to make sure of the
Due de Chartres, the chevalier had recourse to the
good offices of the young prince's tutor, the Abbe Dubois
(afterwards the celebrated Minister), who owed much to
his protection.
This astute personage had already succeeded in gaining
a great ascendency over the mind of his pupil ; never-
theless, when he broached the subject of the marriage
to him, he was obliged to employ all his powers of per-
suasion to ward off a direct refusal. However, that was
deemed sufficient for the success of the project, and as
soon as Louis XIV. learned from Dubois that the ground
was prepared, he resolved to hasten matters, and accord-
ingly summoned the Due de Chartres to his cabinet.
A day or two before, however, Madame had got wind
of what was going on. She was beside herself with indig-
nation, and, sending for her son, spoke to him in very
forcible terms of the indignity of such a match, and
drew from him a promise that he would never give his
consent. " Thus," says Saint-Simon, " he was feeble
towards his tutor, feeble towards his mother, and there
was aversion on the one side and. fear on the other, and
great embarrassment on all sides."
On entering the King's cabinet, the Due de Chartres
found his Majesty alone with Monsieur. The King in-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 5
formed the young prince that he was anxious to see
him married, and that as, owing to the war, an alliance
with a foreign princess was out of the question, while
none of the Princesses of the Blood was of a suitable age,
he had decided that he could not give him a better proof
of his affection than by offering him the hand of his
own daughter. He added that, however much he might
desire the match personally, he had no wish to constrain
him in the matter, but left him complete freedom of
choice.
This discourse, pronounced with that almost terrifying
majesty which Louis XIV. knew so well how to assume
when occasion required, completely unnerved the un-
fortunate prince and temporarily deprived him of the
power of speech. He thought to escape from his delicate
position by throwing the responsibility upon Monsieur
and Madame, and, when he had at last recovered his
voice, stammered out that the King was master, but that
a son's will depended upon that of his parents. ' What
you say is very proper," rejoined the King, " but, pro-
vided you consent to my proposal, your father and mother
will offer no opposition. Is it not so, my brother ? ' he
continued, turning to Monsieur.
Monsieur expressed his approval, as he had already
done, upon which his Majesty observed that the only
person who remained to be consulted was Madame, and
sent for her forthwith.
When she appeared, the King acquainted her with the
project, saying that he felt confident that she would offer
no objection to an alliance which he desired so ardently,
and to which both her husband and her son had given
their consent. At the same time, he assured her, as he
6 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
had the young prince, that he had no wish to force it
upon her. He spoke as though she could not fail to be
overjoyed at the proposition, although he was well aware
of the contrary.
Madame, who had reckoned confidently upon her son's
refusal, was dumb with amazement and indignation. She
cast two furious glances at Monsieur and the Due de
Chartres ; said that, since they desired it, she had nothing
to say ; made a slight reverence, and returned to her
apartments. The Due de Chartres, anxious to explain
how everything had happened, hastened after her; but
the exasperated matron declined to listen to a word of
what he wished to say, and drove him from the room
with a torrent of tears and reproaches.
That evening there was an " Apartment."1 Almost
as soon as the concert with which these functions always
began was over, the King, who had been working with
several of the Ministers in turn at Madame de Main-
tenon's, sent for Monseigneur2 and Monsieur, who had
just sat down to lansquenet ; for Madame, who was
listlessly watching a game of hombre ; for the Due de
Chartres, who, with a rueful countenance, was playing
1 An " Apartment " was an assemblage of the whole Court in the
grand salon, from seven o'clock in the evening until ten, at which hour
the King supped ; and after the royal supper in one of the salons at
the chapel end of the Galerie des Glaces. It began with music, after
which the card-tables were brought in. Etiquette was to a large extent
laid aside on these occasions, and every one was free to amuse himself
as he pleased. " Apartments " were held on three evenings a week
during the winter ; the other three nights being set apart for the
theatre ; while the Sunday was free. When these functions were first
instituted, the King was frequently present, but lately he had ceased
to attend.
2 Louis de France, only son of Louis XIV. According to established
custom, the eldest son of the Sovereign bore the title of Dauphin ; but
an innovation was made in this particular instance.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 7
chess ; and for Mile, de Blois. That young lady, although
she had received orders to make an unusually elaborate
toilette, had not the faintest suspicion of what was in
store for her, and, being very timid and terribly afraid of
her royal father, imagined that she had been summoned
to receive a reprimand. She arrived, in consequence, in
so pitiful a state of trepidation that Madame de Maintenon
took her upon her lap, in order to reassure her.
" The fact of these royal persons being sent for by
the King," says Saint-Simon, " at once caused people to
suspect thit a marriage was in contemplation. In a few
minutes they returned, and the news was made public.
I arrived at that moment, and found everybody in
clusters and profound astonishment depicted upon every
face. Madame was promenading the gallery with
Chateaithier— her favourite, and worthy of being so.
She stnde along, handkerchief in hand, weeping bitterly,
talking pretty loudly, and looking like Ceres after the
rape of her daughter Proserpina. Monsieur, who had
returnee to lansquenet, seemed overwhelmed with
shame, and his son appeared in despair ; while the
bride-ele:t was extremely embarrassed and unhappy.
Though very young, and inclined to be dazzled by such
a marriaje, she understood what was happening and
feared the consequences."
At ten o'clock, Louis XIV. supped with the Royal
Family, h the presence of his courtiers. He appeared
perfectly it his ease, which certainly could not be said
of the rest of the august company. Madame s eyes were
still full of tears, which every now and again evaded her
restraining handkerchief and overflowed on to the table.
Upon the Luc de Chartres, who sat next her, with sus-
8 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
piciously red eyes, she did not condescend to bestow so
much as a glance ; nor upon her husband ; and all three
ate scarcely anything. It was remarked that the King
treated her with the utmost graciousness, and offered
her nearly all the dishes which were before him. She
refused them brusquely ; nevertheless, he continued his
courtly attentions. Upon leaving the table, his Majesty
made his sister-in-law a very marked and very low
reverence, " during which she executed so complete a
pirouette that when the King raised his head, he found
nothing but her back before him, removed about a step
farther towards the door."1
Madame spent the night dissolved in tears, and these
failing to relieve her outraged feelings, on the morrow
she, as we have just seen, vented them upon her un-
fortunate son's ear, in the presence of the whole Court.
After which act of retribution, she appears to have become
a trifle more resigned to the humiliation which, sie con-
sidered, was being inflicted upon her.
A few days later, the marriage-contract was signed in
the King's cabinet, as was customary when menbers of
the Royal Family or Princes of the Blood w&'e wed;
and on Shrove Monday, February 18, 1692, the narriage
was celebrated, with great pomp, in the ciapel at
Versailles, the Cardinal de Bouillon officiating. At the
conclusion of the ceremony, all the company dined in the
grand salon, at a table of horse-shoe shape, the Princes
and Princesses of the Blood being placed on the right
and left of the King, according to their rani. In the
afternoon, the exiled King and Queen of England arrived
from Saint-Germain, with their little Court, and there
1 Saint-Simon.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 9
was a grand concert, followed by the inevitable lansquenet
and hombre. After supper, the bridal pair were escorted
to the apartments of the new Duchesse de Chartres.
The bridegroom's night-shirt was handed to him by
James II., who had at first refused, on the plea that he
was so unhappily circumstanced that he might bring ill-
fortune to the young prince ; while Mary of Modena
performed the same service for the bride. The benedic-
tion of the nuptial couch was pronounced by the Cardinal
de Bouillon, but not until he had kept every one waiting
a quarter of an hour. His Eminence's conduct, we are
told, occasioned much unfavourable comment, since he
had but recently returned from a long period of exile,
which he had brought upon himself by his audacity in
refusing the nuptial blessing to Mile, de Nantes and the
Due de Bourbon unless he were admitted to the royal
banquet on the day of the marriage.
Whatever were the disappointments of this union,
which Madame declares, after the lapse of a quarter
of a century, " had spoiled her whole life and destroyed
her jovial temperament," unfruitfulness was certainly
not among them, since between December, 1693, and
June, 1716, the legitimated daughter of Louis XIV. bore
her husband a son — Louis, Due de Chartres, and after-
wards Due d' Orleans — and seven daughters, of whom
all but the eldest lived to grow up. Here is the
list:
(1) Mile, de Valois, born December 17, 1693 ; died
October 17, 1694.
(2) Marie Louise Elisabeth, called at first Mile, de
Chartres and, after the birth of her next sister,
Mademoiselle ; born August 20, 1695.
io UNRULY DAUGHTERS
(3) Louise Adelaide, Mile, de Chartres, born August 13,
1698.
(4) Charlotte Aglae, Mile, de Valois, born October 22,
1700.
(5) Louise Elisabeth, Mile, de Montpensier, born
December n, 1709.
(6) Philippine-£lisabeth, Mile, de Beaujolais, born
December 18, 1714.
(7) Louise Diane, Mile, de Chartres, born June 28, 1716.
Before, however, relating the history of these princesses,
which forms the subject of the present volume, we must
say something concerning their parents, upon whom
rests the chief responsibility for the vices or eccentrici-
ties which were to earn all but the two youngest so un-
enviable a celebrity.
Philippe d'Orleans, Due de Chartres and, after the
death of his father in 1701, Due d'Orleans, the future
Regent of France, was born at the Chateau of Saint-
Cloud, on August 2, 1674. From his infancy he showed
remarkable promise, but unhappily his good qualities
were destined to be counterbalanced by the gravest
faults. An ingenious story of Madame exactly depicts the
character of her son. She said that all the fairies had been
invited to be present at the young prince's birth ; that
all had come, and that each had endowed him with some
talent or good quality. As ill-luck would have it, how-
ever, an old fairy had been forgotten, because it was
believed that she had long since disappeared from this
world. Irritated by the omission, she arrived at the
moment when the last of her sisters had made her present,
and avenged herself for the slight inflicted upon her by
UNRULY DAUGHTERS n
bestowing on the child the unfortunate defect of rendering
absolutely useless all the gifts he had just received.
Philippe d'Orleans, in fact, possessed of all the qualities
required to form a great prince and to win the esteem and
affection of the nation — brave, generous, amiable, kind-
hearted, cultured, and intelligent— spoiled everything
by his weakness and indecision of character, and by a
debauchery which was regarded as singular even in an
age which was remarkable for the laxity of its morals.
In this respect the Due d'Orleans was not long in
showing what he was one day to become. " He had,"
writes the historian of his amours, " one of those pre-
cocious temperaments of which
' La valeur n'attend le nombre des anne'es,' 1
and for tutor the unprincipled Abbe Dubois, who, in order
to ingratiate himself with his pupil, seems deliberately
to have flattered his passions."2 With such instincts
and such a preceptor, it is scarcely a matter for surprise
that the young prince should have arrived at the age of
love almost as soon as he arrived at the age of reason. A
complaisant lady " undertook to aid Nature and to
teach him all that he had not divined."3 " At the age
1 Lescure, les Mattresses du Regent.
2 If there were not already too many proofs of this, the evidence
of the prince's mother would be in itself conclusive. " I at first thought
well of the Abbe Dubois," writes Madame, under date November 8,
1 719, " because I believed him to be sincerely attached to my son and
that he sought in all things only his welfare and advantage ; but when
I found out that he was a perfidious dog, who sought merely his own
interests, and, quite forgetting my son's honour, precipitated him into
eternal damnation, by permitting him to plunge into debauchery, all
my esteem for this little priest changed into contempt. ... I have
it, from my son himself, that, having one day, when quite alone, en-
countered his pupil at the moment when the latter was about to enter
a house of ill-lame, he merely laughed with him, instead of taking him
by the arm and bringing him home."
3 Lescure.
12 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
of thirteen," says Madame, " my son was already a
man; a lady of quality had instructed him."1 The name
of this dame de qualite, who had the distinction of heading
the long list which contains those of women of every
grade, has not been transmitted to posterity ; but, who-
ever she may have been, her pupil profited so well by her
instruction that before many months had elapsed his pre-
cocious gallantry was already a topic of conversation.
We read in that scandalous chronicle, the Memoires de
Maurepas :
" His first mistress was the little Leonore, daughter
of the concierge of the store-room at the Palais-Royal.
At the age of fourteen, he had a child by her, which
caused a great deal of talk. Monsieur was very much
annoyed about it ; Madame was not displeased, and even
took great care of both mother and child. This girl was
afterwards married to M. de Charency, son of a counsellor
at Riom."
Dissolute as he was, Philippe d'Orleans was no cor-
rupter of innocence, no destroyer of domestic felicity.
Several of his mistresses, notably Charlotte Desmares
and Mile. Florence, were actresses, and at the beginning
of the eighteenth century, and, indeed, until very much
later times, a chaste daughter of Thespis was regarded
as a kind of phenomenon. As to those of more exalted
station, Madame d'Argenton, far from being deprived
of a husband, received one almost from his hand ; Madame
de Parabere was the widow of a worthless creature, to
whom it is doubtful if she had troubled to remain faith-
ful ; Madame de Sabran called her husband " her mastiff,"
1 Correspondance complete de Madame, Duckesse d'OrUans,
Letter of June 15, 1719.
PuiLii'i'y. ami du vrqi-J^ttit-.cJw^hti i/r/t/ ./,w/r ■
UL'n- critique i/ui,nit ,'V irn.i L- fran-ctsut-
Un I'riiur Jaiu "JifiuttJ tu - cruint point Li .<a/y/r
Philippe II. . Due d'Orleans, Regent of France
From an engraving by Francois Chereau, after the painting by
J. B. Santerre
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 13
and " he was only too happy to gnaw the bones of her
lucrative infidelities " -,1 Madame d'Averne sold herself,
with the full approval of her consort, who took good care
that the bargain should be a profitable one from his
point of view ;2 while Madame de Phalaris was married
to a man who neglected and ill-treated her, and was
probably as thankful to be rid of her as she was to be
rid of him.
And, to his credit, it should be recorded here, that, when
he became Regent, he kept his mistresses himself ; he did
not make France keep them. As disinterested as he was
prodigal, his accounts show that he did not even touch
the salary attached to his exalted office. During the
eight years that he exercised supreme power in the name
of the little Louis XV., he had the opportunity of amassing
a great fortune. He died in debt.
Nor did he permit his mistresses the least vestige of
political influence. He declared that he detested women
of gallantry who were at the same time women of affairs,
and those who flattered themselves that they might
transform a rendezvous into a sort of audience within
the bed-curtains were speedily undeceived. Once, when
importuned by questions on some matter of public
importance by an indiscreet beauty, he caught up a
mirror, held it towards her, and observed : " These are
questions which ill become so beautiful a mouth." He
did not, however, always choose to signify his displeasure
in so gallant a fashion ; and that notorious intrigante,
Madame de Tencin, found herself ignominiously dis-
1 Lescure.
2 On the beginning of the liaison between the Due d'Orldans and
Madame d'Averne, see the author's The Fascinating Due de Richelieu
(London, Methuen ; New York, Scribner, 1910).
14 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
carded for having presumed to offer him advice at a
moment when he demanded only affection.
It was the same with his " roues "x as with his mistresses.
They enjoyed much favour, but they possessed no in-
fluence. The duke would drink and jest and gamble with
them, but he would not discuss politics. He would
pardon them every sin in the Decalogue, but he would
not pardon them ambition. The most favoured of them
all, the Comte de Noce, once ventured in public on a
bon-mot against Dubois, then Prime Minister. He was
promptly exiled.
The observations concerning the Due d'Orl^ans which
we find scattered throughout Madame 's letters are ex-
tremely interesting and valuable, for, notwithstanding
that she was warmly attached to them, no woman was
ever less blind to the faults of her children. Here are a
few :
" My son is not handsome ; he has full cheeks ; he
is short and stout, and his face is very red ; but it seems
to me that he is not unattractive. When he dances or
is on horseback, he looks very well, but, when he is
walking, he does not appear to advantage."
" Between ourselves, my son is not a man a la mode,
but a veritable fool where women are concerned. He
reminds me of the old patriarchs. My son has much
of King David about him ; he has courage and intelli-
gence ; he is musical, short in stature, honest, and he
passes the night willingly with all kinds of women. Pro-
vided that they are good-humoured, quite shameless,
1 The term " roue " (one deserving to be broken on the wheel), was,
we need hardly observe, invented by Philippe d'Orleans to describe
his debauched companions.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 15
and that they are able to consume plenty of food and
drink, he cares little whether they are pretty or not."
" My son is eloquent, good-natured, and light-hearted."
" My son is eloquent, and, when he wishes, he speaks
very impressively."
" My son is on very good terms with me ; he shows
me much affection and would be in despair if he lost me.
His visits rejoice my heart : he always tells me something
amusing which makes me laugh. He is witty, and his
conversation is very agreeable. I should be an unnatural
mother if I did not love him from the bottom of my
heart."1
Voltaire compares him to his great ancestor Henri of
Navarre, of which resemblance the duke was always
very vain. " Of all the descendants of Henri IV," he
writes, " Philippe d' Orleans was the one who resembled
him the most. He had his valour, his kindness, his in-
dulgence, his gaiety, his facility of speech, his frankness,
with a more cultured mind. His countenance, incom-
parably more gracious, was, however, that of Henri IV.
Sometimes it pleased him to put on a ruff, and then he was
Henri IV. beautified." 2
Saint-Simon, who, it should be remembered, was on
terms of the closest friendship with the duke, has devoted
to him one of his most arresting portraits :
" The Due d' Orleans," he writes, " was, at the most,
of mediocre stature, full-bodied, without being stout ; his
manner and bearing were very easy and very noble ;
his face was full and very agreeable ; his hair was black,
and he wore a black wig. Although he danced very
1 Correspondancc complete, passim.
3 Steele de Louis XV. Cf. Saint-Simon, p. 16, infra.
16 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
badly, and had succeeded but ill at the riding-school,1
he had in his countenance, in his gestures, and in all
his movements, infinite grace, and so natural that it
adorned even his most ordinary and commonplace
actions. With much ease, when nothing constrained him,
he was gentle, affable, frank, of easy and charming
access. The tone of his voice was agreeable, and he
spoke with astonishing fluency on all kinds of subjects.
His eloquence was natural and extended to the most
ordinary and everyday discourse ; while it equally
entered into his observations upon the most abstract
sciences, upon which he talked most informingly ; upon
the affairs of government, finance, politics, justice, war,
the Court, general conversation, the arts and mechanics.
. . . With all this, he had no presumption, no trace of
superiority, natural or acquired. He reasoned with you
as with an equal, and astonished even the most able men.
Although he never forgot his position, or allowed others
to forget it, he carried no constraint with him, but put
everybody at his ease, and placed himself upon the level
of others.
" He had the weakness to believe that he resembled
Henri IV. in everything, and strove to affect the manners,
the gestures, and the bearing of that monarch. Like
Henri IV., he was naturally kind, humane, compassionate;
and, indeed, this man, who has been so cruelly accused of
the blackest and most inhuman crimes, was more opposed
to the destruction of others than any man I have ever
known, and had such a singular dislike to causing any
one pain that it may be said his gentleness, his humanity,
his easiness, had become faults ; and I do not hesitate to
1 This, singularly enough, is the exact opposite of what Madame says.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 17
affirm that the supreme virtue which teaches us to pardon
our enemies he converted into a vice, by the indiscriminate
freedom with which he applied it.
" Of ambition for reigning or governing he had none.
If he made a false move in Spain, l it was because he had
been misdirected. What he would have liked best, would
have been to command armies while war lasted, and
divert himself the rest of the time without constraint to
himself or others. He was, in fact, very suited for this,
for with much valour he combined foresight, judgment,
coolness, and great capacity."
Saint-Simon then proceeds to show us the other side of
the picture, which, notwithstanding its lurid colouring,
is probably a faithful enough representation.
He attributes all the faults and vices of his royal friend
to the " execrable poison " administered to him in his
youth by that " wizened, herring-gutted, weazel-faced
scamp " Dubois, at whose head he hurls almost every
opprobious epithet in his rich vocabulary. " Dubois,"
he says, " led him into debauchery, made him despise all
duty and all decency, and persuaded him that he had
too much intelligence to be the dupe of religion, which,
he said, was a politic invention to frighten ordinary
intellects, and to keep the people in subjection. He
imbued him, too, with his favourite principle, that
1 At the conclusion of the campaign of 1708 in Spain, during which
he had taken Alicante and Tortosa, the Due d'Orleans was recalled to
France, under the suspicion, which appears justified, that he had made
overtures to the English generals, with the view of ascertaining whether
their Government would favour the substitution of himself for the
feeble Philip V. The rumour ran that he was to be brought to trial,
but Louis XIV. did not wish to transform a troublesome intrigue into
a State crime, and took care to deny it. Nevertheless, during the re-
mainder of the old King's life the Due d'Orleans remained in a kind of
semi-disgrace.
18 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
probity in man and virtue in woman are mere chimeras,
without existence in anybody save a few poor slaves of
early training. This was the basis of the worthy ecclesi-
astic's doctrines, whence arose the licence of falsehood,
deceit, artifice, infidelity, perfidy ; in a word, every
villainy and every crime were transformed into policy,
capacity, greatness, liberty, and depth of intellect,
enlightenment, good conduct, provided it could be hidden,
and if suspicion could be avoided."
The chronicler goes on to tell us that the prince grew so
accustomed to riotous living that he was unable to do
without it, and " could only divert himself by dint of
noise, tumult, and excess. It is this which led him into
such strange and such scandalous debauches, and, since
he wished to surpass all his companions, to mingle with
his parties of pleasure the most impious discourses, and,
as a precious refinement, to hold the most outrageous
orgies on the most holy days, as he did several times
during his regency, on Good Friday, by choice, and on
other similar days. The more debauched a man was the
more he esteemed him ; and I have over and over again
known him to express the most intense admiration for
the Grand Prior,1 because for forty years he had always
gone to bed drunk, and had never ceased to keep mis-
tresses in the most public manner, and to hold the most
impious and irreligious discourses. With these principles,
and the conduct which was the outcome of them, it is not
surprising that the Due d'Orleans was deceitful to such
an extent that he boasted of it, and plumed himself upon
1 Philippe de Vendome, Grand Prior of France (1655-1727). He
was the younger brother of Louis, Due de Vendome, the celebrated
general.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 19
being the most skilful deceiver in the world. ... So many
were the engagements which he broke that no value
was attached even to the most positive. He was no
longer believed, even when he spoke in all good faith.
To conclude, the obscure, and for the most part black-
guard, company which he ordinarily affected in his
debauches, and which he did not scruple publicly to call
his ' roues' drove away all decent people, and did him
an infinitude of harm."
The Due d'Orleans might have been a better man if he
had had a different kind of wife, but unhappily it was his
misfortune to be married to a woman so entirely selfish
that she was incapable of exercising the least influence
for good over either her husband or her children.
Francoise Marie de Bourbon, Duchesse d'Orleans, was
the youngest of the four daughters whom Madame de
Montespan had presented to Louis XIV., and therefore
sister to the Duchesse de Bourbon {Madame la Duchesse),
the Due du Maine, and the Comte de Toulouse, and half-
sister to the widowed Princesse de Conti. She was born
on May 25, 1677, and was the first-fruits of the recon-
ciliation between her mother and the King which had
followed the brief rupture effected by the eloquent re-
monstrances of Bossuet, which caused Madame de Caylus
to write, with obvious malice : "It seems to me that one
can still detect in the character, the physiognomy, and
the whole person of the Duchesse d'Orleans traces of this
combat between love and religion."1
In appearance, the duchess was " tall and in every
1 Souvenirs et Correspondance de Madame de Caylus. For a full
account of this episode, see the author's Madame de Montespan (London,
Harper; New York, Scribner, 1903).
20 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
way majestic ; her complexion, her throat, her arms,
were admirable ; she had a tolerable mouth, with beautiful
teeth, somewhat long ; and cheeks too broad and too
pendant, which interfered with, but did not spoil her
beauty. What disfigured her the most were her eyebrows,
which were, so to speak, peeled and red, with very little
hair ; she had, however, fine eyelashes, with well-set,
chestnut-coloured hair. Without being humpbacked or
deformed, she had one side larger than the other, which
caused her to walk awry ; and this defect in her figure
indicated another, which was more troublesome in society
and which inconvenienced herself."1
Though not so gifted as her elder sister, Madame la
Duchesse, her abilities were, nevertheless, considerable,
and she shone greatly in conversation, " having a just-
ness of expression, and a fluency and singularity in the
choice of language, which always astonished one, together
with that manner peculiar to Madame de Montespan and
her sisters, which was transmitted to none save those
intimate with her or those whom she had brought up."2
She laboured under the disadvantage of an embarrassed
and indistinct utterance, so that it was not altogether easy
for unaccustomed ears to follow what she said, but very
soon people became used to this and were charmed by her
clever and witty talk.
The duchess, however, was far too indolent to employ
her intelligence except in conversation ; indeed, she
appears to have been one of the most indolent women of
her time. " One has never heard of such laziness," writes
her disgusted mother-in-law. " She has had a couch
made on which she reclines when she plays lansquenet ;
1 Saint-Simon. * Ibid.
Francoise Marie de Bourbon (Mlle. de Blois), Duchesse d'Orle vns
From the painting by Largilliere, at Versailles
(Photo by \V. A. Mansell & Co.)
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 21
we make game of her, but that has no effect. She gambles
lying down ; she takes her meals lying down ; she reads
lying down ; in a word, almost all her life is passed lying
down. This must be bad for her health ; indeed, she is
almost always ailing. One day, she complains of her
head ; another day, of her digestion. It would seem that,
leading such a life, she could not have robust children ;
nevertheless, her three elder daughters are strong and in
very good health."1
The one thing capable of surmounting this extraordinary
indolence — which grew upon her steadily and prevented
her from performing a mother's duty towards her numer-
ous family — and of stimulating her to some degree of
energy and activity, was her pride. This, we are told, was
" almost Satanic." As the daughter of Louis XIV., she
considered herself superior to all the princesses, and could
never bring herself to admit the inferiority which her
illegitimate birth inflicted upon her ; indeed, she was of
opinion that she had much honoured the Due d'Orleans
in marrying him ! Duclos says that people jocosely com-
pared her to Minerva, who, recognising no mother, prided
herself on being the daughter of Jupiter.2
Although she had no love for the husband whom Louis
XIV. had chosen for her, her vanity was wounded by his
conduct, since " she would have liked to have been loved
and served by him as a goddess." She did not, however,
make the slightest effort to gain his affection, pretending
that, being so much above him, to do so would be to
degrade herself ; nor was she even willing to renounce
1 Correspondence complete. Letter of April 17, 1718.
* Memoires secrets pour servir a I'Histoire de Louis XIV., etc. The
letters of legitimation of the children of Madame de Montespan did not
mention the name of the mother.
22 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
what she knew was displeasing to him. * This was the more
unfortunate, since the Due d'Orleans was fond of his wife,
as, Madame tells us, he was of all women with whom he
was on terms of intimacy. But she was always so cold
and ungracious towards him, and gave herself such absurd
airs of superiority, that he soon ceased to spend much of
his time in her company, and " plumed himself," says
Saint-Simon, " on carrying his licentious conduct to
the farthest limits, in order to show the contempt which
he felt for his consort." This, however, would appear to
have been during the earlier part of their married life,
for in later years this singular couple, coming to
understand one another better, lived on tolerably good
terms ; the duchess permitted her husband to go his
own way without remonstrance, and the duke, in return,
endeavoured to respect outward appearances as much as
possible. " Monsieur," said he on one occasion to the
Prince de Conti, who had conducted himself after an
evening of revelry with too little dignity, " I recollect read-
ing, by chance, in some book that, when a man is drunk,
he ought to go to bed without saying anything to his wife.
As for myself, when I am in that condition, which happens
pretty frequently, I take good care not to tell the Duchesse
d'Orleans, nor to let her find it out. I do it on the sly."
Too indolent to perform the most ordinary duties of a
mother towards her children, or to occupy herself with
the interests of her husband, to whose dissipated life she
1 With all her haughtiness, however, she was timidity itself in the
presence of her royal father, and also of Madame de Maintenon, who
had brought her up. " The King," writes Saint-Simon, " could make
her swoon by a single severe look, and Madame de Maintenon, too,
perhaps ; at all events, she trembled before her, and in public she
never replied to them without stammering and looking frightened.
I say, replied, since to address the King first was beyond her strength."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS n
appeared to be profoundly indifferent, the duchess, as we
shall presently see, was capable of plenty of energy if her
pride was touched, or if any question arose which con-
cerned her elder brother, the Due du Maine, to whom she
was devotedly attached. For this prince she cheerfully
endured every kind of trouble and fatigue, and, in the
campaign against the legitimated princes at the beginning
of the Regency, she espoused his cause with the most
passionate enthusiasm. This devotion, however, was not
perhaps wholly disinterested, for, if the Due du Maine
had become all-powerful, she would undoubtedly have
enjoyed far more influence than her husband ever per-
mitted her. The duchess was also attached, though in a
much less degree, to her younger brother, the Comte de
Toulouse ; but there was little love lost between her and
her sister and half-sister, Madame la Duchesse and the
widowed Princesse de Conti ; indeed, during the lifetime of
Louis XIV., their quarrels were so frequent that the King
was obliged to threaten them with banishment from Court,
if they could not contrive to compose their differences.. -
It was her fancy to surround herself with a Court,
where a sort of cult appears to have been professed for
her. She preferred to bestow her favour upon humble
and servile persons, rather than upon those who showed
any independence of character, and her waiting-women,
who were ready to flatter her to the top of her bent, had
great influence over her. " She prefers the company of
waiting- women to those of persons of consideration,"
writes Madame. " Sometimes a whole week passes with-
out her seeing any of her ladies-in-waiting, who dare not
present themselves before her, unless they are sent for."1
1 Correspovdance complete, Letter of March 31, 17 19.
24 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
However, she had sufficient good sense to select as her
most intimate friend and confidante, her cousin, the
Duchesse Sforza,1 an excellent woman, intelligent,
prudent and virtuous, whose counsels served to counter-
act to some degree the influence of certain dangerous
intriguers, such as the Due and Duchesse de Saint-
Pierre, who, by extravagant professions of devotion, had
succeeded in wheedling their way into important posts
in the princess's Household.
This establishment was on quite an imposing footing,
and the Duchesse d'Orleans aspired to exercise a verit-
able despotism over its members, and even to regulate
their domestic affairs. Saint-Simon relates an instance
of this. She had for her dame d'atours the Comtesse de
Castries, daughter of the Due de Vivonne, brother of
Madame de Montespan and, therefore, like the Duchesse
Sforza, her cousin-germaine ; and for chevalier d'honneur
that lady's husband. Now, in the case of the Duchesse
Sforza, the wife of a member of a princely Italian House,
her Royal Highness had condescended to acknowledge
the relationship ; but the Castries, being comparatively
humble people, she thought fit to ignore it, nor did they,
although on terms of some familiarity with their mis-
tress, ever venture to remind her of it. In course of time
it happened that ML and Madame de Castries, who
possessed but a moderate fortune, arranged what they
considered to be a very satisfactory marriage for their
1 She was the younger daughter of Madame de Montespan's elder
sister, the Duchesse de Thianges, and sister of the beautiful Duchesse
de Nevers, upon whom Louis XIV. had for a brief moment cast a rather
more than friendly eye. Madame de Caylus describes her as " having
a white skin, rather fine eyes, and a nose pendant over a very red
mouth, which made M. de Vendome say that she resembled a paroquet
eating a cherry."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 25
only son, the lady being a certain Mile. Nolent, daughter
of a wealthy councillor of the Parlement of Paris ; but,
before definitely concluding the affair, they judged it
advisable, as members of her Household, to go through
the form of consulting the Duchesse d'Orleans. To their
profound astonishment, on learning of the proposed mar-
riage, the duchess all of a sudden recollected that Madame
de Castries was her cousin, and declared that an alliance
between her son and the daughter of a bourgeois family
was entirely out of the question. It was not that she had
another marriage to propose for the young man, still less
a more advantageous one ; but she made so great a pother
that the Castries, fearful of offending her, dared not pro-
ceed with the affair. The marriage was not abandoned,
however, since it was greatly desired by all the parties
concerned ; and at the end of six months the Duchesse
d'Orleans's brothers, the Due du Maine and the Comte de
Toulouse, good-naturedly intervened and obtained the
raising of the interdict ; and it was duly concluded. The
haughty princess, however, could never be persuaded to
treat the young Madame de Castries otherwise than with
the coldest disdain, and the poor girl scarcely dared to
present herself before her ; while the tardily-acknow-
ledged cousin and the Comte de Castries remained in a
sort of semi-disgrace, until death removed both the
innocent cause of offence and her husband within a few
days of one another.
Like her husband, the Duchesse d'Orleans was exceed-
ingly deceitful, but, whereas the duke practised dissimula-
tion as a matter of policy, his wife was naturally false.
Thus, she affected great respect and even affection for
her mother-in-law, and overwhelmed her with compli-
26 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
ments and attentions whenever she saw her, although
she disliked the old princess heartily, and in secret never
lost an opportunity of doing her an ill-turn. Madame,
who was far too shrewd a judge of character to be deceived
by such professions, returned the hostile sentiments
which she knew the duchess entertained for her with
interest ; indeed, the latter appears to have inspired her
with a veritable antipathy, and her correspondence
abounds in caustic comments upon her daughter-in-law's
character and mode of life. Her statements, however,
must be accepted with considerable reserve, for, when
Madame was writing about persons who had been so
unfortunate as to incur her displeasure, she was inclined
to allow her pen to run away with her.
" My daughter-in-law is a disagreeable and worth-
less creature," she writes, under date October 10, 1693.
" She does not trouble about my son, and despises
Monseigneur. . . . She does not occupy herself with any-
thing, but passes her life, in my opinion, in a frightful
indifference. . . . Her arrogance and ill-humour are in-
supportable, and her countenance is extremely displeasing.
She is quite crooked, and has a horrible pronunciation,
as though her mouth were always full of pap, and a head
which wags unceasingly. Such is the present which la
vieille ordure [Madame de Maintenon] has given us. You
can imagine if one ought to lead an agreeable life with
her. But birth takes the place of everything and supplies
the qualities which are lacking. She torments her hus-
band greatly, and the poor lad repents bitterly of having
committed this folly and of having refused to believe me."
When, however, a few years later, the Due and Duchesse
d'Orleans had decided to make the best of their bar-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 27
gain, and had, in consequence, begun to live on tolerably
amicable terms, Madame was still more displeased ; and
there can be very little doubt that the old lady infinitely
preferred to see the Palais-Royal menage at variance than
comparatively united, and that she employed her in-
fluence with her son to indispose him against his wife.
' My son," she writes, " has, where his wife is concerned,
a blindness which seems incredible, when one knows how
little she troubles about him. He is intelligent and yet
he does not see what is going on. Provided that she does
not object to his going constantly to Paris, and leading a
disorderly life there, he is satisfied with her."1
Not content with accusing her detested daughter-in-
law of indolence, vanity, ill-temper, arrogance, deceit,
and gluttony, and with " getting as drunk as a currier
three times a week," Madame charges her with unfaith-
fulness to her husband : " Despite all her gravity, she is
never without affairs. One ought, however, to render her
this justice, that she conducts herself very well in this
respect, and will never give cause for scandal. All Paris
believes her a vestal ; but I, who see things from close at
hand, I know well what is going on. I counsel my son
always to live on very good terms with her ; for what
purpose would a rupture serve ? The King would take
his daughter's part, and, notwithstanding the scandal,
my son would be obliged to keep her. It is therefore better
to close the eyes and to live amicably together."2
This last charge against the Duchesse d'Orleans lacks
confirmation, and we ought to hesitate to accept the
testimony of a writer who was only too ready to believe
1 Lettres inidites de la Princesse Palatine, publiees par M. A. Rolland,
Letter of April 19, 1701.
* Ibid. Letter of May 21, 1712.
28 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
anything to the detriment of those whom she disliked.
But Madame is on much surer ground when she reproaches
her daughter-in-law with the most deplorable indifference
to her maternal duties. " The mother brings up her
children in a fashion which is an object of derision and
of scandal," she writes. " It is necessary for me to assist
at that daily, and all that I can say is perfectly useless."
The Duchesse d'Orleans, in fact, had little affection for
her offspring, and had not the smallest intention of
abandoning her indolent and selfish habits in order to
superintend their education. She infinitely preferred to
spend her days gracefully reclining on her luxurious couch
in a becoming peignoir, listening to the tittle-tattle of her
waiting-women, reading or — since that generally entailed
too much exertion — having read to her, fashionable
romances, or playing cards with the Duchesse Sforza, to
having her children around her, interesting herself in
their studies and amusements, hearing the reports of
tutors and gouvemantes, and deciding with them the
measures to be adopted. Occupations of this kind might
be all very well for ordinary mothers, but were really
too fatiguing for great princesses, particularly when they
happened to be, like herself, in delicate health; and, if
she had been allowed to have her way, she would have
made nuns of all her daughters. " It would seem,"
writes £douard de Barthelemy, " as though she considered
that she had taken sufficient trouble in bringing her
daughters into the world, and that they had no further
claim upon her."1
Such were the parents of the bevy of princesses whose
history we shall now relate.
r
1 Eclouard de Barthelemy, les Filles du Regent.
CHAPTER II
The Orleans princesses — Their neglected childhood — Serious illness of
Mademoiselle, whose life is saved by her father's care — Singular
affection of the Due d'Orleans for his eldest daughter — Unsuccess-
ful endeavour of the Duchesse d'Orleans to obtain precedence for
her children over the Princes and Princesses of the Blood — She
determines to marry Mademoiselle to the Due de Berry, youngest
son of the Dauphin— Diplomatic move of the young princess —
Obstacles in the way of the proposed marriage — Intrigues of Saint-
Simon and the Duchesse de Bourgogne on behalf of Mademoiselle —
Louis XIV. decides in favour of that princess and obliges the
Dauphin to consent to the marriage — The Due de Berry — Anecdotes
of his boyhood — His appearance and character — Visit of Mademoi-
selle to Versailles — A singular imbroglio — Marriage of the Due de
Berry and Made mo iselle— Early years of Miles, de Chartres and de
Valois, second and third daughters of the Due and Duchesse
d'Orleans — The two little princesses are sent to the Abbey of Chelles.
A REFERENCE to the list given in the preceding
chapter will show that the six daughters of the
Due and Duchesse d'Orleans may be divided into two
series, since only five years separate the eldest, Made-
moiselle, from her third sister, Mile, de Valois ; while
more than nine intervene between the birth of Mile, de
Valois, in the last year of the seventeenth century, and
that of Mile, de Montpensier, in 1709. The three first,
therefore, were already finishing their education when
their younger sisters came into the world.
Little information is to be gleaned from the memoirs
and correspondence of the time concerning the early
years of any of these princesses. But that little is enough
to show that they passed a strange childhood, between a
29
o
o UNRULY DAUGHTERS
vain and selfish mother, who cared nothing for them, and
was not ashamed to let it be seen that she regarded them
as " encumbrances " ; a dissipated father, who loved them,
it is true, but who knew no other way of showing his
affection than by spoiling and amusing himself with
them, and a grandmother, kindly and well-meaning, but
jealous and vindictive, who was far more ready to criticise
the education they were receiving than to attempt to
remedy its defects, and whose chief object seems to have
been to monopolise their childish affections to the detri-
ment of their parents.
And so they grew up, unsurrounded by any serious
affection and without any proper control being exercised
over them, allowed to quarrel with one another un-
rebuked, and to follow each her own particular inclina-
tions. For those who were placed in charge of them, as
is very frequently the case, finding the Due and Duchesse
d' Orleans too absorbed in their own affairs to interest
themselves in the education of their daughters, seem to
have made no effort to check the faults of the latter,
so long as these did not happen to interfere with their
own ease and comfort. We shall soon see the consequences
of this deplorable apathy.
It is, however, only just to the Due and Duchesse
d'Orleans to observe that, if they were indifferent to
the moral welfare of their children, they were not in-
different to their bodily health. Thus, in the autumn
of 1706, when Mademoiselle was attacked by small-
pox, the duchess became, for the moment, a true mother,
shutting herself up with the sick child and assisting to
nurse her ; while, some years earlier, the same little
princess had undoubtedly owed her life to her father's
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 31
care, although most people will be of opinion that it
would have been infinitely better for the reputation of
both if Death had not been cheated of his prey.
In the early summer of 1701, when Mademoiselle was
not quite six years old, she fell ill, at Saint-Cloud, of a
malady the nature of which seems to have puzzled com-
pletely the doctors who attended her, and her condition
speedily became so alarming that all hope was abandoned,
and " for six hours she was believed to be dead."1 It
was then that her father, who was an enthusiastic student
of chemistry — an enthusiasm which was to be largely
responsible for the terrible suspicions concerning him at
the time of the successive deaths of the Due and Duchesse
de Bourgogne and their infant son, the Due de Bretagne,
eleven years later — undertook to cure her, and, to the
general astonishment and the chagrin of the physicians,
was successful. From that moment dates the singular
affection of Philippe d'Orleans for his eldest daughter,
which, degenerating as time went on and the girl grew
more attractive, into the most fatal weakness and in-
dulgence, was to exercise so pernicious an influence upon
her character, and to be interpreted so odiously.
When Mademoiselle was ten years old, she was honoured,
one evening at Versailles, by an invitation to sup at the
King's table, and to follow him into his cabinet after-
wards. In a Court where the least details of etiquette
were regarded as of more importance than the fate of
empires, this incident provoked the liveliest discussion,
since the Princesses of the Blood were not ordinarily
admitted to his Majesty's table, save on the occasion of
some great ceremony. It would appear that the Duchesse
1 Journal de Dangeau, June 2S, 1701.
32 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
d'Orleans was so puffed up with vanity at the honour
conferred upon her daughter, that Louis XIV. was
obliged to intimate to her that it was merely a passing
favour, and must in no wise be interpreted as giving her
precedence over the other Princesses of the Blood.
To secure this precedence for her children was one of
the most cherished ambitions of the duchess, and she
prosecuted it with an energy and a tenacity of purpose
really astonishing in a woman of her indolent tempera-
ment. But, as we have said, when a question arose which
touched her pride, she invariably shook off her habitual
lethargy and became another person altogether. It had
long been a source of the keenest mortification to her
that, although she had the rank of a " granddaughter of
France," her children, while taking precedence of the
children of the Princes of the Blood, should be obliged to
yield the pas to the Princes themselves and to their wives
and widows. But, since a direct attack upon so long-
established a custom offered little promise of success,
she determined, towards the end of 1709, to endeavour,
so to speak, to turn the position by inventing the title of
" great-grandson and great-granddaughters of France."
This project at first met with scant encouragement from
her husband, but the duchess was not disheartened, and
at length persuaded him to give it his support.
The little Due de Chartres, who was barely six years of
age, was, of course, too young to be made the instrument
of his ambitious mother ; but Mademoiselle was now in
her fifteenth year, and, thanks to her unfortunate educa-
tion and the fatal indulgence of her father, already
possessed the most exalted idea of her own importance.
She lived at the Palais-Royal, surrounded, like her
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 33
mother, by a sort of little Court of sycophantic ladies,
who vied with one another in flattering and spoiling her,
and was " haughty and absolute in regard to all things
that she desired." Soon the persistent manner in which
the Duchesse d'Orleans kept her eldest daughter aloof
from Court ceremonies began to arouse suspicion ; and
all doubt as to that lady's pretensions was dispelled
when it was known that Mademoiselle had refused her
signature to a marriage-contract, because her mother
did not wish her to sign her name after the Princes of the
Blood.
This affair, we are assured, created a great sensation ;
the Princes and Princesses of the Blood were furiously
indignant, and Madame la Duchesse expressed her opinion
to her sister in terms more forcible than courteous.
The latter, undismayed by the storm which she had
provoked, stood her ground firmly, and for several
months the Court was divided into rival camps, since
Louis XIV., always very slow in coming to a decision,
particularly on questions of etiquette, hesitated to make
a pronouncement. At length, however, after the sudden
death of Monsieur le Due, at the beginning of March
1710, the King, at the request of the Due d'Orleans, who
represented to him the necessity, in the circumstances,
of putting an end to the quarrel between the widowed
duchess and her sister, gave his decision against the
pretensions of the latter.
The Duchesse d'Orleans took this defeat so much to
heart that, as soon as it was announced to her, she shut
herself up in her own apartments, on the plea of indis-
position, and refused to see any one with the exception
of Mademoiselle. On the morrow, powerless to dissimu-
D
34 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
late the mortification she felt at the triumph of Madame
la Duchesse, and what she was pleased to consider the
affront which had been inflicted upon her, she quitted
Versailles for Saint-Cloud, and, notwithstanding the
representations of her husband, declined to allow Made-
moiselle to appear at any of the Lenten services which
the King attended, because at these the Princesses were
placed according to their rank.
From Saint-Cloud, the duchess proceeded to the
Palais-Royal, whither the duke followed her, in the
hope of inducing her to return to Court ; but, though
Saint-Simon added his persuasions to his, she remained
inflexible. Her obstinacy was the more surprising, since,
on learning of the King's decision, she had announced
her intention of moving heaven and earth to bring about
the marriage of Mademoiselle to the Due de Berry, the
youngest son of the Dauphin and brother of the Due de
Bourgogne and Philip V. of Spain, in order to secure for
her daughter by this means the honours she was unable to
obtain otherwise, and had drafted a letter to Madame de
Maintenon, soliciting her support for this project. Saint-
Simon did not fail to represent to her that the unfortunate
impression which her absence from Court, and of Made-
moiselle from the Lenten services, could not fail to
create in the King's mind must seriously compromise the
chances of the marriage she desired ; but all to no purpose.
" She listened to all I had to say," he writes, " thanked
me coldly, and, with a vexation tempered by courtesy,
informed me that it would not shake her resolution."
Meanwhile, Louis XIV. had manifested his displeasure
at the conduct of the duchess and her daughter in so
unmistakable a manner, that the Duchesse de Bourgogne,
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 35
who, as we shall presently see, had private reasons of
her own for desiring the marriage of Mademoiselle and
the Due de Berry, resolved to intervene. She accord-
ingly sent for the young princess, pointed out to her,
" with the kindness of a mother," what would be the
inevitable consequence of the obstinacy of the Duchesse
d'Orleans, and implored her to appear at one service at
least before Easter. Mademoiselle, whose precocious
vanity was flattered by the hope of an alliance which
would make her the first lady in the land after the
Duchesse de Bourgogne herself, and even invest her with
eventual rights to the Crown matrimonial, appreciated
the wisdom of this advice, and, since she had no affec-
tion for her mother, and was aware that her father
strongly disapproved of the latter's conduct and that
she could count on his support, promised to follow it.
A day or two later, accordingly, she went to the chapel
of Versailles, and took her place among the Princesses of
the Blood, as though nothing had happened.
There can be no doubt that the Due d'Orleans both
knew and approved of his favourite daughter's action ;
but it came as a complete surprise to the duchess, who
was so enraged that, according to Saint-Simon, " she did
not cease to weep the entire day." Eventually, however,
she was obliged to recognise that Mademoiselle, in bow-
ing to the King's decision, even in defiance of her in-
junctions, had done very wisely, and raised no further
objection to her daughter taking the place his Majesty
had assigned her. Thus, the situation was saved, and
the chances of the marriage, which for the moment had
seemed hopelessly compromised, re-established.
These chances, however, had never been such as to
36 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
justify any very confident hopes of success ; indeed, the
obstacles which presented themselves were of the most
formidable nature.
It was well known that Louis XIV. was anxious for
the marriage of the Due de Berry, who was now twenty-
three years of age, and had begun to take so much
pleasure in feminine society that his Majesty feared that,
if he did not speedily provide him with a wife, he might
engage in some liaison from which it would be difficult
to detach him, or possibly follow his own and Mon-
seigneur's example and contract a morganatic union.1
It was also true that, since France was at war with the
chief Catholic States of Europe, with the exception of
Spain and Bavaria, where there were no princesses of
marriageable age, a foreign alliance was out of the
question, and that he must perforce wed a French
princess, that is to say, either Mademoiselle or Mile, de
Bourbon, eldest daughter of Madame la Duchesse,2
since they were the only princesses of marriageable
age.
Well, in ordinary circumstances, the fact that Made-
moiselle was the daughter of the head of the younger
branch of the Royal Family, while her cousin was only
the daughter of the First Prince of the Blood, would have
been generally regarded as sufficient to entitle her to the
preference. But the Due d'Orleans was in very bad
odour with the King, owing to the intrigues for his own
aggrandizement which he had carried on with the Allies
when commanding in Spain two years before, and his
1 There can, we think, be no more doubt that the Dauphin was
secretly married to Mile. Choin than that his father was the husband
of Madame de Maintenon.
2 Louise Elisabeth de Bourbon-Conde, born November 22, 1693.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 37
debauched life ; he was disliked by Madame de Main-
tenon, and simply detested by the Dauphin, " who
always displayed his hatred in the most indecent
manner."1 Moreover, M on seigneur, while caring little
for his younger sister, was warmly attached to Madame
la Duchesse, who spent a good deal of her time at his
country-house at Meudon ; and Mile, de Bourbon,
besides being two years older than Mademoiselle, and
therefore nearer the Due de Berry's age, was by far the
more pleasing of the two young ladies. Most people
accordingly inclined to the belief that the King's decision
would be in her favour.
Fortunately for Mademoiselle, she possessed in the
Duchesse de Bourgogne and Saint-Simon two invaluable
allies.
The prospect of a match between the Due de Berry
and the daughter of Madame la Duchesse, who cherished
the bitterest jealousy and hatred of the Duchesse de
Bourgogne, and was the moving spirit of the " Cabal
of Meudon," which had for some time past been intriguing
actively to destroy the credit of her and her husband,
was not one which that princess could afford to regard
with complacency. In the first place, it would probably
result in the Due de Berry, hitherto warmly attached to
his brother and to herself, being drawn into the ranks
of the opposing faction, and would certainly strengthen
the influence of Madame la Duchesse over Monseigneur,
already estranged from his eldest son. In the second,
she was well aware of the power of novelty over
Louis XIV. 's mind — was not her own exceptional favour
a signal example of it ? — and feared that if a young,
1 Saint-Simon.
38 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
pretty, and vivacious girl, like Mile, de Bourbon, were
admitted to the King's circle, she might find in her a
dangerous rival. On the other hand, she and her hus-
band had nothing to fear from the marriage of the Due
de Berry with Mademoiselle. They had always been
on very friendly terms with the Due and Duchesse
d' Orleans ; while the girl herself, though not unattractive
in person, possessed none of the qualities which were
likely to appeal to the King.
Saint-Simon had also excellent reasons for desiring
to prevent the elevation of a daughter of Madame la
Duchesse, his devotion to the interests of the Due and
Duchesse de Bourgogne having greatly incensed that
princess against him ; indeed, he declares that the
marriage of Mile, de Bourbon would have been " like
a millstone falling upon his head." On the other hand,
his close friendship with the Orleans family made him
naturally anxious to strengthen their position. If we
are to believe him, it was he who aroused the Duchesse
de Bourgogne to a sense of her " great duty to herself,
which was perpetually in danger of being stifled by the
fictitious and petty duties of daily life," and he certainly
seems to have displayed almost superhuman energy in
the struggle which ensued, not even disdaining to make
use of his enemies the Jesuits, who, he confesses, became
" a powerful instrument." It may be questioned, how-
ever, if " all the machines which he regularly wound up
in reciprocal cadence every day " would have succeeded
in breaking down the aversion of Louis XIV., Madame
de Maintenon, and Monseigneur to a marriage which
would so much increase the importance of a man whom
they all three regarded with aversion, had it not been
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 39
for the persistence and address with which the Duchesse
de Bourgogne seconded their efforts.
A little before Easter, the duchess having succeeded
in gaining over Madame de Maintenon, and having
reason to believe that the King, thanks to the diplomatic
conduct of Mademoiselle, was not unfavourably inclined,
resolved to attempt a grand coup. One day, when
Mademoiselle had been taken to see the King at Madame
de Maintenon's, where the Dauphin also happened to
be, as soon as the young princess had gone out, she
began to praise her, and on a sudden, "with that pre-
determined impulsiveness which she sometimes em-
ployed," exclaimed : " What an admirable wife for the
Due de Berry ! " At these words, Monseigneur coloured
with vexation, and observed angrily that " that would
be an excellent method of recompensing the Due d'Orleans
for his conduct in Spain." With which he abruptly
quitted the room, leaving the company all very much
astonished, since no one had expected a person usually
so phlegmatic and indifferent to exhibit so much feeling.
The Duchesse de Bourgogne, " who had only spoken
with the object of feeling the way with Monseigneur in
the presence of the King," promptly took advantage of
the mistake that prince had committed. " Ma tante,"
said she, turning with a pretty air of bewilderment to
Madame de Maintenon, " have I said something foolish ? '
The King, annoyed by the brusqueness of the Dauphin,
answered for Madame de Maintenon, and said, warmly,
that, if Madame la Duchesse assumed that tone and was
working to gain over Monseigneur, she would have to
reckon with him. Upon which Madame de Maintenon
adroitly fanned the flame, by remarking on the irritation,
40 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
so very unusual in him, which Monseigneur had shown,
adding that, if Madame la Duchesse had so much in-
fluence, she would make him do other things of more
consequence. Thus, the ruse of the Duchesse de Bour-
gogne succeeded beyond her hopes, and before the
company dispersed, "the attachment of the Dauphin to
Madame la Duchesse had done more injury to Mile, de
Bourbon than it could ever serve her." x
Saint-Simon, informed of what had occurred, lost no
time in bringing all his batteries into play — to borrow
his own expression — and kept up so brisk and well-
directed a fire that the breach already made in the
defences widened daily, and he soon perceived that the
moment had arrived to deliver the final assault. He
therefore pressed the Due d'Orleans to speak to the King,
but, to his disgust, that prince, " who was like a motion-
less beam which stirred only in response to our redoubled
efforts, and who remained so to the conclusion of this
great business," immediately began to raise all kinds of
objections. Saint-Simon, however, continued to press
him, and at last he gave way and agreed to write to the
King.
It was then decided that they should each draft a
letter, and that the one which appeared the most suitable
should be submitted to his Majesty. Saint-Simon's pen
was soon speeding over the paper, but, when he had
finished, he perceived that the Due d'Orleans had not yet
written a line and appeared lost in reflection. He there-
fore suggested that, as the prince found so much diffi-
culty in composing a letter himself, he had better copy
his own, which the latter did, without making any im-
1 Saint- Simon.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 41
portant changes, signed, sealed it, and placed it in his
pocket. There it remained for a week, and might have
remained indefinitely but for the persistence of Saint-
Simon, who, one morning, when he had ascertained that
Louis XIV. happened to be in an exceptionally good-
humour, conducted him to the door of Madame de
Maintenon's apartment, whither his Majesty had, as
usual, repaired after Mass, and almost pushed him into
the room.
The Due d'Orleans lost nothing by the timidity with
which he approached his Majesty, for it always flattered
the pride of Louis XIV. to see himself feared ; and when
persons, particularly members of his own family, showed
diffidence in his presence, nothing pleased him more or
more effectually served their cause. He placed the letter
which his nephew handed him in his pocket, without
opening it ; but he spoke to him very graciously in-
deed ; and the prince quitted the room in a much more
cheerful frame of mind than he had entered it.
His hopes were justified, for, on the morrow, the King
sent for him, and informed him that the suggested mar-
riage between his eldest daughter and the Due de Berry
met with his entire approval, adding, however, that
Monseigneur was much opposed to the project, and that
" he would take his time to speak to him on the matter."
With victory fairly in sight, the Duchesse de Bourgogne,
Saint-Simon and their allies redoubled their efforts ; and,
though Madame la Duchesse and her friends endeavoured
to snatch it from them, by circulating the most abomin-
able rumours in regard to the relations between the Due
d'Orleans and his daughter, which appear to have been
the starting-point for the reports of a similar nature so
42 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
prevalent during the Regency, the only result was to
precipitate matters; and, on June i, Louis XIV., piqued
by the insinuations skilfully conveyed to him that he
did not dare to impose his will upon his son, sent for the
Dauphin and bluntly proposed to him the match, " in
the tone of a father, mingled with that of a King and
a master."
Monseigneur, much astonished, stammered and hesi-
tated, but ended by promising compliance with the
paternal wishes, stipulating only that the official announce-
ment should be postponed for a few days, in order that
he might have time to accustom himself to the idea of a
marriage which was so little to his liking. To this the
King graciously consented, warning him, however, that
there must be no going back upon his word. Then he sent
to inform the Due d'Orleans of the result of his interview
with Monseigneur, authorising him to tell his wife, the
Duchesse de Bourgogne, and Madame de Maintenon.
Finally, it occurred to his Majesty that it might be as well,
as a mere matter of form, to acquaint the Due de Berry,
who, up to the present, would appear to have been in
complete ignorance of all the intrigues and negotiations
which had been going on for his settlement in life, of the
fate in store for him.
On the morrow, accordingly, he took his grandson into
his cabinet, and inquired if he would like to get married,
to which the prince replied evasively by an assurance of
his willingness to submit in all things to his Majesty's
orders. " The King then asked him if he would have any
repugnance to espouse Mademoiselle, the only princess in
France, added he, who was suitable for him, since, in the
present circumstances, it was impossible to think of any
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 43
foreign princess. The Due de Berry answered that he
would obey the King with pleasure, whereupon the King
informed him that it was his intention to have the mar-
riage celebrated immediately, and that Monseigneur con-
sented to it, but that he forbade him to speak about it."1
And the bridegroom-elect, who had an engagement to go
wolf-hunting with his brother, the Due de Bourgogne,
made his reverence, and hurried away to put on his riding-
dress.
Charles, Due de Berry, the young prince who had just
received the news of the disposal of his hand with so
much complacency, was, as we have mentioned, the
youngest of the three sons of Monseigneur, by his
marriage with that strange creature, Maria Anna of
Bavaria — " la Dauphine de Baviere," as historians call
her. As a lad, he was a more engaging personality than
either of his brothers, and his high spirits and frank,
boyish face made him a universal favourite. Madame,
whom his merry prattle never failed to amuse, was much
attached to him, and his mother, noticing that lady's
partiality for her little son, had playfully dubbed him " le
Berry de Madame." The old princess, in her correspond-
ence, relates several amusing anecdotes of her favourite's
boyhood.
" I enjoyed myself at table," she writes, in December
1697, in describing the family dinner which followed
the marriage of the Due de Bourgogne, "for I was
sitting next to my dear Due de Berry [aetat. eleven at
this time], and he made me laugh. ' I can see my brother
ogling his little wife,' said he ; ' but, if I wished, I could
ogle quite as well ; you have to look steadily, sideways.'
1 Saint-Simon.
44 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Saying which, he imitated his brother so drolly that I
was obliged to laugh."
Some months later, the Due de Berry, in company
with his two elder brothers and the Duchesse de Bour-
gogne, witnessed a performance of Moliere's Bourgeois
gentilhomme, at the Comedie-Francaise. This was the
first visit to a theatre that any of the three young princes
had been permitted to pay, and their delight must have
afforded the audience as much diversion as the antics of
the immortal M. Jourdain. " The Due de Bourgogne,"
writes Madame, " quite lost his gravity and laughed till the
tears came into his eyes ; the Due d'Anjou was so delighted
that he sat in ecstasies, with his mouth wide open ; the Due
de Berry laughed so much that he nearly fell off his chair." 1
Notwithstanding his merry and good-natured dis-
position^ a boy, the Due de Berry, like his eldest brother,
the Due de Bourgogne, was cursed with a most un-
governable temper, though happily it was not very often
that it broke out. On these occasions, however, it must
have been a sight not easily forgotten by those so unfor-
tunate as to witness it. Madame relates how, one day,
when he was about thirteen years of age, he went out
shooting with his brothers, and, in spite of strict injunc-
tions from his sous-gouvemeur, Razilly, shot so recklessly
that he came within a few inches of killing the Due
de Bourgogne. 2 Razilly took the gun away and refused
to allow him to fire again, " whereupon he flew
1 Correspondance de Madame, Duchesse d'Orleans (edit. Jaegle),
Letter of November i, 1698.
2 The Due de Berry appears to have been a decidedly dangerous
person with whom to go out shooting, even when he had grown up.
In the winter of 1712, while taking part in a battue at Marly, with his
eldest brother and the Due de Bourbon, he had the misfortune to
destroy the sight of one of the latter's eyes.
Charles de France, Due de Berry
From a contemporary print
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 45
into so terrible a passion that he tried to dash out his
own brains ; and would have succeeded, if they had not
taken away from him a huge stone which he had seized
in his hands." For this mad conduct and for the abuse
which he heaped upon his unfortunate sons-gouverneur,
Louis XIV. caused him to be placed for a week in solitary
confinement, in order that he might have leisure for re-
pentance ; but, since, we are told, he " did nothing but
dance and sing," it can scarcely have produced the result
desired. However, in time, he appears altogether to have
outgrown these fits of passion.
Now, in his twenty-fourth year, the Due de Berry
was a handsome, fair-haired, fresh-complexioned, rather
stout young man, modest, simple in his tastes, good-
humoured, generous, honourable, and well-meaning, but
a little stupid and entirely futile ; for he had never
shown the least interest in his studies or, indeed, in any-
thing serious, and cared for nothing in the world but
amusement. " Provided that he enjoys himself, he cares
not how," writes Madame, who was sorely disappointed
in her favourite. " Here are his ordinary amusements :
he shoots, plays cards, chatters with young ladies, and
guzzles. Such are his pleasures. I had almost forgotten
to add that he slides on the ice ; for that comes in too."1
1 The Due de Berry was, nevertheless, painfully conscious of his
mental deficiencies, and this often seems to have paralysed what
abilities he possessed, and made him appear far more vacuous than he
really was. Saint-Simon relates how on the occasion of the sitting of
the Parlement at Paris, at which the prince formally renounced all
rights to the Crown of Spain, he was required to make a short speech,
in reply to that of the First President. Saint-Simon composed it for
him, and he learned it by heart, and repeated it quite correctly to
Madame de Saint-Simon the night before the ceremony. Nevertheless,
on the morrow, so great was his embarrassment that he was unable
to remember a single word.
46 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
But if his life were entirely futile, it was also entirely
harmless, for " he had very good sense, and was capable
of listening, of understanding, and of always taking the
right side in preference to the wrong, however speciously
put."1 Moreover, he had resisted the temptations to
which his father and grandfather had succumbed, and,
if he never showed any marked piety, he entertained
a sincere respect for religion.
Such was the Due de Berry, a prince, who, notwith-
standing the aimlessness of the existence which he had
led hitherto, possessed qualities out of which a good and
clever woman might have fashioned a not unworthy
representative of his race ; for he was one of those men
who are born to be dominated by their wives. But, un-
happily, no one was less likely to effect this than the wife
who had been chosen for him — a spoiled, petulant young
girl, accustomed to submit to no restraint, and with no
guiding principle save her own caprices.
On June 3, the Dauphin having prudently decided to
accept the inevitable with the best grace he could, the
forthcoming marriage of the Due de Berry and Made-
moiselle was publicly announced by Louis XIV., at Marly.
On the following day, Mademoiselle arrived from Ver-
sailles with her parents, and, after being joined by Madame,
proceeded to the King's apartments, where they found
his Majesty, with Monseigneur, the Due and Duchesse de
Bourgogne, the Due de Berry, and the principal officers
of the Court. " Madame presented Mademoiselle to the
King ; she knelt at his feet, but the King immediately
raised her up and embraced her, and forthwith presented
her to Monseigneur, to the Due and Duchesse de Bour-
1 Saint- Simon.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 47
gogne, and then to all the Court." The King, to relieve
their embarrassment, " with that grace which he showed
in all things," forbade Mademoiselle to speak to any one,
and the Due de Berry to speak to her, and promptly
cut short the interview. On leaving the royal presence,
Mademoiselle, accompanied by her relatives, paid visits
to the Princes and Princesses of the Blood, in order to
receive their compliments ; and the same evening re-
turned to Versailles.
Since it was intended that the marriage should take
place as soon as the necessary dispensation for the union
of blood-relations should arrive from Rome, the King
lost no time in forming the Households of the Due de
Berry and his bride-elect. The most important post in
the latter's, that of dame d'honneur, which carried with
it a salary of 20,000 livres, was given, or rather — if we are
to believe Saint-Simon — forced upon his wife, " who
received the news of her appointment with tears." This
was an excellent selection, for all contemporary writers
render homage to the virtues of the Duchesse de Saint-
Simon ; but Louis XIV. showed very little discretion in
filling the other posts about the young princess's person ;
indeed, merit seems to have played an even less con-
spicuous part than usual in determining his choice. Thus,
the dame d'atours, Madame de la Vieuville, was a con*
firmed intrigante, and the first waiting-woman, Mile, de la
Devaize, owed her appointment to the favour of the
Duchesse d'Orleans, of whom she was one of the most
assiduous flatterers.
The Papal dispensation having arrived, at five o'clock
in the evening of July 5, the marriage-contract was signed
in the King's cabinet at Versailles. This ceremony gave
48 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
rise to a piquant incident. It was the custom for the
fiancee to wear upon these occasions a velvet mantle lined
with ermine, the train of which was borne by a princess
of equal rank to her own. Well, the sisters of the future
Duchesse de Berry, Miles, de Chartres and de Valois, had
lately been sent to the Abbey of Chelles, and, since
there were no " daughters " or " granddaughters of
France," the duty reverted, by the irony of Fate, to her
vanquished rival, Mile, de Bourbon !
The indignation of Madame la Duchesse, already deeply
incensed by the defeat which she had recently sustained,
may be imagined when she learned of the bitter humilia-
tion in store for her daughter. Was it not enough that
the Orleans should have succeeded, by the aid of the
most unscrupulous intrigues, in snatching from her the
rich prize which had once been almost within her grasp,
that her child should be expected to grace their triumph ?
How was it possible that the King could permit her to
be thus publicly humiliated ? And she besieged his
Majesty with tears and lamentations.
The King sympathised with his elder daughter and
Mile, de Bourbon, but he was too great a slave to etiquette
even to contemplate a departure from established usage.
He sought, however, to circumvent the difficulty, and
accordingly requested the Due d'Orleans to make his
daughters return for the ceremony. The duke did not
dare to refuse, and, to the disgust of his spiteful consort,
who was unwilling to spare her detested sister this crown-
ing mortification, and had no doubt hastened the depar-
ture of her daughters for Chelles with the express pur-
pose of creating the present imbroglio, the little girls were
sent for. Being unwilling, however, that the Court should
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 49
believe that Madame la Duchesse had succeeded in
thwarting her amiable intentions, she resolved to invent a
colourable pretext for their return, and, having given out
that they had only as yet been ondoyees, she caused them,
on July 3, to proceed to the supplementary ceremonies of
baptism. It is, however, doubtful if many people were
deceived by this rather transparent fiction, and, any way,
Madame la Duchesse had the satisfaction of seeing Mile,
de Chartres bearing the train of the bride-elect's mantle
instead of her own daughter.
On the day after the betrothal ceremony (July 6), the
marriage was celebrated in the chapel of the Chateau of
Versailles, by the Cardinal de Janson, before a brilliant
assemblage. Afterwards, the bride and bridegroom dined
alone with the Duchesse de Bourgogne, the dinner being
followed by a card-party, at which the stakes as usual
ruled pretty high.1 In the evening, the King gave a
sumptuous supper, to which all the Princes and Princesses
were invited. Supper over, the company escorted the
bridal pair to their apartments, through the midst of a
crowd of courtiers, who had ranged themselves in the
form of a hedge. Among the crowd were a number of
swell mobsmen from Paris, some of whom were disguised
as priests, others as officers in the Army. But they got
very little for their trouble, as people had been warned
1 Fortune would not appear to have smiled upon the Due de
Berry on this occasion, since, we learn, that, shortly afterwards,
he was obliged to abstain from the card-table, as he had not sufficient
money to play with. " The Duchesse de Bourgogne," writes Saint-
Simon, " informed the King of this ; and the King, feeling the state
in which he himself was, said that he had only five hundred pistoles
[about five thousand francs] to give him. He gave them with an
excuse on the misfortunes of the time, because the Duchesse de Bour-
gogne thought, with reason, that a little was better than nothing, and
that it was insufferable not to be able to play."
E
50 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
by the Lieutenant of Police to be on their guard, and the
only loss of any note was a valuable watch belonging to
a Mile. Voisin.
On reaching the nuptial chamber, the Cardinal de
Janson pronounced the benediction of the bed ; the King
handed the nightshirt to his grandson, and the Duchesse
de Bourgogne performed the same service for the bride.
The happy pair then got into bed ; the Due de Beauvilliers,
on the bridegroom's side, and Madame de Saint-Simon, on
that of the bride, drew the curtains, " laughing together
at being so employed " ; x and the company solemnly
filed out of the room in order of precedence, the King
leading the way.
On the morrow, after Mass, Louis XIV. came to visit
the Duchesse de Berry ; and during her toilette the princess
received the homage of the courtiers, who were presented
to her by Madame de Saint-Simon, in her capacity as
dame d'honneur. As on the previous day, the Due and
Duchesse de Berry dined and played cards in the apart-
ments of the Duchesse de Bourgogne, and then returned
to their own, to receive a visit from the exiled Queen of
England.
Thus began the married life of Marie Louise d' Orleans,
Duchesse de Berry, but, before speaking of that, let us say
a few words about the early years of her younger sisters,
Miles, de Chartres and de Valois.
These two young ladies, aged respectively eleven and
nine, had been leading a neglected and monotonous
existence in the Palais-Royal, varied by frequent quarrels
with their elder sister and visits to their grandmother at
1 Saint-Simon.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 51
Saint-Cloud. Mile, de Chartres was a pretty little girl,
of a frank, open disposition, very independent and self-
willed, but remarkably quick and intelligent. She shared
the studies of her brother, the little Due de Chartres, and
since that prince was generally idle and inattentive, his
tutor, the Abbe de Montgaut, preferred to address him-
self to the young princess, who showed a real eagerness to
profit by his instruction, and was particularly interested
in theology.
Mile, de Valois was not so pretty as her sister, and an
altogether less pleasing personality. She did not lack
intelligence, when she chose to exercise it, which, how-
ever, very seldom happened in the schoolroom, since she
had inherited not a little of her mother's indolence. She
showed, too, even thus early, that she possessed another
of the maternal failings, which was to develop so rapidly
that, seven years later, Madame wrote : " The Duchesse
d'Orleans would be the most deceitful person in the
world, if it were not for her daughter, Mile, de Valois.
She is even worse. I think it horrible to find such deceit-
fulness in a person so young."1 In addition, the little
princess does not appear to have been endowed with the
sweetest of tempers.
The Duchesse d'Orleans considered that it would be
very embarrassing to keep two girls of eleven and nine
near a married sister who had not yet completed her
fifteenth year ; and as soon as the marriage of Made-
moiselle was definitely arranged, she decided to confide
them to the care of some religious house. Madame, who
was very fond of the children, and particularly of Mile, de
Chartres, offered to take charge of them and have them
1 Letter of May 17, 171 7.
52 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
brought up under her own eye at Saint-Cloud ; but the
Duchesse d'Orleans disliked her mother-in-law far too
heartily to agree to this proposal. Besides, she hoped
that, once in a convent, both girls would ere long discover
that they had a vocation for the religious life, which
would save her a great deal of trouble and anxiety in
years to come.
" The Due d'Orleans places his daughters in religion
to the number of two," writes Madame d'Huxelles, under
date June 7, 1710, " for there is a third, who is as yet
only five or six months old.1 These two elder princesses
are in despair at this decision. It is the Abbey of Chelles,
whither they will proceed when their apartments have
been made ready, and the Marechale de Villars goes to
arrange about that to-day."2
The preparations for the reception of the two little
princesses were soon completed, and on June 9 they set
out for Chelles, " accompanied by a sous-gouvernante and
six unmarried waiting-women, as the abbess had de-
manded." The poor children, who would have infinitely
preferred to remain under their grandmother's care at
Saint-Cloud, regarded the prospect before them with any-
thing but pleasurable anticipation, and were " in such a
state of distress that they passed through Paris with the
curtains of their carriage closed." The following day,
Dangeau records that the Due and Duchesse d'Orleans
had gone to Chelles to visit their daughters.
The Abbey of Chelles, the convent selected for Miles,
de Chartres and de Valois, was situated between Lagny
r
1 Louise Elisabeth, Mile, de Montpensier, born December n, 1709.
2 Lettres de la Marquise d'Huxelles, cited by Barthelemy.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 53
and Meaux, and was one of the most celebrated houses
of the Benedictine Order in France. It owed its first
foundation to Sainte-Clotilde, but its real founder was
Sainte-Bathilde, wife of Clovis II., who, about 662, rebuilt
the convent on a much more extensive scale, and who,
when her son, Clotaire II., was of an age to reign, retired
thither to spend the remaining years of her life. The
example of this pious queen had attracted to Chelles
several distinguished personages ; Sonichilde, wife of
Charles Martel, had taken the veil there ; Giselle, sister of
Charlemagne ; Hermentrude, widow of Charles le Chauve ;
Bathilde, daughter of the same Sovereign ; and, in later
times, Marie Henriette de Bourbon, natural daughter of
Henri IV. and Henriette d'Entragues, had all held the
office of abbess ; and throughout the ages it had always
maintained its character as an eminently aristocratic
house. The discipline imposed upon its inmates, severe
at first, was gradually relaxed as time went on, until,
towards the end of the fifteenth century, the bishops of
Paris found themselves compelled to interfere and to
introduce some rather drastic reforms. It is doubtful
if the desired result was completely attained ; any way,
it was not permanent ; and, at the beginning of the
eighteenth century, Chelles was generally regarded as a
place where the superfluous daughters of noble families
might prepare themselves for a future life without alto-
gether renouncing the comforts of this.
The abbey was a vast and imposing building, shut in
by high and massive walls, and standing in the midst of
extensive grounds, which comprised not only very beauti-
ful gardens shaded by stately elms and venerable limes,
and gay in summer-time with a wealth of flowers, but
54 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
orchards, kitchen-gardens and fishponds, the contents of
which doubtless contributed not a little to console the
good sisters for the fasts which the Church imposed. In
fact, it would be difficult to imagine a more pleasant
retreat from the world.
In 1709, the monastery had for its abbess, Agnes de
Villars, sister of the celebrated marshal, upon whom the
office had been conferred some two years before. This lady,
who had previously been prioress of the Benedictine abbey
of Saint-Andre-le-Haut, at Vienne, enjoyed a great repu-
tation for piety, but she was harsh, austere, and haughty,
and exceedingly jealous of her authority, " consoling
herself by the joys of domination for the sacrifice of all
the others."1 In consequence, she was far from being
beloved by those over whom she ruled, particularly by
such of the novices as still regretted the world which they
had left, and sought to prolong as much as possible their
semi-liberty and to lengthen their road towards the final
renunciation by all kinds of pretexts. From the first, the
abbess and the self-willed and quick-witted little Mile, de
Chartres seem to have been antagonistic; and when,
eight years later, the princess having pronounced her
vows, made up her mind to supplant her, their relations
became very strained indeed.
The prioress, Madame de Fretteville, was an infinitely
more attractive personality : sweet-tempered, kind,
motherly, and sympathetic. As mistress of the novices,
she had learned to understand young girls and to make
them love her, and she soon acquired a considerable in-
1 Lescure, les Confessions de I'abbesse de Chelles : Louise- Adelaide
d'Orleans, a fictitious autobiography, which, however, contains a good
deal of valuable information.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 55
fluence over Mile, de Chartres, and contributed powerfully
to develop her taste for the religious life and to deter-
mine her to take the veil. Probably, she tried to persuade
Mile, de Valois to edify the world by a similar renuncia-
tion of its pleasures, but, if so, the seed she sowed fell on
barren ground.
The latter princess remained at Chelles until the be-
ginning of August 1714, when she quitted it never to
return ; Mile, de Chartres's first sojourn at the abbey of
which she was one day to be the head lasted until
October 1715. Beyond recording the appearance of the
two girls at the marriage of their eldest sister, the chroni-
clers are silent concerning their life during these years,
which was no doubt the usual monotonous, but not un-
pleasant, one of high-born little pensionnaires in a convent.
The visit which their parents had paid them on the
morrow of their arrival does not seem to have been re-
peated— at any rate, Dangeau, so careful to record the
minutest details concerning the movements of the different
members of the Royal House, makes no mention of it.
But we can well understand that the Duchesse d'Orleans,
anxious that both princesses should enter religion, was
unwilling to do anything which might distract their
thoughts from the direction in which she hoped they
were tending.
CHAPTER III
The Duchesse de Berry — Her portrait by Largilliere — Madame's de-
scription of her — Her odious character — Her intimacy with the
Duchesse de Bourgogne — Her jealousy of that princess — Her hus-
band's infatuation for her — She gets disgracefully intoxicated at
Saint-Cloud — She joins the " Cabal of Meudon " — Rupture between
her and the Duchesse de Bourgogne — She persuades the Due de
Berry to break off his friendly relations with his sister-in-law — She
is severely reprimanded by the King — Illness and death of the
Dauphin — Despair of the Duchesse de Berry, who sees all her plans
ruined by this event — Magnanimity of the Duchesse de Bourgogne,
now Dauphine — Indignation of the Duchesse de Berry at being
compelled to render ceremonial service to her sister-in-law — Abomi-
nable rumours concerning her relations with her father — Saint-
Simon informs the Due d'Orleans of these, and the prince, to his
astonishment and indignation, reports the conversation to his
daughter — The Duchesse de Berry gives birth prematurely to a
daughter — Insolence of the princess towards her mother — Madame
is charged by the King to reprimand her granddaughter — Mile, de
Vienne — The affair of the diamond necklace.
ON her marriage-day, the Duchesse de Berry was
within just five weeks of completing her fifteenth
year. A charming painting of her by Largilliere shows
us a very attractive, if somewhat buxom, young girl, in a
white gown sewn and clasped with emeralds and dia-
monds, playing with some tall poppies, which are shed-
ding their leaves, and holding in her pretty, plump
fingers the stalk of a clematis. The features, without
having any pretence to beauty, are regular and pleasing ;
the hair abundant and of a very pretty shade of brown ;
the hands and arms well-formed ; and there is a fresh-
ness, an ingenuousness, about her which is wholly de-
56
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 57
lightful. But Court painters at the beginning of the
eighteenth century did not scruple to flatter their patrons
— they would not, indeed, have been Court painters if
they had not — and there can be little doubt that, in this
instance, the counterfeit presentment is far more pleasing
than the original.
Saint-Simon describes the princess as " tall, handsome,
and well-made," though lacking in grace ; while the Due
de Berry, who speedily became enamoured of his young
wife, thought her, according to Madame, " the prettiest
person in the world, and that Helen was not half so
beautiful " — an opinion which he shared with his father-
in-law. Madame, on the other hand, denies that she was
" pretty at all, either in face or figure. She is thick-set,
with long arms and short hips ; she walks badly and is
ungraceful in all her movements ; makes horrible faces ;
has a discontented expression ; is marked by smallpox ;
has red eyes — light blue in the iris — and a ruddy com-
plexion, and looks much older than she is." In fact, the
only attractions which her grandmother will allow her
are her throat, hands, and arms, " which are perfectly
beautiful, very white, and well-formed."
Whatever difference of opinion may exist in regard to
the appearance of the Duchesse de Berry, there is un-
happily none as to her character. All her contemporaries,
all historians, are agreed that she was one of the most
odious young women whom the Court of France had ever
seen. She had all her mother's arrogance and deceit ;
all her father's irreligion and licentiousness, to which she
joined a violent temper, drunkenness, gluttony, a con-
temptuous disregard of ordinary decency, and a most
foul tongue. In short, according to Saint-Simon, who
58 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
confesses that, if he had only known " the half-quarter
— what do I say ? — the thousandth part, of what we
have unhappily been the witnesses," he would have
laboured with even greater zeal to prevent her marriage
to the Due de Berry than he did to bring it about, she
was a model of all the vices, avarice excepted. And yet,
with all this, she was highly intelligent, and could, when
she wished, be most agreeable and amiable, " speaking
with an ease and precision that charmed and over-
powered." But her undoubted talents were never em-
ployed for any good purpose, but merely to serve her own
unworthy ends. Consequently, they made her only the
more repulsive.
Until she was actually married, the Duchesse de Berry
had succeeded in conveying the impression, save among
those who knew her most intimately, that she was a
damsel of a singularly modest and retiring disposition,
and, even when leaving the chapel after the nuptial Mass,
she had feigned the greatest reluctance to take precedence
of her grandmother, as her new rank entitled her to do.
" Push me then, Madame," said she to the old princess,
who had motioned her to take the pas. " I must be
pushed to make me pass before you, and I shall require
some time yet to accustom myself to that honour."1
But, once her brilliant position was assured, she was not
long in giving the Court a glimpse of those qualities which
were to secure for her such unenviable celebrity ; though
it was not until after the death of her husband and of
Louis XIV. that she gave her vices a free rein.
During the first months of their married life she and
her husband were on terms of the closest intimacy with
1 Journal de Dangeau, July 6, 1710.
A
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orlkans,
Duchesse de Berry
From an engraving a
fter the painting by Largilliere
•
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 59
the Due and Duchesse de Bourgogne. The two brothers
had always been on the most cordial terms, and, if only
for her husband's sake, the Duchesse de Bourgogne, who
had worked so energetically to promote the marriage,
was sincerely anxious to gain her sister-in-law's affection.
Since the Household of the Due and Duchesse de Berry
was not finally organised until the end of the winter of
171 1, owing to the fact that some months were required
to complete the equipages, plate, and so forth which they
would require, they accepted the hospitality of the Bour-
gogne menage, and the two princesses were continually
together. When the Duchesse de Berry did not follow
the chase on horseback, she generally occupied a seat in
her sister-in-law's carriage ; they paid visits to Paris and
made country-excursions in each other's company ; dined
together nearly every day, and, in a word, seemed the
best of friends. But this intimacy did not last very long,
for the younger princess possessed none of the lovable
qualities which endeared the charming daughter of Victor
Amadeus to all about her, and she was, in secret, bitterly
jealous of the brilliant position to which the favour of
Louis XIV. had raised her. She was displeased, too, by
the affectionate relations which existed between the two
brothers, and, as the Due de Berry, " like all who marry
very young and green,"1 had begun his married life by
falling very much in love with her, she exploited the in-
fluence which she soon obtained over this feeble prince
to separate him from his elder brother, so that she might
dominate him the more absolutely.
1 Saint-Simon. The writer, however, forgets that the Due de
Berry did not marry until his twenty-fourth year, which was certainly
not " very young " for a French prince.
60 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
A few months after her marriage, the Duchesse de
Berry became in an interesting condition, but this did
not prevent her from indulging her taste for wine and
her gluttonous instincts. Hitherto these weaknesses had
been rather suspected than known, since, when in the
company of others, she had contrived to exercise some
degree of moderation ; but, on the occasion of a supper-
party at Saint-Cloud, she behaved in a manner which
effectually dispelled all doubts about the matter. Saint-
Simon informs us of the incident, without dissimulating
anything :
" I shall pass lightly over an event which, engrafted
upon some others, made some noise, notwithstanding the
care taken to hush it up. The Duchesse de Bourgogne
supped at Saint-Cloud one evening with the Duchesse de
Berry and others, Madame de Saint-Simon absenting her-
self from the party. The Duchesse de Berry and the
Due d'Orleans, but she more than he, got so drunk that
the Duchesse de Bourgogne, the Duchesse d'Orleans, and
the rest of the company knew not what to do. The Due
de Berry was there, and him they talked over as well as
they could, and the numerous company was amused by
the Grand Duchess, * to the best of her ability. The effect
of the wine in more ways than one was such that people
were troubled, and, since she could not be sobered, it
became necessary to carry her back, drunk as she was,
to Versailles. All the servants waiting with the carriages
saw the condition she was in, and did not keep it to them-
selves ; nevertheless, they succeeded in concealing it from
1 Marguerite Louise d'Orleans, daughter of Gaston d'Orleans,
younger brother of Louis XIII., and wife of Cosimo III., Grand Duke
of Tuscany.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 61
the King, from Monseigneur, and from Madame de Main-
tenon."1
For a time, the Duchesse de Berry continued to profess
the warmest friendship for the Duchesse de Bourgogne,
the while she studied the situation at Court and cast
about her for the most effective means of injuring her
unsuspecting sister-in-law. She soon perceived that the
only menace to the credit of the Duchesse de Bourgogne
lay in the " Cabal of Meudon," the little group of dis-
contented and ambitious spirits, headed by Madame la
Duchesse and her half-sister, the Princesse de Conti, who
surrounded the Dauphin. The object of this cabal was
twofold : to estrange Monseigneur from his eldest son and
daughter-in-law, so as to insure that, when that prince
should ascend the throne, they would be reduced to
impotence, and to destroy the influence of the Duchesse
de Bourgogne with the King. The defeat sustained by
this faction over the recent marriage showed what little
chance they possessed of succeeding in their second
object ; indeed, since the failure of their machinations
against the Bourgognes at the time of the disastrous
Oudenarde campaign two years before, they had almost
abandoned hope in this direction, and had concentrated
their efforts upon the first part of their programme, which
1 This drunken orgy was followed, at a brief interval, by a glut-
tonous one, which was, if possible, even more revolting. Under date
December 14, 1710, Madame writes : " Yesterday evening, the Duchesse
de Berry gave us a great fright. She suddenly fainted dead away,
and we thought it was an apoplectic seizure. However, after the
Duchesse de Bourgogne had sprinkled her face with vinegar, she came
to, and was dreadfully sick. It was not surprising. For two hours,
at the play, she had been stuffing herself with all kinds of horrible
things : peaches au caramel, marrons glacis, gooseberry paid, dried
cherries, and a lot of lemon into the bargain. Then, at supper, she ate
a quantity of fish and drank proportionately."
62 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
presented comparatively little difficulty. For Mon-
seigneur, though he was much attached to the lively
Due de Berry, had never cared for his eldest son, whose
ascetic and studious life was a tacit reproach to his own
sensual and aimless existence, and he was jealous of the
high opinion which the King entertained of him and the
exceptional favour enjoyed by his wife. If the task of
poisoning his mind against the Due and Duchesse de
Bourgogne could be accomplished, it was certain that, in
the event of his surviving the King, they would find them-
selves entirely without influence in the new reign.
Having satisfied herself that she could best gratify her
malice, and, at the same time, serve her own interests, by
joining the coterie who surrounded and dominated the
Dauphin, the Duchesse de Berry lost no time in making
advances to them. They were very favourably received,
for it was felt that the wife of Monseigneur's favourite
son would, in any case, be a useful auxiliary, and a most
valuable one, if she could succeed in separating the Due
de Berry from the Bourgognes and persuading him to
second her efforts to embitter his father's mind against
them. And so, towards the end of 1710, the Court saw,
not a little to its astonishment, the young princess who
had frustrated the hopes of Mile, de Bourbon on the
most cordial terms with Madame la Duchesse and those
who had striven to prevent her marriage, and a regular
guest at the Meudon house-parties.
The Duchesse de Bourgogne, recognising the error she
had committed in admitting to her friendship a girl who
could so easily forget the obligations under which she had
placed her, wisely decided to see as little of her as possible
in the future, while, however, preserving her old relations
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 63
with the Due de Berry, to whom she was sincerely
attached. But, profiting by the influence she had suc-
ceeded in acquiring over her husband, the Duchesse de
Berry laboured unceasingly to embroil him with his
sister-in-law, or, at least, to put an end to all intimacy
between them ; and so far succeeded that the Due de
Berry's manner towards that princess altogether changed,
and became distant and constrained. This unexpected
coldness from one who had always shown her so much
affection deeply distressed the Duchesse de Bourgogne,
and, since there could be no doubt to whose influence it
was attributable, she promptly broke with her sister-in-
law, though without making any scandal.
At the end of the winter, the Household of the Due
and Duchesse de Berry was finally organised, and the
two menages, to their mutual relief, ceased to live to-
gether, which gave the courtiers an opportunity of
showing on which side their sympathies lay. They did
not hesitate, for the Duchesse de Bourgogne was not only
the idol of the King, but " she had attached all hearts to
her,"1 and, while her apartments were crowded, those of
her malicious sister-in-law were almost deserted. The
latter, bitterly mortified, represented to her husband that
this neglect was due to the machinations of the Duchesse
de Bourgogne, and persuaded the uxorious prince to
resent what she designated as an unpardonable affront
by breaking altogether with his brother's wife. Shortly
afterwards, the unfortunate incident at Saint-Cloud was
repeated, and this time the Duchesse de Bourgogne, now
thoroughly exasperated, declined to join the conspiracy
of silence and revealed everything to the King.
1 Saint-Simon.
64 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Louis XIV., anxious to preserve peace in his family,
contented himself by causing the Duchesse de Berry to
be informed that he knew all. But the young princess,
misinterpreting the King's indulgence, showed not the
slightest disposition to amend her ways ; and, at length,
her dame d'honneur, Madame de Saint-Simon, fearing a
scandal, for which she herself might be held responsible,
deemed it her duty to warn Madame de Maintenon. To
her surprise, she found that that lady had already taken
measures to keep herself informed of the course of events ;
and, strong in this support, Madame de Saint-Simon
returned to her mistress and spoke to her very plainly
indeed. The princess attempted to take a haughty tone
with the duchess, but the latter cut short her flow
of eloquence by asking to be relieved of her post, since,
in the face of so many unpleasant incidents, she had no
wish to retain it. Comprehending the gravity of the
situation, the princess hastened to assure Madame de Saint-
Simon of the esteem in which she held her and her desire
to profit by her counsels, which, however, did not prevent
the dame d'honneur from promptly acquainting both the
Duchesse d'Orleans and Madame with what had passed.
On the morrow, before dinner, the Duchesse de Berry
was summoned to the King's cabinet, where his Majesty
expressed his opinion of her conduct in no measured
terms, and gave her to understand that its continuance
would entail consequences to herself of the most un-
pleasant kind. After dinner, she received orders from the
King to go to the apartment of Madame de Maintenon,
" who, without speaking so loudly, did not speak less
firmly."1 The erring princess listened humbly, feigned
1 Saint-Simon.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 65
repentance, and promised amendment, but with senti-
ments of the most bitter hatred against her sister-in-law,
which the attitude of the courtiers, who, aware that she
had fallen under the ban of the royal displeasure, ignored
her more than ever, naturally did not tend to modify.
" She consoled herself," says Saint-Simon, " by establish-
ing still closer relations with the Meudon coterie, and by
discounting in advance the revenge which she would take
when the Dauphin should become King."
But, in the early spring of that same year, a tragic
event occurred, which broke up the "Cabal of Meudon "
and upset all the projects of the Duchesse de Berry.
With the exception of a short, but rather alarming ill-
ness in Lent 1701, occasioned by the consumption of an
abnormal quantity of fish, Monseignear, who was now in
his fiftieth year, had since childhood enjoyed the most
robust health, and nothing seemed more certain than that
he would outlive the King, who had aged considerably of
late, and upon whom the fatigues and anxieties of State
were beginning to weigh very heavily. However, it was
ordained otherwise.
On April 8 — the Wednesday in Easter Week — Mon-
seigneur left Versailles for Meudon, where he intended to
pass some days. On the following morning, he rose early,
with the intention of going wolf-hunting, but, while
dressing, was seized with a sudden attack of faintness
and fell back into a chair. Boudin, his chief physician,
who was at once summoned, made him go to bed again,
and, of course, caused the King to be informed. But,
though his patient's temperature was alarmingly high,
he expressed the opinion that there was no cause for un-
easiness; and Louis XIV., concluding that the illness was
F
66 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
a slight one — perhaps another attack of indigestion — did
not think it necessary to visit his son, and, in fact, spent
the afternoon at Marly. The Due and Duchesse de Bour-
gogne, however, at once started for Meudon, and remained
all day in the sick-room, " the princess joining to the
strict duties of a daughter-in-law all that kindness could
suggest and giving everything to Monseigneur with her
own hands." In the evening, they returned to Versailles.
Next morning, the Dauphin was much worse, and it
became evident that he was suffering from smallpox, and
in a very severe form. Louis XIV., who had never had
any fear of exposing himself to infection,1 started for
Meudon immediately after Mass, accompanied by Madame
de Maintenon and a small suite, having previously for-
bidden the Dues de Bourgogne and de Berry and their
wives, and all persons who had not had smallpox, to follow
him thither, with the exception of the Ministers, who re-
ceived orders to come every morning. At Meudon, the
King installed himself in a suite of rooms immediately
above Monseigneur, whom he visited several times a day.
At Versailles, meanwhile, the most intense excitement
prevailed ; the apartments of the Due and Duchesse de
Bourgogne could not contain the people who flocked
thither, many of whom belonged to the Meudon faction,
and had hitherto held aloof from the young couple, but,
in view of the serious condition of Monseigneur, were now
feverishly anxious to conciliate the prince who in a few
hours' time might be Dauphin of France. " When the
prince and princess rose, when they retired to bed, when
1 Madame de Caylus tells us that when Madame la Duchesse was
ill with smallpox, at Fontainebleau, in the autumn of 1684, the King
insisted on visiting her, although her father-in-law, the Great Conde,
strove by main force to prevent him entering the sick-room.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 67
they dined and supped, all public conversation, all meals,
all assemblies, were opportunities of paying court to them.
The Due and Duchesse de Berry were treated almost as
nobodies. It was like the first glimmerings of the dawn."1
On the 13th, Monseigncur seemed better, but this im-
provement was of short duration. On the morrow, his
illness suddenly took a turn for the worse ; in the after-
noon, he became unconscious ; about seven o'clock, it was
seen that he was slowly sinking, and before midnight he
passed away, without recovering consciousness.
Saint-Simon, in an unforgettable picture, has described
for us the scene at Versailles that April night when the
news arrived that the heir to the throne was in extremis :
the sudden throwing open of doors ; the hurried rising
and dressing of those who had retired to bed ; the
rush of ladies in their dressing-gowns to the apartments
of the Duchesse de Bourgogne ; the departure of the
princess to meet the King at the Orangery, on his way
from Meudon to Marly ; her return with the news that
all was over ; the Due de Bourgogne seated on a sofa,
" weeping the tears of nature, religion, and patience " ;
the duchess sitting by his side and endeavouring to con-
sole him, " which was a less difficult task than that of
appearing herself in need of consolation"; the appari-
tion of Madame in full Court costume — she tells us herself
that she never possessed a robe de chambre — among the
ladies en deshabille, " flooding them all with her tears
and making the chateau resound with her cries " ;2 the
1 Saint-Simon.
2 And, only the previous day, according to the chronicler, she had
had a long conversation with him, in which she did not attempt to
conceal her disappointment at the news that Monseigneur's illness
had taken a favourable turn, and that he seemed likely to get over it.
68 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
varied emotions — hope, despair, rage, satisfaction — which
revealed themselves on the faces of the courtiers ; the
groans and tears of Monseigneur's servants. But no part
of that picture is more vivid than that in which he paints
the despair of the Due and Duchesse de Berry, skilfully
discriminating between the grief which proceeds from
genuine affection, and that which is the outcome of
baffled spite and thwarted ambition :
" The Due de Berry shed abundance of tears, but tears
of blood, so to speak, so great appeared their bitterness ;
and he gave utterance not only to sobs, but to cries,
nay, even to yells. Now and again he was silent, but
from suffocation, and then would break out once more
with such a noise, such a trumpet-sound of despair, that
the majority of those present broke out also at these
dolorous repetitions, either impelled by affliction or de-
corum. He became so bad, in fact, that his people were
forced to undress him, put him to bed, and summon the
doctor."
" The Duchess de Berry was beside herself, and we
shall soon see why. The most bitter despair was de-
picted on her countenance. One saw, as it were, written
there a rage of grief, based on interest, not on affection ;
at intervals came dry lulls deep and sullen, then a torrent
of tears and involuntary gestures, and yet restrained,
which revealed a profound bitterness of mind. Often
aroused by the cries of her husband, prompt to assist
him, to support him, to embrace him, her care for him
was evident ; but soon came another profound reverie, then
another torrent of tears, which aided to suppress her cries."
The despair of the Duchesse de Berry can well be
understood, for the position in which the sudden death
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 69
of Monseigncur had placed her was no unenviable one.
The mischievous intrigues against the Duchesse de Bour-
gogne which she had carried on so assiduously, in the
confident expectation that, in a few years, the accession
of her father-in-law would enable her to gratify to the
full both her malice and her ambition, had been an open
secret at the Court ; and now Monseigneur was no more,
and the princess against whom she had conspired had
become the wife of the heir to the throne, before whom
every one must bow down. The cabal with which she
had associated herself no longer existed, and the more
prudent of its former members were endeavouring to
make their peace with the new Dauphin and Dauphine ;
her father adored her, it is true, but since his intrigues in
Spain he had been quite without influence at Court ;
while she had deeply offended her mother by the rude-
ness with which she had repulsed that princess's sage
counsels, when she had endeavoured to dissuade her from
embarking in the campaign against the Duchesse de
Bourgogne, and by the spiteful manner in which she lost
no opportunity of reminding her of the disadvantages
which attached to her illegitimate birth. Saint-Simon
relates that, one morning when the Duchesse d'Orleans
came to visit her daughter at her toilette, a new usher
happened to be on duty. In admitting her, this official
thoughtlessly threw open both of the folding-doors, an
honour which was reserved for the King and the " sons
and daughters of France." The Duchesse de Berry made
no attempt to disguise her annoyance at the mistake, and
gave her mother a very cold reception ; and no sooner
had the latter departed, than she called Madame de
Saint-Simon, and ordered her to discharge the maladroit
70 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
usher who had opened the door as for a " daughter of
France," which the Duchesse d'Orleans, being legitimated,
was not. Madame de Saint-Simon reasoned with the
angry princess, who " insisted, wept and raged," but
finally consented to allow her dame d'honneur merely to
admonish the delinquent.
So the Duchesse de Berry found herself, through the
death of Monseigneur, in a position of almost complete
isolation, and might have been in a still more unpleasant
one, if the princess whom she had treated with such in-
gratitude had not been too generous to trample on a
fallen foe. Fortunately for her, both the new Dauphin
and his wife, so far from wishing to humiliate her, had
no thought but that of comforting the grief-stricken Due
de Berry and of re-establishing the intimacy which had
previously existed between them ; for, in the circum-
stances, it was impossible for the kind-hearted Dauphine
to cherish any resentment against this weak but amiable
prince, who had been as wax in the hands of his strong-
willed consort. And, since the reconciliation with the
Due de Berry would be incomplete, if his wife were not
included in it, the Dauphine decided to forget the past,
the more readily since she appears to have regarded the
machinations of her sister-in-law rather as the caprices of a
spoiled child — such as she herself had been at the same
age — than the carefully-matured plans of one who was
already a woman in everything but years.
The Due de Berry, who had never ceased to regret the
interruption of the friendly relations between the two
families, welcomed with delight the opportunity of their
renewal ; the duchess pretended to do likewise, and shed
an abundance of tears, which may have been of relief at
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 71
her escape from a very precarious situation, but were
certainly not of gratitude for the generosity extended to
her. That generosity had, in fact, wounded her pride to
the quick, for " she could not endure to be under obliga-
tions to any one";1 and from that moment her hatred
of her sister-in-law became more intense than ever.
And, though she had good reason for congratulation in
having thus escaped the consequences of her treachery
and ingratitude, she found it very difficult to resign her-
self to the changes which the death of Monseigneur
had brought. During the lifetime of that prince, the
Dues de Bourgogne and de Berry had been on a footing
of equality, and, when the latter married, the same
honours had been accorded to his wife as to the Duchesse
de Bourgogne. Now, however, that the elder brother
had become heir-apparent to the Crown, Louis XIV.
decided that the difference in their respective positions and
that of their wives must be clearly defined, and directed
that at the Dauphin's lever the Due de Berry should hand
him his shirt, and that at the Dauphine's toilette the
Duchesse de Berry should hand her her chemise and the
sale, a salver upon which their watches, rings, fans, and
so forth were presented to the princesses.
The Due de Berry raised no difficulty about this, but
his wife was furious at being thus publicly placed in a
position of inferiority to her sister-in-law, and vowed that
nothing should induce her to undertake what she stigma-
tised as a menial service, and that, if her husband con-
sented so to debase himself, she should hold him hence-
forth in the most supreme contempt. The Due de Berry
endeavoured to reason with her, and was treated to such
1 Saint-Simon.
72 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
an avalanche of tears, threats, sobs, and reproaches that
the poor prince, who had announced his intention of
presenting himself on the following morning at the
Dauphin's lever, did not dare to do so, from fear of
an open rupture with his enraged consort. The Due
d'Orleans, however, came to his son-in-law's succour,
and, after further unpleasant scenes, the duchess yielded
to the threat of a new scolding from the King, though it
was not until several days later that she condescended to
attend the Dauphine's toilette and perform the services
required of her. The Duchesse de Bourgogne, only too
anxious to live at peace with her sister-in-law, prudently
refrained from any remark upon the latter's absence on
previous occasions, and " acknowledged her services with
all the grace imaginable and all the most natural marks
of affection."1
The Duchesse de Berry cherished another grievance
against the Bourgognes, on the subject of the division of
the late Dauphin's property.
With the exception of his two country-estates of
Meudon and Chaville, both of which he had inherited
from la Grande Mademoiselle, and a valuable collection of
gems and curios, Monseigneur had left little behind him.
The gems and curios, part of which, however, had to be
sold to defray the deceased prince's debts, which were
considerable, were divided between the King of Spain
and the Due de Berry ; while the landed property fell to
the share of the Due de Bourgogne.
Now, since she and the Due de Berry did not as yet
possess any private residence of their own, the duchess
had set her heart on her husband becoming the owner of
1 Saint-Simon.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 73
Meudon, where she saw herself reigning as a sort of
queen ; and she gave him no rest until he had consented
to do everything in his power to gratify her desire. The
generous Dauphin would, it appears, have been quite
willing to surrender Meudon to his brother ; but the
King, who feared that it would entail the creation of a
new Court, which would be extremely undesirable, both on
the score of expense and for other reasons, refused to hear
of it, and, by way of compensating his grandson for his
disappointment, made him a present of some valuable dia-
monds, some of which no doubt found their way into the
Duchesse de Berry's jewel-case. That princess, however,
refused to be consoled, and, though the Bourgognes had
been quite innocent of offence in the matter, she could not
bring herself to forgive them their possession of Meudon.
The Bourgognes were not the only persons who had
the misfortune to incur the resentment of the Duchesse
de Berry about this time. The atrocious rumours con-
cerning the relations between the Due d'Orleans and his
eldest daughter which had been current at the time of
the latter's marriage had not ceased with that event,
though during the alliance between the Duchesse de Berry
and Madame la Duchesse little had been heard of them.
Now, however, the younger princess had made her peace
with the common enemy, and she and Madame la Duchesse
had ceased to be allies, with the result that these
abominable reports had revived, and become so persistent
that they had even reached the Due de Berry.
Let us at once observe that no serious historian has
ever attached any importance to such an accusation.
The affection which united father and daughter almost
from the latter's infancy had a very touching and a very
74 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
natural foundation ; and the unfortunate similitude of
tastes and character which existed between them — their
inordinate love of good cheer, their fondness for dissolute
company, their utter lack of moral sense — bound them
closer together. However, the public does not reason,
and easily allows itself to be made the dupe of slanders
disseminated by those in high places ; and already,
thanks to the malignity of Madame la Duchesse and her
friends, the fact that the Due d'Orleans happened to be
just then more assiduous than ever in his attentions to
his beloved daughter, and in the habit of spending several
hours every day in her company, was beginning to cause
tongues to wag very busily. If, however, their owners
had but paused for reflection, they would have remem-
bered that, since the Duchesse de Berry was now enceinte
and condemned to an enforced indolence very galling to
one of her restless nature and active habits, not only the
chase and all outdoor amusements, but even the card-
table, being forbidden by her physicians, it was the most
natural thing in the world for her father to desire to
console her ennui.
The Due de Berry was greatly distressed by these
abominable rumours, without, however, believing them.
At the same time, he could not help remarking the length
and frequency of the visits paid by the Due d'Orleans to
his wife, and complained of the impossibility of enjoying
even an hour of her society without the risk of being
interrupted by the arrival of her too-affectionate father.
His complaints reached the ears of Saint-Simon, who had
already observed, he tells us, the ill-concealed impatience
which the continual presence of the Due d'Orleans in
the young princess's apartments was regarded by her
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 75
husband, and had endeavoured, though without success,
to prevail upon his friend to moderate his paternal
assiduity. He now believed it to be his duty to return
to the charge much more energetically, and to acquaint
the Due d'Orleans with the reports that were current, " in
order to prevent a quarrel between son-in-law and father-
in-law, based upon so false and so odious a foundation."
" M. d'Orleans was astonished," he writes ; "he cried
out against the horror of so abominable an imputation
and the villainy that had carried it to the Due de Berry.
He thanked me for having warned him of it, a service
which few besides myself would have rendered him ; and
I left him to draw the proper and natural conclusion as
to the line of conduct it behoved him to pursue."
Saint-Simon, of course, never for a moment imagined
that the Due d'Orleans would say anything of what had
passed between them ; but that prince was quite incapable
of keeping a secret from his daughter, and lost no time
in relating to her the whole conversation. The same
evening, after supper, the duchess summoned Madame de
Saint-Simon into her wardrobe, and, " with a cold and
angry air," expressed her astonishment that her husband
should be endeavouring to stir up a quarrel between the
Due d'Orleans and herself. The dame d'honneur assured
her that she must have been misinformed ; but the
princess rejoined that it was only too true, and thereupon
repeated every word that Saint-Simon had said to her
father. Madame de Saint-Simon, though much surprised,
did not lose the calm and dignified manner which she
invariably assumed towards her wayward mistress. She
replied with firmness that this horrible report was public ;
that her Royal Highness could herself perceive what
76 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
disastrous consequences would follow, false and abomin-
able as it might be, and appreciate the importance of
the Due d'Orleans being at once informed of it. She
added that her husband had given so many proofs of his
attachment for both the duke and herself that his motives
were above suspicion. With which she curtsied and
retired, leaving the princess to her own reflections.
Saint-Simon was so angry at this gross breach of con-
fidence on the part of the Due d'Orleans that for a while
he ceased to visit both him and the Duchesse de Berry,
though they " cajoled him with all kinds of excuses and
apologies." Eventually, however, they were reconciled,
and he and the duke became as firm friends as ever,
though on the understanding that there should be no
question of the Duchesse de Berry between them. In-
deed, from that time forth, he tells us, he kept aloof from
the princess as much as possible and only visited her for
form's sake.
On July 21, 1711, at Fontainebleau, the Duchesse de
Berry gave birth prematurely to a daughter, who only
lived two days. For this contretemps the senile tyranny of
Louis XIV. was indirectly responsible, as it had been for
the miscarriage of the Duchesse de Bourgogne at Marly,
three years before. Although the doctors had warned
the King that it would be imprudent for the princess
to travel to Fontainebleau, and the Due de Berry, Madame
de Maintenon, and Madame had begged him to allow her
to remain behind, he insisted on her following the Court ;
and the only concession that they were able to obtain
was permission for her to make the journey by water.
Singularly enough, while insisting on the unfortunate
Duchesse de Berry taking a serious and wholly unneces-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 77
sary risk merely to gratify his desire to have all his
relatives in attendance upon him, his Majesty issued the
most stringent orders as to the precautions which she was
to observe in Paris, while waiting for the barges required
for the conveyance of herself and her suite to be made
ready, and forbade her to quit the Palais-Royal, even to
visit the Opera, where her box was on the same floor as
her apartments.
On July 15, the duchess embarked, in company with
her father, and proceeded as far as Petit-Bourg, where the
King was to pass the night. The journey, notwithstand-
ing all the precautions taken, had tried her very much,
and she arrived feeling exceedingly unwell. On the
morrow, as her barge was passing under the bridge of
Melun, it collided with one of the piers, and was very
nearly swamped, much to the alarm of the duchess, who
was compelled to make the remainder of the journey to
Fontainebleau by road. She arrived in the middle of the
night, utterly worn out, with the result which might have
been anticipated. " As it was only a daughter," says
Saint-Simon, '.' they consoled themselves, and the Due
de Berry set them the example, for while the remains of
his child were being carried to Saint-Denis, he was hunt-
ing with the Dauphin."
The Duchesse de Berry made a rapid recovery, and to-
wards the end of August was permitted to follow the
chase in an elegant little caleche which she had just had
made for her ; while on September 7 she was able to
mount her horse once more. For a few weeks the life of
the young lady appears to have been relatively tranquil,
but soon it became stormy again.
This time the cause of the trouble was the princess's
78 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
behaviour towards her mother, who was now beginning
to realise that not even a great princess can afford to
neglect her duty towards her children without some day
being called upon to suffer for it. In default of more
maternal sentiments, the Duchesse d'Orleans had always
shown her eldest daughter much kindness and indulgence,
which the latter repaid by treating her with the most
mortifying coldness and hauteur, and allowing, as we
have seen, no opportunity to slip of reminding her of the
unfortunate circumstances of her birth. At length, she
began to testify her antipathy in so marked a manner
as to earn several sharp reprimands from the King, but
these, so far from causing any improvement in her con-
duct, seemed only to make her the more insolent and
spiteful ; and Louis XIV. accordingly charged Madame
to take her granddaughter in hand and endeavour to
bring her to her senses. The old princess, who never
shrank from reprimanding the young for their follies,
and with whom the Duchesse de Berry was no favourite,
readily accepted the commission, stipulating only that
the King should warn the princess of the order that he
had given. This request having been complied with, she
sent for the Duchesse de Berry and her parents, and
proceeded to give her a piece of her mind.
The delinquent " shed warm tears and promised re-
peatedly to reform " ; and, as Madame, by the King's
desire, continued to bestow upon her periodical admoni-
tions, for a while there appears to have been some slight
improvement. " The pupil whom they have entrusted
to my care," writes the old princess, under date November
15, 171 1, " conducts herself better now, thanks be to God,
and profits by my lectures. God grant that it may last [ "
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 79
But it is evident that there was still ample room for
amendment, since Madame tells us, in the same letter,
that she had had occasion to reprimand her grand-
daughter for " drinking too much, for making wry faces
at the King, for ill-using her husband, for living on bad
terms with the Dauphine, for attacking every one to their
faces, for being discourteous, and for other like things."
Madame continued to lecture the Duchesse de Berry
for some three months, but, though the latter appeared
to receive the grandmaternal admonitions in a duly con-
trite spirit, and for a few days behaved as though she
was sincere in her professions of penitence, they in reality
produced not the smallest effect upon her, and her con-
duct, particularly towards her mother, soon became as
reprehensible as ever. Nor was this at all surprising,
since she had lately bestowed her confidence upon one of
her waiting-women, a certain Mile, de Vienne, a bold and
unprincipled young woman, whose mother had been
nurse to Philippe d'Orleans, and who had perhaps not
escaped the favours of that prince. This Mile, de Vienne
would seem to have cherished a grudge against the
Duchesse d'Orleans; any way, she laboured to set the
duke at variance with his wife, and the Duchesse de Berry
with her mother, and was only too successful. Finally,
at the beginning of January 1712, these family dissen-
sions occasioned a regular scandal, which showed Madame
that she might just as well have spared her breath for
all the good her long-winded reprimands had done her
wilful granddaughter.
The Due d'Orleans happened to possess a very beautiful
diamond necklace, which had been given to his father by
Anne of Austria, and with which the Duchesse d'Orleans
80 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
loved to adorn herself. With the twofold object of
gratifying her vanity and annoying her mother, the
Duchesse de Berry conceived the idea of getting temporary
possession of this resplendent bauble and wearing it at a
grand ball which was to be given by the Chancellor,
Pontchartrain. Although sure of meeting with a refusal,
she applied to her mother, in whose jewel-case it reposed,
for the loan of it, and when she received the answer
anticipated, retorted insolently that the necklace be-
longed to her father and that she could easily persuade
him to give it her. In point of fact, Philippe d'Orleans
had the incredible weakness to surrender to his daughter's
caprice ; and the Duchesse de Berry wore the coveted
diamonds at the Pontchartrain ball and at other New
Year festivities.
But her triumph was of very brief duration, for the
Duchesse d'Orleans complained bitterly of her daughter's
insufferable insolence, and found, on this occasion, a firm
support in Madame, who repaired to the King's cabinet,
and acquainted his Majesty with what had occurred.
" Those who saw her come out," writes Dangeau, " say
that she had tears in her eyes, but that they do not
concern her, and that it is a question of some difference
between the Duchesse de Berry and the Duchesse
d'Orleans, her mother. What confirms people in this
opinion, is that the two have been seen together at Mass
in the loge of the tribune, and that they did not seem
pleased with one another, and that in the evening the
Duchesse d'Orleans was observed to enter Madame de
Maintenon's apartment, where the King was, and where
she remained rather a long time."1
1 Journal, January 7, 1712.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 81
The King, we are told, was exceedingly annoyed and
spoke of adopting very severe measures to bring his grand-
daughter to reason. The latter, who had developed a
diplomatic chill and betaken herself to bed, recognising
that this time she had gone altogether too far, became
decidedly alarmed, and suffered herself to be persuaded
by the Dauphine, though not until after several long dis-
cussions, to apologise to her indignant mother. On the
morrow, accordingly, she repaired, in an apparently very
chastened mood, to the apartments of the Duchesse
d'Orleans, where a formal reconciliation took place
between mother and daughter. " The Duchesse de
Berry," continues Dangeau, " spoke to her [the Duchesse
d'Orleans] with much affection and deference, praying
her very earnestly to give her all her counsels, as though
she were still her daughter, and asserting that it had
always been her intention to do well and that she would
do still better in the future ; and that, if she had com-
mitted any wrong, she must pardon a person of her age.
The Duchesse d'Orleans embraced her very tenderly, and
promised to set her right with the King."
The King, however, was not so easily placated as the
Duchesse d'Orleans, and insisted on the instant dismissal
of Mile, de Vienne, to whose pernicious counsels this un-
seemly family quarrel was generally attributed. Nor
would he allow the offender to present herself before him,
until Madame had interceded for her, and represented
that the dismissal of the waiting-woman, to whom his
granddaughter was greatly attached, was a sufficient
punishment.
The Duchesse de Berry was therefore permitted to
resume her place at the King's supper-table, but she was
G
82 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
quite unable to conceal her resentment at the disgrace
of her favourite, and though her mother, to appease her,
surrendered the diamond necklace, the immediate cause
of all the trouble, she continued in a most unamiable
humour. For not only had the enforced separation from
Mile, de Vienne wounded her both in her pride and her
affections, but she had found that the scandal which she
had so wantonly provoked, and the manner in which the
King had manifested his displeasure, had sadly diminished
her prestige at the Court, and that people were no longer
disposed to treat her with the deference she considered
her due. Thus, having on the death of her first equerry,
the Marquis de Razilly, had the imprudence to promise
the vacant post both to the Chevalier de la Rochefoucauld-
Roye and the Marquis de Levis, she had the still greater
imprudence to pass them both over and confer it upon a
third candidate, the Comte de Sainte-Maure. The cheva-
lier and the marquis were naturally exceedingly indignant
at such treatment, and their respective wives still more
so ; indeed, the latter went so far as to express their dis-
satisfaction to the princess in most disrespectful terms.
The Duchesse de Berry was furious ; but, since she was
well aware that neither the King nor Madame de Main-
tenon would pay any attention to her complaints, she
was compelled to stomach their insolence as best she
might, although Madame de Levis, who was a daughter
of the Due de Chevreuse, emboldened by impunity, ended
by even daring to make faces at her.
However, shortly afterwards, Death again intervened
to change the situation of the princess, this time alto-
gether to her advantage.
CHAPTER IV
Successive deaths of the Dauphine, the Dauphin, and the little Due de
Bretagne — Joy of the Duchesse de Berry — Altered situation of the
princess, who, by the death of her sister-in-law, becomes the first
lady of the Court — Lively passage-at-arms between her and Madame
— She becomes pregnant : rigorous precautions insisted upon by
the King — Cruel disappointment which she inflicts upon the old
Marechal de Bezons — She gives birth to a son, who, however, does
not long survive — She gains the favour of the King, and her position
becomes a very enviable one — Her relations with her husband —
Intrigue between the Due de Berry and one of his wife's waiting-
women — Compact between the prince and princess, which leaves
them both free to follow their own inclinations — Violent passion of
the Duchesse de Berry for her husband's first equerry, La Haye —
She endeavours to persuade him to carry her off to the Netherlands
— Accident to the Due de Berry — His illness and death — Exag-
gerated grief affected by his widow — Birth of a posthumous
daughter — Indulgence of Louis XIV. for the duchess during the
last months of his life.
THE autumn of 171 1 had been very wet, and was
followed by a severe winter. A malignant type
of measles — called by the Faculty, " rougeole pour pre " —
broke out in Paris and at Versailles, and claimed many
victims. On the evening of February 5, 1712, a few
days after the return of the Court from a visit to Marly,
the Dauphine, who had of late been suffering much from
toothache and rheumatism, and had, besides, severely
taxed her strength and rendered herself particularly liable
to infection by refusing to take the precautions her state
of health required, was taken ill. Her malady soon
developed symptoms which completely puzzled the
physicians who attended her ; in spite of all their efforts,
she grew steadily worse, and on February 12 she died,
at the early age of twenty-six.1 " With her," says
1 For a full account of the death of the Dauphine and of her husband,
see the author's A Rose of Savoy (London, Methuen ; New York,
Scribners, 1909).
83
84 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Saint-Simon, "departed joy, pleasure, and everything
gracious ; and darkness brooded over the Court. She
had been its life, and, if it survived her, it was only to
languish. Never was princess so regretted ; never was
one more worthy of regret."
The grief of the Court was not shared by the Duchesse
de Berry. In losing her sister-in-law, she had lost the
only person at the Court who entertained for her a sin-
cere friendship and was always ready to make allow-
ance for her faults ; but, so far from appreciating the
rare qualities of this good and amiable princess, she was
unable to dissimulate her joy at seeing herself delivered
from " one greater and more beloved than herself,"1
and at becoming, in her stead, the first lady in the land.
Nor was her satisfaction lessened when the Dauphin
(February 18) and his eldest son, the little Due de Bre-
tagne (March 8), followed the Dauphine to the grave,
leaving only the aged King and the infant Due d'Anjou
between the Due de Berry and the Crown of France.
As the first lady in the kingdom, and likely to remain
so for many a long year to come, it was no longer possible
for the Duchesse de Berry to be kept in the kind of
semi-disgrace to which she had been relegated for some
time past. Louis XIV. had perforce to treat her more
graciously, though he charged Madame to continue her
admonitions ; and the Court naturally followed suit.
She now held a cercle of her own, newcomers to the
Court were presented to her, and the Ambassadors re-
ceived in public audience ; she presided with her husband
at the gaming-tables in the salon ; and the King felt
it necessary to excuse himself from inviting her to ride
1 Saint- Simon.
Elizabeth Charlotte of Bavaria, Duchesse d'Orleans
("Madame")
From the painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud, at Versailles
(Photo by W. A. Mansell & Co.)
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 85
in his caliche, on the ground that they were both a little
too stout for so small a carriage to hold them comfortably.
All this was, of course, very gratifying to the vanity
of the princess, and, for a while, she appears to have
become quite amiable, even going the length of giving
a supper-party in her mother's honour one evening at
Fontainebleau. But this improvement does not appear
to have lasted very long, for at the beginning of the
following October, Madame, after a particularly lively
passage of arms with the young lady, pronounces her to
be " more foolish and more impertinent than ever."
" Yesterday," her grandmother continues, " she tried
to snub me, but I gave her a piece of my mind. She
came to me, sumptuously adorned, in full Court toilette,
with fourteen poincons of the most beautiful diamonds
imaginable. She looked well enough, except that she
had put twelve patches on her face, which were horribly
unsuited to her. When she came before me, I said to her :
' Madame, you look splendid, but it seems to me that you
have too many patches, and they do not give you a very
distinguished air. You are the first lady in this land,
and your position requires rather more gravity than to
wear patches like an actress on the stage.' She made
a wry face and said : ' I know you don't care for patches
and that they displease you, but I like them, and I in-
tend to please nobody but myself.' ' That is an error,'
I said to her, ' which is due to your extreme youth,
for, rather than please yourself, you ought to think of
pleasing the King.' ' Oh ! ' said she, ' the King gets
accustomed to anything ; and, as for me, I have made
up my mind not to bother myself about anything, and
not to care about anything.' I laughed and said : ' With
86 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
such sentiments one can go far. Listen. When I tell
you my opinion, I do so for your own good, because I
am obliged to as your grandmother, and because the
King has ordered me. Otherwise, I should not say a
word. To be silent is to be on the right side.' ' Yes,'
said she, ' for speech won't do any good ; and won't
prevent me from doing as I please.' ' So much the worse
for you,' said I, ' but as all that I hear you say proceeds
from the errors of youth, I hope you will change.' ' I
am quite satisfied, and I don't intend to change.' ' It
is not enough,' said I, ' to be satisfied with yourself ; it
is necessary that every one should be satisfied with you.'
Thereupon she got up. ' There is a little head,' said I,
' which will give you a lot of trouble.' ' What do you
mean by that ? ' she asked. ' You understand what I
mean,' I replied ; ' and that's enough ; but, even if you
don't, experience will soon enlighten you.' With that
lesson she took her departure. You see with what a
mad creature we have to deal. In the evening, I related
all that had passed to her father, adding that he must
make his daughter clearly understand in what manner
she ought to speak to me ; that I had been patient this
time, but that I could not be sure of being always so,
and that I might well complain to the King of the way
in which she had received my admonitions. My son was
frightened ; he begged me to say nothing, and promised
to reprimand her sharply."
We can imagine how much effect a reprimand from her
doting father would be likely to have upon the Duchesse
de Berry, who, Saint-Simon tells us, was in the habit of
" treating him like a negro," when she happened to be
in one of her tantrums. Moreover, as she was now ae-ain
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 87
in an interesting condition, the Due d'Orleans no doubt
considered that it would be imprudent to do anything to
agitate her, so that, if the promised reproof were adminis-
tered at all, it must have been of the mildest possible kind.
The successive deaths of the Due de Bourgogne and
the little Due de Bretagne had invested the pregnancy
of the Duchesse de Berry with an importance which it
would not otherwise have possessed; and Louis XIV.,
who ardently desired to see the succession to the throne
in the direct line secured against all possibility of failure,
insisted that the most rigorous precautions should be
taken to guard against a repetition of the accident of the
previous year. So on Christmas Day — that is to say,
three months before the princess expected her confinement
— she was, greatly to her disgust, ordered to bed, and
condemned to pass there the remainder of the time.
Everything possible was done, however, to relieve the
monotony of this captivity. The King came to see her
every day ; the Due de Berry spent all his evenings with
her ; card-parties took place every night in her bed-
chamber, though they had orders to terminate punctually
at half-past nine ; and on one occasion, as an unusual
indulgence, she was permitted to entertain her friends
to a medianoche,1 at which a performance of marionettes
was given.
The selection of the ladies who were to superintend
the education of the eagerly-expected child also provided
the princess with some occupation ; and, incidentally,
with the opportunity of inflicting a cruel disappointment
on one of the most worthy men at the Court.
1 A medianoche was a meat-supper which took place after mid-
night on fast-days.
88 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
The Marechal de Bezons, a gallant old soldier, who had
served his King and country with distinction in every
quarter of Europe, solicited the post of gouvernante to
the future prince or princess for his wife. The marshal
was far advanced in years and possessed but a scant}1'
fortune, and was therefore extremely anxious to assure
his wife's future by securing for her so lucrative a charge.
The Duchesse de Berry, whose pride was gratified by the
prospect of having for her child's gouvernante the wife
of so distinguished a soldier, received his request most
graciously and hastened to accede to it ; and the marshal
withdrew, satisfied that nothing remained but to obtain
the consent of the King. But, almost at the same moment,
she received an application for the post from one of
her most intimate friends, the Marquis d'Antin, and
her chevalier d'honneur, the Comte de Sainte-Maure, on
behalf of the Marquise de Pompadour, a vain old woman,
who was intoxicated with the desire to occupy at the
Court an important position ; and, coolly ignoring the
promise she had j ust given the marshal, acceded to this also.
Poor Bezons, without seeing the princess again, went
to obtain the King's consent ; but Madame de Pompa-
dour had anticipated him, and his Majesty, while assuring
him of how willingly he would have accorded it, told him
that he had already conferred the post upon that lady.
The old marshal, exasperated at the way he had been
treated, sought out the Duchesse de Berry and expressed
his opinion of her conduct with as much candour as
Mesdames de Levis and de la Roye had employed, in
similar circumstances, some months before ; but it is to
be feared that the princess was already too insensible to
shame to feel any remorse.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 89
About ten o'clock on the evening of March 25, 1713,
while playing cards with some of her friends, the Duchesse
de Berry felt the first pains of labour, and at four o'clock
on the following morning, to the great joy of the King
and her husband, she gave birth to a son, who received
the title of Due d'Alencon. But their joy was soon turned
to mourning, for the little prince was so small and feeble
that from the first it was feared that he would not live ;
and in the night of April 9-10, after several attacks of
convulsions, he expired.
To the credit of the Duchesse de Berry, it must be
recorded that she showed a real tenderness for her little
son, and two days before his death, when he was reported
to be in a desperate state, she insisted on leaving her bed
to go to him ; and the intervention of Louis XIV. was
necessary to prevent this visit from being repeated.
On the 17th, the body of the poor little prince was
conveyed to Saint-Denis, by the Bishop of Sens, the
bishop of the diocese, and Mesdames de Pompadour and
de Vaudreuil, his gouvemante and sous-gouvernante.1 His
heart was taken to the Val-de-Grace.
The recovery of the duchess was again a very rapid
one, and by the beginning of June she had resumed her
ordinary life, and was following the chase — her favourite
diversion — with as much ardour as ever. Her position
was now a distinctly enviable one, for Louis XIV.,
anxious to console her for her recent bereavement and
for the three months' captivity which had preceded it,
and to which, he hoped, it might soon be necessary for
1 The Duchesse de Berry gave Madame de Pompadour a pension
of 12,000 livres, and continued their salaries to all the servants chosen
for her son. Whatever were her faults, she was generous enough in
money matters.
go UNRULY DAUGHTERS
her to submit again, treated her with almost as much
kindness and indulgence as he had shown the Duchesse
de Bourgogne. On the occasion of the double betrothal
of the Due de Bourbon to Mile, de Conti and of the
Prince de Conti to Mile, de Bourbon, she appeared covered
with all the Crown jewels, which the King had lent her,
and which Dangeau declares to have been worth at this
period more than eighteen million livres ; x she was given
a suite of apartments for her own at Fontainebleau ; she
sat by the King's side at the play ; and her caleche — a
costly equipage gilded all over and with gold-mounted
harness — followed his Majesty's closely in the chase.
Nor was the Court oblivious to the fact that not only
was she actually the first lady in the land, Madame de
Maintenon not taking officially any rank, and high in
favour with the King, but that only the life of a frail child
intervened between her husband and the succession to
the throne ; and those who had once almost ignored her
were now the most assiduous in their homage.
By the end of the year, the Duchesse de Berry, though
she could never hope to fill the place which the late
Dauphine had occupied in the affections of those around
her, enjoyed in other respects very much the same posi-
tion. Her salon had become the centre of the Court ; she
wore the most extravagant toilettes, " her coiffure so
filled with jewels that one could say without exaggera-
tion that the eye was unable to endure their dazzling
splendour";2 she gave the most sumptuous entertain-
ments ; she went to the Fair of Saint-Laurent, threw
money to the people in the streets, finished up with a
1 Journal, July 8, 1713.
2 Mercure, October 1713, cited by Barthelemy.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 91
supper at the Opera, to which she entertained a number
of ladies, and returned to Marly, where the King then
was, at five o'clock in the morning. And Louis XIV.
uttered no word of protest and permitted her to do
exactly as she pleased. It seemed, indeed, that she
had not miscalculated when she had flippantly assured
her indignant grandmother that the King " got accus-
tomed to anything," and that she had " made up her mind
to trouble herself about nothing."
But, if the Duchesse de Berry had gained the favour
of the King and the homage of the Court, she had lost
the affection of her husband, though this, so far from
occasioning her Royal Highness any regret, was regarded
by her with distinct relief.
The Due de Berry, as we have seen, had begun by
falling very much in love with his wife and allowing him-
self to be entirely dominated by her superior intelligence
and strength of will ; and for the first two years of their
married life he submitted meekly to the yoke, and con-
tinued to adore her, notwithstanding her violent temper,
her fantastic caprices, and her increasing indifference to
himself. " The Due de Berry," writes Madame, under
date May 21, 1712, " is very enamoured of his wife, who is
unhappily not enamoured of him, and, although she be-
haves better than she used to, I fear that she will become
coquettish. She has a strong propensity in that direction."
But even the patience of the most long-suffering and
uxorious husband has its limits, and the Due de Berry
would assuredly have been something more than human
if his .wife had not succeeded in exhausting it. In every
conceivable way she provoked and disgusted him. She
ridiculed his piety, or rather his respect for religion, and
92 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
made his strict observance of Lent and fast-days the
subject of such biting jests that sometimes, to escape
them, he would do violence to his conscience and partake
of what the Church had forbidden. She interfered per-
petually with the management of his Household, and
forced him to dismiss persons whose services he valued,
but against whom she happened to have some fancied
grievance. " She partook of few meals in private at
which she did not become so intoxicated as to lose
consciousness, and the presence of the Due de Berry, of
the Due and Duchesse d'Orleans, and of ladies with whom
she was not on familiar terms, in no way restrained her.
She even complained of the Due de Berry for not doing
as she did."1 Her temper, always violent, had become
so volcanic that neither he nor her parents, " dared
hazard the least contradiction, much less the least
admonition,"2 from fear of provoking some distressing
scene. And, finally, although the atrocious rumours
concerning her relations with the Due d'Orleans, skilfully
fostered by Madame la Duchesse and her friends, had
become more persistent than ever and threatened to
cause a terrible scandal, she stubbornly refused to take
the only means of putting a stop to them, and the few
hours she could spare from the chase, the toilette, and
the gambling-table, which absorbed the greater part of
her time, were given to her father.
At length, her conduct became so intolerable that the
poor man could endure it no longer. In one of his
moments of vexation, he had " forgotten himself " with
a waiting-woman of his wife, whom Madame describes
as " swarthy and ugly," but who, nevertheless, pos-
1 Saint- Simon. 2 J bid.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 93
sessed sufficient attractions to inspire in him a serious
attachment. The Duchesse de Berry was not long in
discovering what was in progress, but, instead of flying
into one of her passions, she perceived in it a means of
disembarrassing herself of a husband whose affection
only wearied her and of securing the most complete
liberty. She accordingly bided her time, and presently
detected the duke and the femme de chambre in a situa-
tion which rendered denial impossible. Then, without
making any scene, she coolly proposed to her erring
consort that henceforth, while living together, as they had
at first, on amicable terms, he should go his own way
and allow her to do the same, promising to behave as
though she had not the least suspicion of his infidelity.
If he did not agree to this, she threatened to complain
to the King and to demand that his inamorata should be
banished so far from the Court that " never for the rest
of his life would he see her or hear her voice again."1
The Due de Berry accepted his wife's proposition, and
from that time, with the exception of an occasion of
which we shall presently speak, left her to follow her own
inclinations ; while he continued to solace his leisure
with her waiting- woman, whom he married early in 1713,
with a handsome dowry, but on the condition that her
husband should have no conjugal relations with her.
" He died loving her," writes Madame, " and left her,
like his wife, in an interesting condition. Madame de
Berry, who was not in the least jealous, took care of both
mother and child."
Thus delivered from all possibility of surveillance on
1 Lettres inedites de Madame, Duchesse d' Orleans (edit. Rolland),
Letter of March 31, 171 7.
94 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
the part of her husband, the Duchesse de Berry proceeded
to indulge to the full that propensity for flirtation which
Madame had already remarked in her. From flirtation
she soon passed to a more serious kind of gallantry, and,
after an intrigue with a M. de Salvert, an official of the
Grande Ecurie, she fixed her affections on La Haye, first
equerry to the duke, whom Saint-Simon describes as
" tall, well-made, and a good horseman," but with " a
sunburned face, which, besides, had never been handsome,
a foppish and foolish manner, and little intelligence."
Of this personage, for whom she purchased the office of
first chamberlain to her husband, which entitled him
to a place in the duke's carriage and at his table, the
princess became most desperately enamoured ; and " the
oglings in the salon at Marly were perceived by every one
who happened to be there, since nothing restrained
them."1 Finally, so violent became her passion that
she actually conceived the project of making him carry
her off to the Netherlands.
" La Haye was like to die with fright at this proposi-
tion, which she herself made him, and she of the fury into
which his objections threw her. From the most pressing
entreaties she passed to all the invectives that rage could
suggest, and which torrents of tears could allow her to pro-
nounce. La Haye had to suffer her attacks — now tender,
now furious. He was in the most mortal embarrass-
ment." 2
Despite the resistance of her lover, the princess clung
to this mad idea for a long time, and tormented the un-
happy equerry to such a degree with her tears, entreaties,
reproaches and threats that he began most heartily to
1 Saint- Simon. 2 Ibid.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 95
regret his so-called bonne fortune, and would fain have
hidden himself from her, had he not feared that, in her
rage at his disappearance, she would provoke a scandal
which would render his return to Court for ever impossible.
At length, either because she had recovered her senses,
or in despair of overcoming his reluctance, she ceased to
persecute him. But the liaison continued until the death
of the Due de Berry and for some time afterwards.
The loss of her husband's affection had troubled the
Duchesse de Berry not at all ; but the loss of the poor
man himself, which soon followed, was quite another
matter, since it deprived her of the possibility, at this
time far from a remote one, of ever becoming Queen of
France.
The almost incredible imprudence of the Due de Berry
was the cause of his death. On Thursday, April 26,
the Court being then at Marly, he went hunting with the
King and the Elector of Bavaria. Recent rain had
rendered the ground very treacherous, and, in the course
of the chase, his horse slipped and nearly came down.
He pulled him up sharply, and, as the animal recovered
his feet, " the pommel of the saddle struck the Due de
Berry between the chest and the stomach."
" He felt at once a sharp pain," contiuues Madame, "but
he said nothing. The same evening, he spat blood, and
forbade his valet de chambre to speak of it. He thought
he had dysentery, and did not wish to say anything, from
fear of being made to swallow a heap of remedies. He
hoped that it would pass away. Friday, he began to feel
unwell, but he said that it was only a slight indisposition.
Saturday, he went to the chase. The same day, a peasant,
who had witnessed the blow which the prince had re-
96 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
ceived, inquired of one of the King's gentlemen : ' How
is the Due de Berry ? ' ' Very well,' replied the other,
' for he has gone wolf -hunting to-day.' ' If he is well
then,' said the peasant, ' princes must have stronger
bones than we peasants, since I saw him receive a blow
during the chase on Thursday that would have split open
three of us.' "1
On the following Monday morning (April 30), though
feeling far from well, the Due de Berry rose at an early
hour to attend the King's lever, after which he intended
to go stag-hunting ; but, on leaving the royal chamber,
he was seized with a violent fit of shivering, which
obliged him to retire to bed. He was soon in a high fever,
and though in the evening he was bled in the foot, this
afforded him no relief, and he passed a very bad night.
At seven o'clock the next morning, he was again bled,
but the fever continued to increase ; and when, after
Mass, Louis XIV. came to see his grandson, the doctors,
contrary to their usual custom in the case of royal patients,
made no attempt to disguise their uneasiness.
It should be remarked that the Due de Berry had as yet
said not a word about the accident of the previous Thurs-
day ; and when, later in the day, the doctors proposed
to administer emetics, he offered no objection to taking
them. These must undoubtedly have destroyed any
chance of ultimate recovery which the unfortunate prince
might have possessed.
The Due de Berry again passed a very restless night,
and in the morning was bled for the third time. Early
1 Letter of May 6, 1714, Lettres inediles de la Princesse Palatine
(edit. Rolland). We have transcribed these details, since Saint-Simon
tells us that the death of the Due de Berry gave rise to the most sinister
suspicions, which he himself appears to have shared.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 97
in the forenoon, the duchess, who was once more in an
interesting condition and had been obliged to remain
at Versailles, sent her chevalier d'honnear, Coetenfao, to
beg the King to allow Chirac, the favourite physician of
the Due d'Orleans, to come to Marly.1 But Louis XIV.
refused, observing that all the doctors in attendance on
the prince were of the same opinion, and that a new-
comer, who might differ from them, would only create
embarrassment. After dinner, the princess sent Mesdames
de Pompadour and de la Vieuville, ' to demand his
Majesty's permission for her to come herself to Marly,"
since she was unable to endure the anxiety she was
suffering, and would come on foot rather than not come
at all." The King replied that, if the Duchesse de Berry
arrived, he would not close the door against her, but that
it would be very imprudent for her to come. And he
charged the Due and Duchesse d'Orleans to go to Ver-
sailles and persuade their daughter to renounce her
project. This they did, and, " after the review [of the
Gardes du Corps], while the King was changing his
dress, the Due d'Orleans came to tell him that the
Duchesse de Berry had finally surrendered to his en-
1 Madame relates an amusing anecdote of this personage, who,
during the Mississippi " boom " some years later, contracted the specu-
lative fever in a rather virulent form : " Dr. Chirac was summoned
to the bedside of a sick lady. Whilst he was with her, some one re-
marked that the shares [of Law's bank] were going down. The doctor,
who held a great many shares, was so much disturbed that, even when
feeling his patient's pulse, he kept muttering to himself : ' Going down,
down, down ! ' Hearing this, the sick woman began weeping and
lamenting : ' Alas ! ' said she, ' I am surely dying. M. Chirac, when
feeling my pulse, whispered, " Going down, down, down ! " ' The
doctor, aroused from his reverie, looked up, on hearing this, and said,
' You are dreaming ; your pulse is regular, and you will soon be quite
well. I was thinking of the Mississippi shares, which are going down
in price.' Thus, he reassured the sick lady."
H
98 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
treaties and his counsels, and that she would not come.
The King again charged M. d'Orleans to go to Versailles,
to sustain her in this prudent resolution."1
The truth is that the Due de Berry did not wish to see
his wife, and, according to Saint-Simon, during his last
illness, " he never once mentioned her name, or spoke
of her, even indirectly." Notwithstanding the compact
between them of which we have spoken, fresh quarrels
had arisen, owing perhaps to the almost public manner in
which the duchess had proclaimed her infatuation for
La Haye, but, more probably, to the duke's disgust at
the rumours which the maladroit attentions of his father-
in-law were provoking. Any way, there had recently
been a most violent scene at Rambouillet, in which the
duchess " received a kick . . . and the threat that she
should be shut up in a convent for the rest of her life ; and
when the Due de Berry fell ill, he was thumbing his hat,
like a child, before the King, relating all his grievances, and
asking him to deliver him from the Duchesse de Berry."2
The night of May 2-3 was even worse than those which
had preceded it, and, in the morning, although the Due
de Berry still remained silent about his accident, the
doctors were unanimously of opinion that he had rup-
tured a vein in the stomach.3 The nausea, which had
been a marked feature of his illness from the first, and
had given rise to the suspicions of which Saint-Simon
speaks, ceased about nine o'clock ; but the patient was
no better ; and the King, who had intended to hunt that
day, countermanded his carriage.
1 Dangeau, Journal, May 2, 1714. 2 Saint-Simon.
3 Saint- Simon. But Dangeau says that the Faculty had arrived
at this conclusion on the morning of the 2nd.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 99
Towards evening, the prince was moved from his bed
into an arm-chair, as he was unable to breathe in a re-
cumbent position. This appears to have relieved him
greatly, and when, shortly after eight o'clock, Madame
and the Duchesse d'Orleans visited the sick-room, they
found him quite cheerful and convinced that the worst
was over. " He believed," writes the elder princess,
" that he was out of danger, and said to me, with a
laugh : ' For the present, Madame, I think I may tell
you that I am saved ; I have no more fever and no longer
feel ill.' Then he called out in a loud voice : ' Give a
chair to Madame and a seat to Madame d'Orleans, and
let us talk.' ' Certainly not,' I replied, ' talking might
bring back the fever : do not talk so much.' While still
chatting, he was seized with a violent attack of hic-
coughs, and he spoke with difficulty, since he was scarcely
able to breathe. Madame d'Orleans, who thought that
he was really out of danger, was astonished to see me,
as we left the room, with tears in my eyes. She inquired
why I was crying. ' Eh, mon Dieu, Madame ! ' I replied,
' can you not see, from his breathing, his voice, and that
hiccough, that the prince is dying.' She would not
believe me, but she saw afterwards that I had spoken
only too truly."1
In point of fact, scarcely had the two princesses left
him, than the Due de Berry had an alarming relapse,
and his confessor, Pere de la Rue, felt obliged to warn
him that the time had come when he ought to think of
receiving the Viaticum. " Very far from offering any
objection," says Dangeau, " he expressed a desire to
1 Lettres inidites de la Princesse Palatine (edit. Rolland), Letter
of May 6, 1714.
ioo UNRULY DAUGHTERS
do so, and, a little after ten o'clock, the King went to the
chapel, where, since the beginning of the malady, a con-
secrated Host had been kept in readiness. The Viaticum
and the holy oils were brought to the Due de Berry ; and
the King remained nearly an hour in his chamber, and
saw him receive the Holy Sacrament, which he did with
much devotion and respect. . . . The Due d'Orleans
went two hours after midnight to Versailles, to see the
Duchesse de Berry, who had been desirous of coming
here all day."1
At four o'clock next morning (Thursday, May 4), the
Due de Berry expired, in his twenty-eighth year. Shortly
before the end, he related to Pere de la Rue the accident
which had happened to him the previous week, and
which — or rather its concealment — had had such fatal
consequences ; " but," observes Dangeau, " his mind
was already beginning to wander." " When he had lost
the power of speech," the chronicler continues, " he took
the crucifix which his confessor placed in his hand, kissed
it, and laid it on his heart. He died with much firmness
and religion."2
The same day, while Louis XIV. was driving in the
forest, the body of the deceased prince was removed, in
one of his own carriages, to the Tuileries, escorted by the
officers of his Household and his guards. Saint-Simon,
in his notes to Dangeau's Journal, comments severely on
this indecent haste, and declares that " in a private house
people would have been ashamed to have the body of
a servant carried away so precipitately so few hours after
his death." The obsequies were celebrated at Saint-Denis
on the 16th. The Due d'Orleans was to have headed the
1 Journal, May 3, 1714. 2 j^#> May 5 I7I4
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 101
procession, but the same odious reports against him as
had been circulated at the time of the death of the Due
and Duchesse de Bourgogne had again appeared, and he
begged to be excused. His request was granted, and
Monsieur le Due1 took his place.
On the day of the Due de Berry's death, Madame went
to Versailles to pay a visit of condolence to the widow. She
found the bereaved princess in a state of such pitiable dis-
tress that she was moved with compassion and shed copious
tears, although she must have had a shrewd suspicion
that it was not so much her lost husband as her lost
ambitions that the lady was bewailing. " From the
woman the most happy in the world," she writes, " she
is going to become the most miserable, if she does not
have a son." And she adds : " She believes firmly that
she will only have a daughter."2
The Duchesse de Berry continued to affect the most
exaggerated grief for the husband to whom she had been
so utterly indifferent. She shut herself up in her bed-
chamber, and caused the room to be draped in black
and the shutters to be closed. When the King came
to visit her, one of them was partly opened, so that there
might be sufficient light to guide his footsteps, but this
concession was made only for him ; and all who came to
condole with her found themselves in complete dark-
ness." " This," says Saint-Simon, " gave rise to many
ridiculous scenes and rather indecent laughter, which
could not be restrained. Persons accustomed to the
room could find their way, but those who were not
1 Louis Henri, Due de Bourbon, Prince de Conde.
2 Lettres inidites de la Princesse Palatine (edit. Rolland), Letter
of May 6, 1714.
102 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
stumbled at every step and required guidance. For
want of this, Pere Trevoux, and Pere Le Tellier after him,
both addressed their compliments to the wall ; others
to the foot of the bed. This became a secret amusement,
but happily did not last long."
In fact, after about three weeks of this pretended
despair, the duchess, having decided that she had paid
a sufficiently touching tribute to her husband's memory,
and atoned, in the eyes of the King and the Court, for
any shortcomings while he was alive, was ready to face
the light of day once more. Louis XIV., to testify his
appreciation of such an example of conjugal devotion,
increased her pension by 200,000 livres, so that she now
found herself in possession of an income of over 650,000
livres, which, however, was to be hard put to stand
the strain of her luxurious and extravagant mode of
life.
Notwithstanding the most elaborate precautions, to
which, on this occasion, the Duchesse de Berry sub-
mitted willingly enough, since she knew how much the
birth of a son would mean to her, the event once more
took place before its time (June 16), when she was de-
livered, not of the hoped-for prince, but of a daughter,
who only survived a few hours.
The princess was for a day or two seriously ill, but she
was soon convalescent, and, though the knowledge that
she could never now become the mother of a possible
King of France distressed her not a little, her situation
was still a very enviable one. The King, anxious to
console her for her disappointment, overwhelmed her
with favours and presents. He paid the greater part of
the debts which she and the Due de Berry had con-
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Duchesse he Berry,
in widow'- weeds
From the painting by Louis de Silvestre, at Versailles
(Photo by W. A. Mansell & Co.)
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 103
tractcd during their married life;1 gave her all the
furniture and jewels which had belonged to her husband,
and accorded her a favour to which she attached great
importance, namely, that of having a company of twelve
guards, to escort her when she drove out in her carriage
and to keep watch and ward in her apartments. ' I do
not consider her [the Duchesse de Berry] unhappy,
although she is without child or husband," writes
Madame, a few weeks after her granddaughter's confine-
ment. " She has a rank more elevated than that to
which she would have been able to aspire ; she has
250,000 livres of revenue more than I have ; she is
then very rich, and her Household is not more consider-
able than mine, which gives her more than she requires.
She is young, in good health, so beloved by her father
and mother2 that they do everything that she wishes ;
and she possesses all the most beautiful things that one
can have in jewellery. I cannot divine in what way she
can be unhappy. If she were Queen, she would only be
subject to more constraint."
The Duchesse de Berry was very far from being un-
happy. During the year of mourning which etiquette
prescribed, she was, of course, unable to appear at any
Court function, but, in other respects, she behaved as if
no change had occurred in her life ; gambling, gossiping,
and feasting with her friends, hunting either in her
caliche or on horseback, and spending more time than
ever in the company of her father, whom she frequently
1 These debts, according to Dangeau, exceeded half a million livres,
of which Louis XIV. paid 400,000 livres.
s The Duchesse d'Orleans, as Madame was well aware, certainly
did not love her eldest daughter ; but probably the writer did not
consider it prudent to mention the fact.
104 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
entertained to dinner or supper, on which occasions they
both seem to have eaten and drunk a good deal more than
was good for them.1 On the very day on which her year
of mourning terminated, Louis XIV., who, deprived of
all his family, had no one but her to give a little youth
and animation to his Court, made her lay aside her
widow's weeds, which, in accordance with custom, she
should have worn for yet another six weeks, and pre-
side over the gaming-tables in the salon at Marly ; and
from that time until his death, four months later, she
enjoyed a degree of favour never surpassed, save in the
case of the Duchesse de Bourgogne. Madame de Main-
tenon, who, in the past, had felt obliged to admonish
the duchess very severely on more than one occasion,
appeared to share his Majesty's partiality, and, according
to Dangeau, " people were persuaded that they were very
satisfied with one another, and that Madame de Main-
tenon had found much intelligence in this princess."
The fact is that the unrecognised consort of Louis XIV.,
aware that the King's days were numbered, was anxious
to secure the protection of the Due d'Orleans, and had
decided that the best means to conciliate him was by
caressing his adored daughter.
The Duchesse de Berry took full advantage of the
indulgence extended to her, and, during the last weeks
of the reign, throned it like a veritable queen. She
presided at all the fetes ; she accompanied the King
wherever he went, followed by a regular Court of ladies,
1 Writing on December 2, 1714, Madame relates that she had
suffered " a fright so terrible that she had not yet recovered," owing
to a sudden illness of the Due d'Orleans, the result of " having eaten
like a wolf at his daughter's, and drunk still more, as was his invariable
custom there."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 105
whom she selected herself, and she obtained the signal
privilege of having four dames de compagnie of her own,
each of whom received a salary of 4000 livres, paid by
the King.1 Old courtiers marvelled at the complaisance
of Louis XIV., hitherto so intolerant of the least devia-
tion from his wishes, when they saw him modify the
programme of amusements he had drawn up during a
visit to Marl}7 to gratify the caprice of his granddaughter,
and not less at the temerity of that princess in venturing
to suggest the alteration. Even the Duchesse de Bour-
gogne would scarcely have ventured to take such a
liberty.
But, notwithstanding the indulgence which both the
King and Madame de Maintenon now showed her, the
princess never succeeded in altogether conquering the fear
with which they had formerly inspired her, and was so
embarrassed in their presence that people could not fail
to perceive it. However, before the summer ended,
Louis XIV. was no more, and Madame de Maintenon had
retired to spend her last years among her beloved pro-
tegees at Saint-Cyr ; and, with their disappearance from
the scene, the last restraint on the vices and caprices of
the Duchesse de Berry was removed.
1 The four " dames " were : the Comtesse de Brancas ; Madame de
Coetenfao, wife of the princess's chevalier d'honneur ; the Marquise de
Clermont d'Amboise, and the Marquise de Pons. On the death of
Madame de Coetenfao, which occurred a few weeks later, her post was
given to the Marquise d'Armentieres.
CHAPTER V
Philippe d'Orleans becomes Regent, and the Duchesse de Berry pre-
pares to reap the fruits of her father's triumph — She obtains the
Luxembourg as a residence — Her attitude towards her mother —
She secures permission to have officers to command her guards —
She endeavours to usurp the honours of a queen — Her quarrel with
the Prince de Conti — Her adventure in the gardens of the Luxem-
bourg— She closes them to the public — She insults the civic digni-
taries of Paris — She obtains La Muette as a country-residence —
Her amours— The Chevalier de Rion — Portrait of this personage —
Madame de Mouchy — Her detestable character— Rion becomes
amant en titre of the Duchesse de Berry — Infatuation of the princess
— Singular attitude of Rion towards her — Supper-parties at the
Luxembourg — A complaisant confessor.
THE approaching death of Louis XIV. had been
viewed by the Duchesse de Berry with considerable
anxiety, since the intrigues which were on foot to place
the Due du Maine, the beloved brother of the Duchesse
d'Orleans, in power, and, in consequence, to increase the
influence of that princess, could not fail, in the event
of their success, to diminish immeasurably her own im-
portance. But the moment she learned that the old
King's will had been set aside, and that her father had
triumphed over her uncle and secured the Regency, all
her fears as to the future were dispelled, and she joyfully
prepared to reap the fruits of victory.
Her first act was to demand from the Regent the
Luxembourg as a residence. This request having been
accorded, she insisted that all the persons who had
apartments there should vacate them immediately, in
106
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 107
order that there might be no delay in preparing the palace
for her reception, " which embarrassed them so much,"
writes Buvat, " that they knew not where to go, since
there were no apartments nor any house vacant in the
neighbourhood."1 The last week in September saw her
installed there with her little Court, and celebrating her
advent by boisterous supper-parties, at one of which the
new ruler of France assisted.
Once in possession of the Luxembourg, the Duchesse
de Berry determined to spare no effort to make it the
centre of the fashionable world, and proceeded to institute
lansquenet-parties, alternating with those given by the
Duchesse d'Orleans at the Palais-Royal. At the latter's
parties she never condescended to appear ; indeed, being
no longer under the necessity of maintaining some appear-
ance of deference towards her mother, she ignored her
altogether. At the same time, she largely increased her
Household, and demanded of her father permission to
have officers to command her guards. The Regent
hesitated, for this was a privilege which had never been
granted to " a daughter of France," much less to a
" granddaughter," and Maria Theresa of Austria, the wife
of Louis XIV., had been the first queen to enjoy it.
But, as he was never able to oppose much resistance to
his eldest daughter's caprices, he soon yielded, according,
however, the same honour to his mother ; and the
princess proceeded to appoint a captain, a lieutenant and
an ensign, the first charge being given to the Chevalier
de Roye,2 who had lately succeeded La Haye in her
1 Journal de la Regence, September, 1715.
8 Barthelemy de la Rochefoucauld, known later under the title of
the Marquis de la Rochefoucauld. He married Mile. Prondre, daughter
of a wealthy revenue-farmer, and died in 1724.
io8 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
affections, and the lieutenancy to a certain Chevalier
de Rion, of whom we shall have a good deal to say
presently.
To testify her respect for the memory of the late King,
the Duchesse de Berry had announced her intention of
not going to the play for six months, and she kept her
word. Singularly enough, however, she seemed to con-
sider that there could be no possible objection to her
patronising any other form of entertainment within the
walls of a theatre during the period of mourning, for on
January 4, 1716, she appeared, in a superb toilette, at the
masked-ball at the Opera,1 followed by several of the
other princesses. This visit was repeated several times
during the ensuing Carnival.
In a letter written in the first days of the new year,
Madame bewails the conduct of her eldest granddaughter,
whose reformation she had now abandoned as an alto-
gether hopeless undertaking : " The Duchesse de Berry
has always about her persons who lead her astray. I
have ceased to speak to her. She is intelligent, but she
has been very badly brought up. I no longer look upon
her as one of my grandchildren ; she regards me in the
same way ; I do not trouble about her, and she does not
trouble about me." 2
The Duchesse de Berry certainly did not trouble
about her grandmother, or about any one else, for that
1 These balls were inaugurated at the end of 171 5, at the suggestion
of the Chevalier de Bouillon, who received for it a pension of 6000
livres. They took place three times a week, people paid at the doors,
and the boxes were thrown open to those who did not care to dance.
" A contrivance admirably invented and of easy and instantaneous
application," says Saint-Simon, " was made to cover the orchestra
and put the stage and the pit on the same level."
2 Correspondance complete de Madame, duchesse d'Orleans, Letter
of January 7, 1716.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 109
matter. At this moment, she was obsessed by one idea :
that of usurping the rank and privileges of a queen. For
the favours she had already obtained from Louis XIV.
and the Regent, far from contenting her, had served
merely to stimulate her ambition and to encourage her
to put forward far more exorbitant pretensions ; and
she was determined that the public should see for itself
that she was first lady in the land. She began by in-
sisting that the young King should visit her at the
Luxembourg on the second occasion on which he quitted
the Tuileries after the expiration of his period of mourn-
ing— his first visit had, of course, been paid to the Palais-
Royal — and had the satisfaction of seeing the royal
carriages standing before her door, to testify to the
gaping Parisians the consideration in which she was
held. A few days later, she issued in state from the
Luxembourg, escorted by her guards, and preceded by
kettledrummers sounding their instruments, and defiled
in this fashion along the whole length of the Quai des
Tuileries. Since no one, not even a Queen of France,
had the right of being preceded by music in any town
in which the Sovereign happened to be residing, the
princess had been guilty of a most outrageous piece of
presumption ; and the Marechal de Villeroy, Louis XV. 's
gouverneur, went at once to the Regent to complain of
it in the strongest possible terms. The latter, recognising
the impossibility of upholding his daughter, reprimanded
her sharply and forbade her ever to repeat such an
escapade. The princess was thus obliged to renounce
this pretension, but immediately afterwards she at-
tempted a new innovation.
Ever since the death of the late King she had sought
no UNRULY DAUGHTERS
to make herself the arbitrix, not onfy of the fashions,
but of the pleasures of the capital, and, among other
things, had affected to take a great interest in theatrical
affairs. The supervision of the Paris theatres appertained
to the Dues d'Aumont and de Tresme, in their capacity
as First Gentlemen of the Chamber ; but, to the pro-
found disgust of these two noblemen, the Duchesse de
Berry proceeded to associate herself with them, and to
meddle in every matter which was submitted for their
decision. Thus, in the previous October, she had in-
sisted, notwithstanding the efforts of d'Aumont to protect
them, on the dismissal of four actors, La Chaise, Durand,
Clavereau, and La Morancourt, from the Comedie-
Francaise, on the ground that their acting was un-
worthy of the national theatre. The unfortunate players,
in consequence, stood in considerable awe of her, not
knowing who might not be her next victim, and were
ready to flatter her to her heart's content.
Aware of this, and assured of the complaisance of the
Gentlemen of the Chamber, she resolved to seek com-
pensation for the rebuff she had just sustained, by
arranging that her first visit to the Comedie-Francaise
should be attended by an amount of ceremonial which
would have been appropriate only in the case of a
Queen or a Dauphine. She appeared in full Court toilette
and entered her box, above which a canopy had been
erected. Four of her guards were on duty on the stage ;
others were dispersed about the theatre ; and, before
the play began, the actor Breteuil addressed to her a ful-
some harangue, in the name of his iellow-societaires. The
astonishment was general, and the presumption of the
princess was so severely criticised that she never ven-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS in
tured to repeat it. Henceforward she avoided the
' Comedie," from fear lest it should be thought that she
had renounced her pretensions, and patronised the
Opera, where she contented herself with one of the
smaller boxes, and was not received with any ceremony.
However, two or three weeks later, her vanity was the
cause of a very pretty quarrel between her and the Prince
de Conti, in which her Royal Highness got decidedly
the worst of it.
As she was going one day to the Opera, preceded as
usual by her guards, the latter stopped the coach of the
Prince de Conti, who was also on his way thither, and
one of them struck the coachman, because he refused to
pull up his horses, in order to allow the princess to precede
his master. Although the Duchesse de Berry, being the
widow of a " grandson of France," was within her strict
right in requiring the carriage of a Prince of the Blood to
make way for hers, this was an altogether different matter
from seeking to vindicate her superior rank by violent
means ; and Conti was furiously indignant. On arriving
at the theatre, he complained to La Rochefoucauld-
Roye, the captain of the offending guards, and, failing
to obtain satisfaction from that personage, addressed
himself to the Due d'Orleans, and demanded reparation
for the affront in such forcible terms that the Regent in-
sisted on his daughter according him a personal interview
at the Luxembourg and endeavouring to placate him.
"He came there," writes Saint-Simon ; "the conversa-
tion, very inappropriately, took place in public, and,
to tell the truth, with all her intelligence, she extricated
herself from it very badly. She reproached the prince
with not having addressed himself to her ; she wanted
H2 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
to accuse the coachman and to excuse the guard. Then,
perceiving that she would not succeed, and that the Due
d'Orleans intended to be obeyed, she told the Prince de
Conti, that, since he wished this guard to go to prison,
to prison he should go, but that she entreated that he
should only remain there a little while. The latter was
compassionate ; in fact, the guard was no sooner sent
to prison than he came out again, at the request of the
Prince de Conti." Nevertheless, the fact remained that
the princess had been compelled to admit herself in the
wrong, and had sustained a defeat very galling to her
pride.
The pretensions of the Duchesse de Berry did not con-
tribute to endear her to the Parisians, and a few weeks
after the incident just recorded she was so ill-advised
as to take a step which rendered her still more unpopular.
The beautiful gardens of the Luxembourg had always
been open to the public, and on summer evenings were
the favourite resort of the residents of the Faubourg
Saint-Germain. Now, the Duchesse de Berry was
always very curious to learn what the public happened
to be saying about her, and often, as soon as it was dusk
and there was little chance of her being recognised, she
sallied out incognito into the gardens, to mingle with
the throng of pleasure-seekers and listen to their con-
versation. For some little time she indulged this caprice
without any unpleasantness occurring, but, one evening,
towards the end of June, while she and three of her
favourites, Mesdames de la Rochefoucauld, de Mouchy,
and d'Arpajon, were promenading as usual, they at-
tracted the attention of a group of young lawyers'
clerks, who accosted them, without, of course, having the
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 113
least suspicion of their identity. Wishing to sustain the
character which they had assumed for the occasion — ■
that of women of the middle-class — the ladies entered
into conversation with the young men and began to
laugh and jest with them somewhat freely, with the con-
sequence that the latter presently became so familiar
that the noble dames were obliged to summon the gate-
keepers to their assistance.1
Although the princess had brought this adventure
upon herself, she was, nevertheless, extremely indignant
and decided to close the gardens to the public and
deprive the residents of the Faubourg Saint-Germain of
a privilege which they had enjoyed ever since the
palace had been built, and had come to look upon
almost as a right. The popular indignation, which found
vent in more than one mordant chanson at the expense
of the august tenant of the Luxembourg, was aggra-
vated by the fact that the closing of the gardens had
been carried out without any previous notice, and that,
on the first evening, a number of people had got shut in
and had been compelled, in spite of their remonstrances,
to pass the night there.
The princess's action was not only bitterly resented
1 A very similar adventure befell the princess at a masked ball at
the Comedie-Francaise, at the beginning of the following January. " On
January 18," writes Buvat, " the Duchesse de Berry, being disguised
and masked at the ball at the Comedie-Francaise, a strange mask
approached the princess, whom he did not recognise, said to her some
words of gallantry, and became so familiar as to take her by the chin,
in order to embrace her. By which she thought herself so offended
that, having removed her mask, she ordered her officers to arrest the
unknown, to unmask him, to undress him, and to expose him in this
condition on the stage, to the derision of the numerous company
which had assembled. Having endured this for some time, he was
permitted to resume his clothes and his mask " (Journal de la Regence,
January 1717).
ii4 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
by the citizens, but was severely criticised in exalted
circles. The Due de Bourbon, between whose family and
the Orleans a bitter feud had for some time existed,
hastened to show his sympathy with the faubourg by
throwing open the garden of the Hotel de Conde to the
public ; and, on the occasion of a musical fete at the
Tuileries, the little King was heard to remark, as he
looked down from the terrace on the joyous crowd
below : " I do not intend to act like Madame de Berry ;
it is my wish that every one shall enter my gardens."1
If it had been the deliberate intention of the duchess
to make herself detested by every class in the com-
munity, she was certainly going the right way to achieve
her purpose, for towards the end of that summer she
contrived to offend mortally the susceptibilities of the
civic dignitaries of Paris, a body notorious for the jealousy
with which they regarded any attack on their privileges,
or what they conceived to be their privileges. We read
in the Journal de la Regence, under date August 28,
1716:
" M. Trudon, maitre des requites, has lately been elected
Provost of the Merchants. He and the sheriffs went to
salute the King, and from there they proceeded to the
Luxembourg to salute the Duchesse de Berry, and rode
in their carriages to the end of the courtyard, as far as
the foot of the staircase. But, as they were ascending,
Madame de Berry, knowing that their carriages had
entered, sent orders with the utmost despatch to make
them go out again, and to put the guard who had per-
mitted them to enter under arrest. However, she re-
ceived these gentlemen very graciously, and they com-
1 Gazette de la Regence, August 24, 1716.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 115
plimented her on behalf of the town. This done, the
provost, who was returning, having ascertained that
the carriages had been sent away, retraced his steps
and told Madame de Berry that they had been accorded
this honour by the late Monseigneur at Meudon, when
their carriages had entered the courtyard of the chateau,
and that they believed that this privilege was their due.
Upon which, Madame de Berry said to them that Mon-
seigneur might do as he wished, but that she intended to
uphold her dignity, and turned her back on them in an
excessively haughty manner. This matter has been the
subject of several discussions, and perhaps on the next
New Year's Day the municipal authorities will not
visit her."
The possession of the beautiful palace which had been
the home of Marie de' Medici, of Gaston d'Orleans, and
of la Grande Mademoiselle did not content the Duchesse
de Berry ; she desired to have a country-residence,
where she could spend the summer months, and where she
would be more at liberty than at the Luxembourg.
Having thought of several in turn, she eventually decided
upon La Muette, a hunting-lodge at the entry of the
Bois de Boulogne, belonging to Armenonville, who had
successively filled the offices of Director-General of
France, Minister of Marine, and Keeper of the Seals.
Armenonville had spent considerable sums on the im-
provement of La Muette, and, yielding to the entreaties
of his wife, who was greatly attached to the place,
declared that nothing would induce him to part with it.
But the princess coveted it as did Ahab the vineyard of
the hapless Naboth ; and he was obliged to submit before
a formal order of the Regent, and to take in exchange
n6 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
the Chateau of Madrid1 and the sum of 10,000 livres a
year for life (May 1716). The Duchesse de Berry thus
became the owner of one of the most charming country-
residences in the neighbourhood of Paris,2 of which she
lost no time in taking possession ; and was so delighted
with it, that for the moment she felt at peace with all the
world, and on July 2 gave a grand dinner in honour of
her mother, by way of a house-warming. As for poor
Madame d'Armenonville, she died in the following
December; " and it is said," writes Buvat, " that it was
from grief at having been obliged to surrender her beauti-
ful house of La Muette to the Duchesse de Berry." 3
Both La Muette and the Luxembourg were soon to
witness strange things. We have mentioned that La
Haye, the gallant with whom the duchess had proposed
to fly to the Netherlands, had been succeeded in her
affections by La Rochefoucauld-Roye, the captain of
her guards. That personage, however, was not permitted
to enjoy his bonne fortune very long, and at the end of
a few months found himself replaced, in his turn, by the
Marquis de Bonnivet, a species of chevalier d'industrie,
upon whom the princess conferred the post of master
of her wardrobe. But M. de Bonnivet 's favour was even
1 The Chateau of Madrid, situated at the extremity of the Bois de
Boulogne, in the direction of Saint-Cloud, had been built by Francois I.,
and received its name in commemoration of that monarch's captivity
in the Spanish capital.
2 " I went on Sunday morning to Passy. While there, I went to
see La Muette, that is to say, the apartments and the gardens of the
Duchesse de Berry, who was spending all the Sunday and Monday in
Paris, to perform her devotions. She returns on Tuesday, and will
pass all the summer there. It is a delicious little chateau, nobly fur-
nished. From the princess's bed she is able to see the garden and all
kinds of pleasing objects ; nothing presents itself to her eyes which
is not agreeable" {Gazette de la Regence, May 21, 1717).
3 Journal de la Rigence, December, 1716.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 117
briefer than that of his predecessor; and, in the course
of the summer of 1716, her Royal Highness transferred
her heart to the keeping of a young man who was to
remain in possession of it for the rest of her life, and for
whose sake she showed herself ready to brave all scandal,
and to expose herself to the public view with a shameless-
ness which had no parallel in the case of a woman of such
exalted station.
Sicaire Antonin Armand Auguste Nicolas d'Aydie,
Chevalier de Rion — to give this fortunate young man his
full name — hailed from Gascony, a province whose name
has been for centuries a synonym for courage, assurance,
pertinacity, and other qualities necessary for the success-
ful adventurer. He was of good birth, a son of the Comte
de Benanges and of Diane de Bautru de Nogent, a niece
on the distaff side of the aged Due de Lauzun. But he
was poor as the proverbial rat, and, after serving for a
while as a subaltern in a cavalry regiment stationed in
a provincial town, he came, early in 1715, to Paris, in
the hope of bettering his fortunes, at the suggestion, it
would appear, of Madame de Pons, who had lately suc-
ceeded Madame de la Vieuville as dame d'atours to the
Duchesse de Berry, and to whom he was distantly
related.
Rion was at this time about twenty-two years of age,
" a short, stout lad," says Saint-Simon, " with a round,
pale face, so thickly covered with pimples that it bore
no bad resemblance to an abscess." The portrait which
Madame draws of him is still less flattering. " I cannot
conceive," she writes, " how any one can love this
rogue : he has neither face nor figure ; he has the appear-
ance of a water-sprite, for he has a green and yellow
n8 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
countenance ; his mouth, his nose, and his eyes are like
those of a Chinaman ; one would take him for a baboon
rather than for a Gascon, as he is. He is foppish and
not in the least intelligent ; he has a big head shut in
between broad shoulders ; and one sees by his eyes that
his sight is not very good. In short, he is a very ugly
rogue ; but he is said to be excessively amorous, and
that charms all the debauched women. The Polignac1
shut herself up with him for two days."
Rion was a good-humoured, pleasant little man,
modest, courteous, and obliging — " a good and honest
fellow."2 His relationship to Madame de Pons secured
him admission to the Luxembourg, where his charming
manners created a very favourable impression, and
where he succeeded in captivating the heart — or rather
the senses — of Madame de Mouchy, a young woman who
had for some time past enjoyed the entire confidence
of the Duchesse de Berry.
Of all the undesirable women whom the Duchesse de
Berry had gathered about her this Madame de Mouchy
was infinitely the worst. The daughter of a small govern-
ment official, named Forcadele, and of the duchess's
first waiting- woman, " who, become a widow, had long
kept house with a married man,"3 she had succeeded in
insinuating herself into the princess's favour soon after
the dismissal of Mile, de Vienne, and rapidly acquired
over her a great and most pernicious influence. Married
in 1714, through the good offices of her patroness, to a
complaisant nobleman, the Marquis de Mouchy, she had,
1 On the amorous adventures of the Comtesse de Polignac, see the
author's The Fascinating Due de Richelieu (London, Methuen ; New
New York, Scribner, 1910).
* Saint-Simon. 3 Madame, Letter of September 8, 1713.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 119
U'ithout as yet occupying any official position at the
Luxembourg, the privilege of constant access to the
princess, who seldom took any step of importance without
consulting her.
Madame de Mouchy was the evil genius of the Luxem-
bourg. Saint-Simon describes her as possessed of " a
talent and inventive resources wholly employed for pur-
poses of the most horrible baseness, an unparalleled
effrontery, and a greed for self-advancement which
prompted her to undertake everything, with all the
intelligence, the art and the cunning requisite to insure
success ; always with an end in view, and saying and
doing nothing without some purpose, however frivolous
and trivial what she said or did might seem. To Madame
she is " a wicked sorceress," " a shameless woman,"
" the most unworthy favourite who had ever been seen " ;
and all contemporary writers agree in representing her
as an intrigante of the most dangerous kind.
Through the influence of Madame de Mouchy, when
officers were appointed to command the guards of the
Duchesse de Berry, Rion obtained the post of lieutenant ;
but her Royal Highness's affections were just then occu-
pied by the Marquis de Bonnivet, and for some six months
the chevalier rode beside the princess's coach without
attracting more than a passing glance from its occupant.
And then Bonnivet was pensioned off, and, shortly after-
wards, this uncomely little Gascon adventurer found him-
self the object of a passion such as few men so shabbily
treated by Nature can ever have been fated to inspire,
and which must have occasioned him as much astonish-
ment as joy.
Certain writers have assured us that the Duchesse
120 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
de Berry paid Madame de Mouchy a large sum in order
to induce the latter to surrender to her her lover. And
the Abbe de Vauxcelles, in one of the marginal notes
which he inserted in a copy of the Memoir es secrets of
Duclos, but which we dare not venture to transcribe,
says that the author related to him that, when this
cynical bargain had been concluded, Madame de Mouchy
gave Rion, as yet quite unconscious of his good fortune,
a rendezvous at which the princess took her place.
There is no truth in this. Madame de Mouchy did not
need any inducement to surrender her prior claims upon
Rion. She was scarcely the kind of woman to prefer
sentiment to interest, and she was well aware that, with
the aid of the chevalier, she would be able to dominate
the mind of the princess even more absolutely than she
already did. For some time she appears to have been
watching for an opportunity of recommending Rion to
the notice of her royal friend, and the occasion arrived
with the dismissal of Bonnivet. So persistently, yet so
adroitly, did she sing his praises that the Duchesse de
Berry could not fail to be impressed. She began to
regard her lieutenant of the guards more closely ; she
approved ; she loved, and ended by becoming hope-
lessly infatuated.
And this infatuation she made not the smallest effort
to conceal ; on the contrary, she appeared to glory in
it, with the consequence that it was speedily the talk
of both Court and town. Nothing was too good for this
paragon of gallants ; she could not do enough to testify
the devotion with which he had inspired her. She pur-
chased for him the command of the Regiment de Soisson-
nais, for which she paid the sum of 30,000 livres ; she
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 121
installed him in a suite of commodious apartments in
close proximity to the Luxembourg, and furnished them
magnificently ; she decked him in the richest clothes
covered with the most superb lace ; she loaded him with
jewels, and, needless to say, with money. And, having
done all this, she fell down and worshipped him !
" Rion," says Saint-Simon, " soon understood the
power of his charms, which could only have captivated
the incomprehensible and depraved fancy of a princess.
He did not abuse this power, and made himself liked
by every one; but he treated the Duchesse de Berry
as M. de Lauzun had treated Mademoiselle. He took
pleasure in making the princess long after him and be
jealous, and feigned to be still more jealous of her. Often
he made her shed tears. Little by little, he acquired such
authority over her that she dared not do anything without
his permission, not even the most trivial things. If she
were ready to go to the Opera, he made her stay away ; at
other times he made her go thither when she did not wish
to. He made her behave well to many ladies whom she
disliked, and treat ill persons who pleased her, but of
whom he pretended to be jealous. Even in her toilette
she was not allowed the smallest liberty. He amused
himself by making her disarrange her coiffure or change
her gown, when she was fully dressed ; and that so often
and so publicly that he accustomed her at last to take
over-night his orders for her morning's toilette and
occupation ; and on the morrow he would change every-
thing. At length, she actually sent messages to him by
confidential servants several times during her toilette,
to know what ribbons she should wear ; the same with
her gown and other things ; and nearly always he made
122 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
her wear what she did not wish for. If she ever dared
to do the least thing without his permission, he treated
her like a serving- wench, and her tears sometimes lasted
several days. Every one at the Luxembourg paid court
to M. de Rion, who, on his side, took care to be on good
terms with all the world, nay, with an air of respect that
he refused, even in public, to his princess. He often gave
sharp replies to her in society, which made people lower
their eyes, and brought blushes to the cheek of the
Duchesse de Berry, who, nevertheless, did not attempt
to conceal her submission and her passion, even before
others."
Rion appears to have adopted this line of conduct at
the suggestion of the cynical Due de Lauzun, who was
delighted at the idea of seeing his nephew play at the
Luxembourg the role which had been his own in the
time of la Grande Mademoiselle. " He had imbued him
with the family principles," says Duclos, " and had
persuaded him that he would lose his mistress if he
spoiled her by respectful tenderness, and that princesses
liked to be scolded."1 Rion had followed his uncle's
counsels, and the result proved their efficacy.
And so people witnessed the strange spectacle of this
princess, so disdainful with her mother, so imperious with
her father, so arrogant towards all the world, cringing
before a cadet of Gascony.
The supper-parties at the Luxembourg became the
counterpart of the bacchanalian repasts of the Palais-
Royal. Rion selected the guests and chose the days,
and " the Duchesse de Berry disgraced herself by sitting
down to table with him and obscure people ; she with
1 Duclos, Mimoires secrets.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 123
whom no man could lawfully eat if he were not a Prince
of the Blood."1 Among the most frequent habitues was
the so-called director of the princess's conscience, Pere
Riglet, a complaisant Jesuit, who " drank enough to
make a Musketeer stagger, and simultaneously related
anecdotes which would have brought a blush to the
cheek of a Garde-Francaise."2 If the duchess ever went
to him for ghostly counsel, she must have been saved
the trouble of confessing a good many things, of which he
had been a witness.
Madame de Mouchy was the worthy confidante of the
lovers, and performed the duty of peacemaker whenever
one of their frequent quarrels threatened to go too far.
*' She lived in secret with Rion as the Duchesse de Berry
lived openly, and was better treated by him than the
princess, without the latter daring to take notice of it,
from fear of a scandal which would have caused her to
lose so dear a lover and a confidante so necessary."3
1 Saint-Simon. 2 M. Funck-Brentano, la Regence.
3 Saint-Simon.
CHAPTER VI
The Duchesse de Berry takes an apartment at the Carmelite convent in
the Faubourg Saint- Jacques, and varies her scandalous life by
intervals of prayer and fasting — Indignation of the Regent at the
public reign of Rion, to which, however, he tamely submits — The
Duchesse de Berry assists at the orgies of the Palais- Royal — Con-
tinuation of the abominable rumours concerning the relations
between Philippe d'Orleans and his eldest daughter — The satires of
Voltaire — The Philippiques of La Grange-Chancel — Contemptuous
indifference to public opinion shown by the Regent and the Duchesse
de Berry — Voltaire sent to the Bastille — First representation of the
poet's CEdipe — Conduct of the parterre — Visit of Peter the Great to
the Duchesse de Berry — Distressing embonpoint of the princess —
Her gluttony — A revolution of the palace : Rion becomes first
equerry to the princess and Madame de Mouchy dame d'atours —
— Indignation of Mesdames de Clermont and de Beauvau, dames de
compagnie to the Duchesse de Berry, who resign their posts — Epi-
sode at the Opera — Rion appointed Governor of Cognac.
OINGULAR to relate, in the midst of this disgraceful
K-' state of affairs, the princess, hitherto so profoundly
indifferent to religion, suddenly took into her head to
have an apartment at the Carmelite convent in the
Faubourg Saint-Jacques, that celebrated house which
had been the scene of the penitence of Louise de la
Valliere and of many another high-born dame. Thither
she sometimes repaired in the afternoon, always slept
there on the eve of great fasts or festivals, and not
infrequently remained several days. She went accom-
panied by two or three ladies and scarcely a single
servant ; was served with whatever the convent could
supply for her table ; attended all the services ; some-
124
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 125
times remained a long while in prayer, and fasted rigidly
on the appointed days. She appears to have been subject
to occasional qualms of conscience, and to have cherished
the strange illusion that, by observing the outward cere-
monies of the Church, she could repair the scandal of her
life, instead of which she merely aggravated it.
Two of the younger Carmelites, who combined with
their piety a considerable knowledge of the world, re-
ceived instructions to attach themselves to the duchess
during her visits to the convent. When they had become
on familiar terms, they spoke to the lady boldly, and
told her that if they knew nothing of her but what they
saw, that they should admire her as a saint; but, else-
where, they learned that she led a very irregular life,
and so publicly that they could not conceive why she
came. " The Duchesse de Berry laughed at this, and
was not angry. Sometimes they lectured her, called
people and things by their names, and exhorted her to
change so scandalous a life. But it was all in vain. She
lived as before at the Luxembourg and at the Car-
melites, and caused people to wonder at this extraordinary
conduct."1
The Regent was indignant at the public reign of Rion,
the more so since his daughter returned to him with
interest the treatment which she received from her lover.
Several times he threatened to go to the Luxembourg
and order the impudent little Gascon to be thrown out
of the window. But he went no farther than threats,
and even these were never uttered in the presence of the
Duchesse de Berry, to whom he showed almost as much
submission as she herself did to Rion. Rion, on his side,
1 Saint-Simon.
126 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
treated the Regent with all the respect that was his due,
and never attempted to interfere with the intimacy
between him and his daughter, preferring to make use
of the latter's influence with her father to advance his
own interests.
The two accordingly continued to spend a great part
of their time together. The Regent generally visited the
Luxembourg between five and six o'clock, when the
official part of his day was over, and he was free to
devote himself to pleasure ; sometimes he would remain
to supper ; at others, he would bring his daughter back
with him to the Palais-Royal, to assist at those too-
celebrated repasts, which generally began about nine
o'clock, and often continued far into the small hours of
the following morning.
It was, indeed, a strange company which assembled
round the supper-table of the ruler of France. There
might be seen that band of dissolute men whom the
prince had dubbed his " roues " : Farges, one of the
handsomest men of his time, the darling of all the ladies ;
the Chevalier de Simiane, who wrote excellent verses,
but who was a still better drinker ; La Fare, captain of
the Regent's guards, nicknamed " le bon enfant " ;
Broglie, " whose pleasantries consisted in saying coarsely
the most filthy things " ; l Noce and Brancas ; d'Effiat
and Canillac. And with them a group of women as
depraved as themselves : Madame de Parabere, maitresse
en titre of their host, " whom the Regent called his
' petit corbeau noir,' when he was at the first glass of
champagne, and his ' gigot ' at the last " ; 2 Madame
1 Madame.
- Edouard de Barthelemy, Us Filles du Rdgent.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 127
d'Averne, who succeeded the Parabere in the prince's
affections ; the Duchesse de Gesvres, who could drink
against any man present ; Mesdames de Nesle and de
Polignac, who fought a duel in the Bois de Boulogne for
the sake of the beaux yeux of the Due de Richelieu ;
Madame de Gace, who once at a supper-party, Mathieu
Marais tells us, after priming herself with wine and all
kinds of liqueurs, danced " almost naked " before the
company, and then went into the ante-chamber and gave
a second performance for the benefit of the lackeys ; the
Duchesse d'Albret, who, according to Buvat, " died from
the complaisance that she had to drink quantities of
liqueurs with the Duchesse de Berry " ; and Madame
de Mouchy, whom we have already described.
And this strange company was frequently reinforced
by some Opera-girl upon whom the Regent or one of
his friends happened to have cast a favourable eye, or
some playwright, actor or poet, who could be trusted to
contribute to the gaiety of the evening by improvised
couplets or witty sallies.
When the servants had laid the table, they withdrew,
and the rule was that guests should wait upon themselves.
The doors were then closed, and " all Paris might have
been in flames — there was no longer any Regent ; he
was inaccessible to every one. From that moment there
were neither princes, nor actors, nor mistresses in the
company, neither etiquette nor ceremony ; differences
of rank were blended in a perfect equality, and the
person who could say the most piquant things was the
one who ruled."1 " It was at these parties," writes
Saint-Simon, " that the character of every one was
1 Soulavie, Memoires du Due de Richelieu.
128 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
passed in review, with the utmost freedom. The gal-
lantries past and present of the Court and the town ; all
old stories, disputes, jokes, absurdities were raked up ;
nobody was spared." The company drank to excess,
the Regent himself setting the example ; and, as the
night wore on, they vied with one another in blasphemy
and obscenity, and the most unbridled licence pre-
vailed. " Sometimes even — dare I say it ? — the candles
were extinguished, and the Due d'Orleans, who, from his
nature, was very inquisitive concerning scandalous
anecdotes, having, on one occasion, placed two lighted
torches in a tall cupboard favourably situated, threw open
the two folding-doors at the same time, and in a moment
revealed important secrets to the company."1
The Duchesse de Berry was in her element at these
orgies, and seldom failed to leave them in a disgraceful
state of intoxication. She was also the foremost to take
part in the cynical entertainments which were sometimes
improvised there ; and, on one occasion, together with
Madame de Parabere and Madame d'Averne, appeared in
a tableau-vivant entitled le Jugement de Paris, which was
represented after the ancient bas-reliefs, with an absolute
realism.
We can scarcely be surprised that the constant visits
of the Regent to the Luxembourg, and the presence of
his daughter among the debauched men and shameless
women whom he gathered round his supper-table at the
Palais-Royal, should have encouraged the circulation of
those infamous reports which the malignity of Madame
la Duchesse and her friends had set on foot, and which
had already spread so far among the public. For the
1 Soulavie, Memoires du due de Richelieu.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 129
arrogance of the Duchesse de Berry had rendered her,
as we have seen, extremely unpopular, while the Regent,
as every head of a State must do, had made many enemies,
who were not too scrupulous as to the weapons they em-
ployed to injure him. Soon the horrible accusations,
which had hitherto been only whispered about, began,
so to speak, to be proclaimed from the housetops, and
a regular campaign of calumny was inaugurated.
The chansonniers were the first to take the field,
and numerous couplets began to make their appear-
ance, none of which would it be possible to cite.
Voltaire, who detested the Regent, was himself ac-
cused of having perpetrated two pieces of verse,
entitled respectively les Moabites and les Ammonites,
in which the Due d'Orleans and his daughter were
assailed in an abominable manner, and which were
quoted everywhere. According to his custom, he hastened
to disavow them, but his friend Cideville always persisted
in attributing their authorship to him, notwithstanding
all his denials, and they are to be found in Beuchot's
edition of his works. He certainly merited the Bastille ;
but the Regent did not wish to punish him in a fashion
calculated to increase the scandal, and accordingly con-
tented himself by causing an intimation to be conveyed
to the malicious poet that it would be advisable for him
to leave Paris for a season (May 1716). The charge was
repeated, in a more detailed and far grosser form, by that
implacable enemy of the Regent, La Grange-Chancel,
who consecrated the whole of the third ode of his famous
Philippiques to the supposed relations between the
Due d'Orleans and his daughter. Then it was the turn
of the pamphleteers, among whose productions may be
130 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
mentioned la Chronique veritable du preux chevalier don
Philippus d'Aurelie ; les Aventures du Prince Papyrius,
surnommS PUIS- Argent, gouverneur des Francs sots, and
ProsopopSe sur le RSgent, la duchesse de Berry et le Cardinal
Dubois, a species of comedy in three acts, which passes
in the infernal regions, where Pluto, Rhadamanthus and
Minos sit in judgment upon the three. Finally, the
caricaturists advanced to the attack, and permitted
their pencils as much licence as did the others their
pens.
We have said that these atrocious accusations have
not been accepted by any serious historian, and there
can be no doubt that, shamelessly debauched as were
both father and daughter, they were perfectly innocent
of the crime attributed to them.1 But, at the same time,
it must be admitted that the deplorable obstinacy of
the Due d'Orleans, who, aware that he was odiously
compromising his daughter in the eyes of a public greedy
of scandal, continued to spend long hours alone in her
company, and the abandoned life led by the Duchesse de
Berry with hardly a pretence at concealment, encouraged
people to believe all that the chansonniers and pamph-
leteers recounted. That both were perfectly informed
of the scandalous reports which were in circulation is
1 M. Funck-Brentano, in his admirable history of the Regency,
makes some interesting observations on this subject. " That criminal
relations existed between them," he writes, " we do not believe.
Apart from the idle talk held by those whom Saint-Simon calls ' the
tongues of Satan,' contemporaries have transmitted nothing. The
letters exchanged between father and daughter bear no trace of it ;
they do not furnish the slightest indication ; and other arguments
than the calumnies raked together by the Du Hautchamps and the
Soulavies ; other texts than the strophes of the Philippiques and
the chansons of the gutter — or of the ruelles, which is worse — would
be required to establish a fact like that."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 131
proved by a curious letter of Madame, dated March 10,
1718:
" On the 4th, Madame de Berry invited her father to
come and stay the night at La Muette, for the vintagers'
fete. The duke wrote asking how the devotions of the
Carmelites would be edified at seeing her father sleep
a night in her house. To which Madame de Berry re-
plied that she had never heard it said that it was con-
trary to devotion for a father to pass the night at his
daughter's house, and that she did not know what scandal
there could be in that."
A few months later, however, an incident occurred
which must have convinced them that they had gone a
little too far in their contemptuous indifference to public
opinion.
It will be remembered that, in May 1716, Voltaire had
been recommended to quit Paris for a season. He re-
tired to Sully-sur-Loire, where he remained until the
beginning of the following year, when he returned to the
capital and recommenced his malicious pleasantries at
the expense of the Regent and his daughter. In March,
he was sent to the Bastille, as a punishment for two
satires, J'ai vu and Puero regnante, both of which were
ascribed to his pen — the first, it would seem, incorrectly —
and remained there for over a year.1 On his release
1 Voltaire was entrapped into a confession of his delinquencies by
one Beauregard, a cunning agent of the secret police — a mouche, as
one said then — whom he believed to be his friend. Here is his report :
" I saw him [Voltaire] at his lodging, Rue de la Calandre, at the Panier
Vert, when he asked me what news there was. I answered that a
number of works on the Due d'Orleans and the Duchesse de Berry-
had appeared. He began to laugh and asked me if they were con-
sidered good. I told him that they were thought very witty, and that
people placed all that to his account, but that I did not believe any-
132 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
(April ii, 1718), he was exiled to Chatenay, but, a few
weeks later, was permitted to return to Paris. He
came with his (Edipe, which he had corrected during
his enforced seclusion in the Bastille, in his pocket, and
on November 18 this tragedy was produced, with pro-
digious success, at the Comedie-Francaise.
Although the Due d'Orleans must have been aware that
a malevolent public would be certain to recognise in the
incestuous person of the husband of Jocasta an allusion
to the frightful morals attributed to the ruler of France —
indeed, certain persons had already substituted in pencil
the name of Philippe for (Edipe on the playbills — he had
the temerity to assist at the first representation, accom-
panied by the Duchesse d'Orleans, Madame, and his
three elder daughters. The manner in which every
passage which could be applied to the Regent was re-
ceived soon revealed the hostile attitude of the parterre ;
but the prince affected to ignore it, talking and laughing
with his daughters and sometimes joining in the applause
directed against himself ; and the Duchesse de Berry
followed his example. But when, in the last act, the high
priest asked (Edipe the question : " Savez-vous settle-
ment avec qui vous vivez?" And a spectator promptly
anticipated the ill-fated king's reply by crying out :
" Plaisante question ! qui le sait mieux que lui ? ' they
thing of the kind, and that it was impossible at his age (Voltaire was
then twenty- two) to write such things."
Voltaire answered that he was wrong not to believe it.
" He told me," continues Beauregard, " that, since he was unable
to avenge himself on the Due d'Orleans in a certain fashion, he should
not spare him in his satires. I asked him what the Due d'Orleans had
done to him. He was lying down at the moment, but he rose up like
a madman, and replied : ' What ! you do not know what that . . . has
done to me ? He exiled me, because I had written publicly that his
Messalina of a daughter was a ..."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 133
changed countenance. And the Duchesse de Berry is said
to have nearly swooned away, when after the verses :
O Corinthe ! 6 Phocide ! exdcrable hyme'ne'e !
Je vois naitre une race infame, infortunde,
Digne de sa naissance, et de qui la fureur
Remplira l'univers d'dpouvante et d'horreur.
The same voice apparently shouted : " Diable ! combien
done aurait-il d'enfants ! '
On May 7, 1717, Peter the Great arrived in Paris and
was lodged at the Hotel des Lesdiguieres,1 in the Rue
de la Cerisau. Both the Duchesse de Berry and her
mother were feverishly anxious that the illustrious
traveller should recognise their importance by honouring
them with a visit ; but Peter, though gracious enough to
the Regent, did not appear to consider that prince's wife
and daughter worthy of any particular attention on his
part, and several days passed without their desire being
gratified. At length, in despair, the mortified princesses,
took a step which was in flagrant violation of all the rules
of etiquette, but which, nevertheless, proved effective.
" The Duchesse d'Orleans," writes Dangeau, " returned
yesterday from Montmartre,2 where she had been since
Thursday, and sent M. de Saint-Pierre, her first equerry,
to compliment the Czar, who answered that he would
visit her to thank her. The Duchesse de Berry did like-
wise, and received the same answer."3
1 The Hotel des Lesdiguieres had been built by the celebrated
financier Sebastien Zamet, from whose heirs it was purchased by
Bonne, Due des Lesdiguieres and Constable of France.
2 The Abbey of Montmartre, where the Duchesse d'Orleans had an
apartment, and to which she was frequently in the habit of retiring for
a few days.
3 Journal, May 19, 171 7.
134 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
The Czar's visit to the latter took place on May 21,
and the anonymous author of the Gazette de la Regence,
who claims to have been present, gives the following
account of the interview :
" The same day (Friday), Madame de Berry returned
expressly from La Muette to receive, at the Luxembourg,
the Czar, who arrived at three o'clock, and was received
by the duchess in her ante-chamber. His Majesty kissed
Madame de Berry on both cheeks. She gave him her
right hand, and conducted him into her state-chamber,
where stood two arm-chairs. They remained there a
quarter of an hour, and then the Czar went to view the
gardens. I saw all this ceremony with mine own eyes,
although there were very few people there. Madame de
Berry looked as stout as a tower, although in other
respects beautiful and youthful."
The writer had certainly some excuse for describing
the Duchesse de Berry as " stout as a tower." From
her childhood the princess had shown a marked tendency
to embonpoint, and, as she grew older, she became so
stout that her figure was completely spoiled. At the
same time, her complexion, hitherto one of her chief at-
tractions, changed to a most unbecoming shade of red,
despite the frequent bleedings to which she had recourse
in order to remedy it. These operations, Dangeau tells
us, had to be performed in the feet, since the surgeon was
quite unable to find the vein in her arm. By the spring
of 1717, the princess's generous proportions had begun to
cause her serious inconvenience. The active life she
had always led was no longer possible, and she decided to
sell all her saddle-horses, since she was obliged to renounce
following the chase except in her caliche, and even a quiet
Peter the Great, Emi-eror of Russia
From the painting by Nattier, at Versailles
(Photo by \V. A. Mansell & Co.)
( C C €
( C C « C
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 135
canter in the Bois de Boulogne could not be indulged in
without discomfort.
For this distressing condition of affairs her intemper-
ance at table seems to have been mainly responsible.
Not only did she habitually drink to excess, but she
was also a most inveterate gourmand. ' It is impossible
for her to be in good health with her frightful gluttony,"
writes Madame. " Every evening she sits down to table
at eight or nine o'clock, and eats till three o'clock in the
morning." And again : " Madame de Berry eats little
at midday ; but how can she be expected to make a
proper meal ? While still in bed, she devours all kinds of
cakes. She never rises before midday, sits down to table
at two o'clock, and eats little. At three o'clock, she rises
from table, and does not walk a step. At four o'clock,
they bring her all kinds of eatables : salad, cheese-cakes,
fruit. She sups at ten o'clock in the evening, and remains
at table until midnight. At one or two o'clock, she goes
to bed, and, for a digestive, she drinks very strong
brandy."1
The beginning of the following autumn, which the
Duchesse de Berry was spending at La Muette, was
marked by a veritable revolution of the palace. Desiring
to give Rion a still more signal proof of her solicitude for
his interests than any which she had yet bestowed upon
him, and of having greater opportunities for enjoying his
society, she determined to create him her first equerry.
This charge was at present exercised by the Marquis
d'Hautefort, a nobleman whom she dared not go so far as
to dismiss ; and she accordingly determined to evade the
difficulty by doubling the office and having two first
1 Letters of April 2, 1719, and November 18, 1717.
136 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
equerries. At the same time, partly to reward Madame
de Mouchy for her confidential services, but more to mask
the promotion of her lover, she determined to double
the charge of dame d'atours as well. This creation was
allowed to take place without provoking any observation
from the Due d'Orleans. But it aroused the keenest
resentment in the Duchesse de Berry's Household ; and
two of her dames de compagnie, Madame de Clermont
and Madame de Beauvau, indignant at the idea of a
woman who had never filled any official charge about the
person of the princess becoming all of a sudden their
superior, demanded an audience of the Regent, and, after
complaining bitterly of the promotion of Madame de
Mouchy, concerning whom they expressed themselves in
far from complimentary terms, resigned their posts.
Nor did they make any effort to conceal from the Court
their reasons for this action, which was generally ap-
proved.
The Duchesse de Berry, in consequence, was deeply
incensed, and her anger was sensibly augmented by the
fact that both ladies continued to be well received by her
father and mother at the Palais-Royal, who thus tacitly
acknowledged that they had justice on their side. One
evening, in the following April, the princess happened to
be at the Opera, when she perceived Madame de Cler-
mont, with the Duchesse d'£tampes, in the box of the
Comte de Toulouse, which was exactly opposite hers.
No sooner did she catch sight of her former dame de
campagnie, than her florid countenance assumed an even
deeper colour, and, turning to one of her guards, who was
on duty, she sent him to Madame de Clermont, with a
peremptory order to withdraw on the instant and never
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 137
again to show herself in her Royal Highness's presence.
Madame de Clermont obeyed, and left the Opera-house,
accompanied by the Duchesse d'Etampes ; but the whole
nobility was transported with indignation at the pre-
tensions of a princess to banish one of their number from
her presence in a public place— a right which belonged to
the King alone.
The Regent spoke to his daughter, as did Madame,
and advised her to make the amende honorable; but
the princess refused. However, the very hostile criti-
cisms of which she continued to be the object eventu-
ally convinced her of the necessity of yielding ; and, after
a consultation with Madame de Saint-Simon, to whom she
was ready enough to turn in moments of embarrassment,
she decided to be reconciled to Mesdames de Clermont
and de Beauvau. It was accordingly arranged that she
should go and spend a couple of days in her apartment
at the Carmelites, and that, while she was there, the two
ladies and their husbands, accompanied by Madame de
Saint-Simon, should pay her a visit. The princess, who,
as we have said, could be perfectly charming when she
wished to please, received them most graciously, and
the reconciliation was complete.
The Duchesse de Berry was far from satisfied with
what she had already done for Rion ; her infatuation
increased every day, and she thought only of rinding new
means of pleasing him. He had expressed a desire for
a government, and in November, 1717, she persuaded her
father to purchase from its holder, M. de Saint- Viance,
the rich government of Cognac, and to confer it upon her
idol, with, we need hardly say, exemption from residing
there.
138 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
But let us leave the Duchesse de Berry for a while,
and turn to the second of the Regent's daughters, Louise
Adelaide d'Orleans, who had now abandoned the title
of Mile, de Chartres for that of Mile. d'Orleans, which,
it will be remembered, her elder sister had once borne.
CHAPTER VII
Mile, d' Orleans at the Abbey of Chelles — She announces her intention
of taking the veil — Attitude of her relatives towards this project —
She falls ill and is removed, on the advice of the doctors, to the
Abbey of Montmartre — Unfounded report that she has decided to
renounce her religious aspirations — Project of the Duchesse
d'Orleans to marry her to the Prince de Dombes, eldest son of the
Due du Maine — Mile. d'Orleans appears in Society — Her portrait by
Madame — The singer Cauchereau — M. de Saint-Maixent — Mile.
d'Orleans persists in her desire to enter religion — Futile efforts of
her mother to coerce her into marrying the Prince de Dombes —
The Regent refuses to sanction the princess becoming a nun — The
latter, having obtained permission to visit Chelles, announces her
determination to remain there — The Due d'Orleans endeavours to
prevail upon her to renounce this resolve, but she remains inflexible
— She pronounces her vows — She intrigues against the abbess,
Madame de Villars, who is compelled to resign her post — Mile.
d'Orleans is nominated Abbess of Chelles — Her consecration.
THE Abbey of Chelles was, as we have seen, an
infinitely more agreeable retreat than the majority
of such institutions. Nevertheless, the monotonous and
uniform life of the cloister was but ill-suited to a lively
little girl not yet in her teens, and for some months Mile.
d'Orleans was far from happy. However, she was at
an impressionable age and of a very receptive nature,
and it was difficult for her to remain long in an atmo-
sphere of devotion without becoming affected by it ; and
gradually religious ideas began to take possession of her
mind. The nuns, and in particular the kind and sym-
pathetic prioress, Madame de Fretteville, perceiving the
direction in which her thoughts were tending, did every-
thing in their power to encourage her ; and at the end
139
140 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
of a year or two she did not conceal her intention of
taking the veil.
The Duchesse d'Orleans, far from combating this pro-
ject, approved it warmly ; it was, indeed, with this idea
that she had insisted on sending Mile. d'Orleans and Mile,
de Valois to Chelles ; while her husband, with his usual
indifference, shrugged his shoulders, and observed that
if the girl wished to become a nun, he supposed she must
have her way. Madame, on the contrary, showed her-
self strongly opposed to her granddaughter's inclination.
" She wishes to become a nun," she writes, " which dis-
pleases me and delights her mother ; but I am very sure
that every one will end by repenting of it. I have done
all I can ; there would certainly be many things to
say about that, but which cannot be entrusted to the
post."1
It was believed that the death of Louis XIV. and the
accession of her father to the Regency produced a sudden
change in the projects of Mile, de Chartres, and that the
good seed sown in the convent was suddenly checked
by the thorns of ambition ; by the desire, now that her
father had become head of the State and heir-presumptive
to the throne, to assume the place in the world to which
her rank entitled her, and perhaps to make a great
marriage. This belief was engendered by the fact that
very shortly afterwards the young princess was taken
ill, and on the advice of the doctors who attended her,
removed from Chelles to the Abbey of Montmartre,
whence she emerged every morning to spend the day with
her parents at the Palais-Royal. People attributed her
1 Lettres de la Duchesse d'Orleans (edit. Jaegle), Letter of July 15,
I7I5-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 141
illness to the distaste which she had conceived for con-
ventual life, and to mortification at the reluctance of
her parents to permit her to return to the world ; and
regarded her removal to Montmartre as preparatory to
a complete renunciation of her determination to enter
religion. " It is said that she has changed the intention
that she had of becoming a nun," writes Dangeau on
October 17, 1715.
Public opinion did Mile. d'Orleans an injustice. It
was not her views which had changed, but those
of her parents, or rather of her mother. In conse-
quence of recent political events, the duchess, always
devoted to the interests of her favourite brother, the
Due du Maine, was keenly desirous of bringing about
a reconciliation between that prince and the Regent ; and
the easiest way to effect this was a marriage between one
of her daughters and the duke's eldest son, the Prince
de Dombes. Mile. d'Orleans, being two years older than
her next sister, Mile, de Valois, who, having failed to
show the slightest inclination for the religious life, had
been withdrawn from Chelles at the beginning of August
1714, was the more suitable wife for her nephew ; and
she was now as anxious to dissuade the girl from carrying
out her pious resolutions as she had once been ready to
confirm her in them.
With this idea, she sought to present the world to the
young recluse under its most pleasing aspects, and to pre-
pare her for the position which she intended her to fill
in it. She had her taught dancing and music ; she took
her to the " Comedie," to the Opera and to balls, even
to the Opera-ball, where she appeared twice during
the winter of 1716. The princess appeared delighted with
142 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
these unaccustomed pleasures and pursuits, and was
particularly enthusiastic about music, which she studied
under the direction of Cauchereau, the celebrated tenor
of the Opera.
Although the Duchesse d'Orleans had not yet shown
her hand, in the last weeks of 1715 a rumour spread
that her second daughter was shortly to be married ; and,
indeed, it seemed very improbable that, if she had defi-
nitely decided to renounce the convent, the young princess
would remain long unwed. For Mile. d'Orleans, now in
her seventeenth year, was undoubtedly a very charming
and accomplished girl ; and the correspondence of
Madame, usually so critical of her relatives, is full of her
praises. The old lady describes her as " very agreeable
in person, tall, graceful, with a pleasing countenance, a
pretty mouth and teeth white as pearls,1 beautiful hands,
and a dazzling complexion." She adds that she dances
well, thoroughly understands music, has an agreeable
voice, and can sing at sight anything that she is asked
to " without making grimaces," has a " natural elo-
quence " and a very good disposition, " is fond of every-
thing that she ought to be fond of ; and declares that
she " loves her tenderly, which is not difficult to do, for
she certainly deserves it."2 And in another letter, dated
August 12, 1716, Madame writes : " She firmly persists
in becoming a nun, but I do not think that she has any
vocation for it, for she has all the tastes of a boy : she
loves dogs, horses, hunting, and shooting ; she fears
1 Letters of January 16, 1716 and March 31, 1718.
2 Elsewhere Madame writes : "I have never in my life seen
^nore beautiful teeth. They are like pearls which have just been
taken out of a jewel-case."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 143
nothing in the world, and cares not at all for those things
which women love. She does not trouble in the least
about her appearance, although she is not ugly and is
well-made." From which it will be gathered that Mile.
d'Orleans was a young lady of a very independent turn
of mind.
To explain the supposed return of Mile. d'Orleans to
religious ideas, from which, as a matter of fact, she had
never departed, the gossiping chroniclers of the time
relate two anecdotes, neither of which appears to rest
upon any serious foundation.
One is that she had conceived too warm an admira-
tion for the talents of her singing-master, Cauchereau,
" who possessed intelligence and an agreeable counte-
nance,"1 and that one evening, when she visited the
Opera, with her mother, to witness a representation of
Lulli's Atys, and the popular tenor was surpassing him-
self in the rendering of a very passionate morceau, she
cried out, in an ecstasy of emotion : " Ah ! mon cher
Cauchereau ! " and then, overcome by emotion, swooned
away in the box. Whereupon the Duchesse d'Orleans, who
" found her daughter's exclamation a little too expres-
sive,"2 forthwith decided that the convent was the only
safe place for her.
The other is that she fell deeply in love with the
Chevalier de Saint-Maixent, one of the King's pages, who
had saved her from an accident at the chase, at the cost
of an injury which nearly proved fatal, and did everything
in her power to persuade her parents to allow her to
marry him ; and that, when they very naturally refused
1 Duclos, Chroniqaes indiscretes sur la Regence,
* Ibid.
144 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
to countenance so startling a mesalliance, the desire of
taking the veil returned to her.
Facts, as the princess's most authoritative biographer
is at pains to show,1 absolutely contradict these romantic
incidents. Never had Mile. d'Orleans renounced her
projects. If, in October 1715, Dangeau records in his
Journal the rumour that she had changed her intentions,
on December 23 he mentions that " she persists in
becoming a nun " ; and from that time he scarcely
ever refers to her without insisting on the perseverance
of her vocation. Thus, on February 26, 1716, he ob-
serves : " She persists in the desire of becoming a nun
and appears more than ever in devotion." And a few
days later (March 3), after recording her presence at the
Opera-ball, he adds : " Despite all the amusements that
they give her, she persists in wishing to be a nun."
On her side, Madame is not less explicit. ' She persists
in wishing to be a nun," she writes on August 12, 1716.
What, however, if it did not influence her decision,
undoubtedly precipitated the entry of Mile. d'Orleans
into religion, was the pressure brought to bear upon her
by her mother to induce her to wed the Prince de Dombes.
The Duchesse d'Orleans employed every imaginable per-
suasion to obtain the princess's consent to this cherished
project ; but the latter, who did not feel the least inclina-
tion for the husband chosen for her, and was secretly
encouraged in her resistance by Madame, who detested
everything which savoured of bastardy, was firm in
her refusal. Finding persuasion of no avail, the angry
duchess determined to overcome the girl's obstinacy by
other means, and, while caressing her third daughter,
1 Edouard de Barthelemy, les Filles du Regent.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 145
Mile, de Valois, whom, in default of her sister, she in-
tended to marry to the Prince de Dombes, treated
Mile. d'Orleans so harshly that her position speedily
became intolerable, and she entreated the Regent to
allow her to take the veil with the least possible delay.
" What induced the poor demoiselle d'Orleans to become
a nun," writes Madame, " is simply the little affection
she experienced from her mother, and her fear that she
would be tormented in order to make her marry the
eldest son of the Due du Maine. She preferred to retire
from the world than to risk drawing upon her all her
mother's hatred."1
Philippe d'Orleans had raised no objection to his
second daughter's project, when it had been first an-
nounced, some two or three years before ; but, since her
return to Paris, he had become attached to the girl, and
now endeavoured to prevail upon her to renounce it.
He hoped to find in marriage an argument against the
tenacity with which she clung to her vocation, but no
prince presented himself capable of arousing in her
even a passing interest.
At length, at the beginning of the autumn of 1716,
Mile. d'Orleans, finding that her father still refused to give
his consent, determined to dispense with it. She was then
staying with her mother and grandmother at Saint-Cloud,
and one evening demanded permission to pay a visit to
her old friends at the Abbey of Chelles. Madame had
her suspicions, but the Duchesse d'Orleans did not share
them, and granted her daughter's request. Early next
morning (September 14), the princess set out for Chelles,
accompanied by her soas-gouvernante, Madame des
1 Letter of October 9, 1718.
L
146 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Bordes, who was to bring her back the same evening.
But Madame des Bordes returned alone, bringing with
her a letter from her charge addressed to her relatives,
in which she informed them that " it had always been
her intention to become a nun at Chelles, and that, being
more determined upon it than ever, she had decided to
remain there and never leave the convent again."1 A
letter of Madame, written some four years later, has
preserved for us the details of this incident.
" Never have I seen the abbess [Mile. d'Orleans] more
light-hearted than the day on which she took this resolu-
tion and announced it to her family. She had been for
a ride on horseback with her sister [Mile, de Valois], and
had not for a long time been so amused, at any rate in
appearance. At eight o'clock in the evening, she came
to my apartments with her mother, and we played cards
until supper-time. After supper, I proposed to play
again, but Madame d'Orleans asked me to go into her
cabinet, and Mile. d'Orleans followed us there. This
young lady, falling on her knees, begged us to allow her
to go to Chelles, to perform her devotions there. I said
to her : ' My daughter, one can perform one's devotions
anywhere ; the place is a matter of perfect indifference ;
the preparation of the soul is the essential thing.' But she
remained on her knees and reiterated her entreaties.
I said to her mother : ' Make up your mind ; do you wish
your daughter to go to Chelles or not ? ' Madame
d'Orleans replied : ' She cannot be prevented from
going there to perform her devotions.' Accordingly,
on the morrow, at seven o'clock in the morning, the young
lady set out thither, and immediately sent back her
1 Journal de Dangeau, September 14, 171 6.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 147
carriage, with a letter addressed to her father, her mother,
and myself, wherein she took leave of us and informed
us of her resolve not to leave this convent again."1
According to Madame, the Duchesse d'Orleans re-
ceived the news with equanimity ; doubtless, she had
by this time recognised the futility of attempting to
coerce her daughter into accepting the husband she
desired to impose upon her, and considered that the
girl's retirement into a convent would free her from a
good deal of unwelcome responsibility. The Regent, on
the contrary, was very angry, indeed, and on the follow-
ing morning set off for Chelles in a post-chaise, in the
hope of persuading the fugitive to return. His arguments,
however, were powerless to shake the latter's resolution,
and she even seized the occasion to admonish her father
very severely on the scandalous life he was leading, which,
she declared, was one of the principal reasons which had
determined her to enter religion.
For more than four months after the return of
Mile. d'Orleans to Chelles, the Regent firmly refused to
authorise his daughter taking any further steps towards
her vocation ; but, at length, towards the end of the
following March, he consented to her entering the
noviciate. The young lady lost no time in availing herself
of the permission so tardily accorded, and a few days
later (March 31, 1717) she took the habit, in the presence
of her father and mother. " Her behaviour was firm
and edifying," writes Saint-Simon, " and everything
passed off before as few persons as possible and with the
utmost simplicity."
The Due d'Orleans gave the illustrious novice a pen-
1 Letter of September 15, 1723.
148 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
sion of 10,000 livres and a further sum to be expended
in alms and oblations.
Notwithstanding that he had, to all appearance, sur-
rendered to his daughter's wishes, the Regent was, in
reality, very far from reconciled to her retirement from
the world, and at the beginning of September he re-
appeared at Chelles and made another attempt to induce
her to renounce her resolution ; but to no purpose. To-
wards the end of the same month, Mile. d'Orleans re-
ceived a visit from the Duchesse de Berry, who came
charged with a commission from the Due d'Orleans to
persuade her sister to allow herself to be nominated
Abbess of Montmartre, on which condition she would
be authorised to pronounce her vows forthwith. It is
not clear what object the Regent had in making this pro-
posal, unless it was to have his daughter as near him as
possible and under the eye of the Duchesse d'Orleans,
who had an apartment at Montmartre, to which she was
in the habit of frequently retiring. But Mile. d'Orleans
naturally foresaw incessant difficulties from the proximity
of her mother, and she, with well-assumed modesty,
declined the offer, on the ground that " before thinking
of commanding, it was necessary for her to learn how to
obey."
In the first days of 1718, the Due d'0rl6ans came
again to Chelles, only to find his daughter " persisting
still in her desire to be a nun," as did Madame, who paid
her a visit some weeks later. The novice earnestly en-
treated the latter to use her influence with the Regent
to secure permission for her to pronounce her vows
after Easter, and to this Madame appears to have given
a reluctant consent; any way, on April 20, the Due
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 149
d'Orleans authorised his daughter to make her profession
as soon as she had completed her twentieth year, that
is to say, in the following August. It is worthy of remark
that the young lady was so fearful of her father changing
his mind that nothing would content her but a permission
written and signed by him. Nevertheless, the Regent had
not yet abandoned all hope, and on July 19 he arrived
at Chelles, accompanied by the Archbishop of Paris, the
Cardinal de Noailles, to make a supreme effort to over-
come the resolution of Mile. d'Orleans. But he found
her, if possible, more inflexible than ever, and, as in the
face of the solemn promises he had made her, he felt
unable to offer any further opposition, the taking of the
veil was fixed for August 20.
" Mademoiselle," writes Dangeau, " made her pro-
fession at Chelles, and edified every one by the devotion,
the courage, and the joy which she displayed on this
occasion.1 She resisted Madame s letters and the en-
treaties which M. Terrat2 addressed to her on behalf of
the Due d'Orleans."
The ceremony was performed by the Cardinal de
Noailles, who profited by the occasion to deliver a dis-
course which " greatly edified the illustrious persons who
heard him." These illustrious persons did not include
any member of the Orleans family, the duke absenting
himself from annoyance ; Madame, because she " did not
desire to be distressed to the point of tears,"3 and the
1 Madame had continued her efforts up to the last moment. In a
letter written on the day of the ceremony she says that she had made
to her granddaughter " all the representations that she had been able
to imagine to turn her from this bad resolution."
2 Chancellor of the Due d'Orleans.
3 Letter of September 6, 1718.
150 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
duchess and her daughters, because apparently it was too
much trouble for them to make the journey.
The Regent, however, behaved very liberally, in view
of the fact that his daughter had acted in direct opposition
to his wishes. He sent to the abbey a sum of 100,000 livres
for the dowry of the illustrious nun, gave the latter
30,000 to dispense in alms, and continued her pension
of 10,000 livres.
Saint-Simon accuses Mile. d'Orleans of having adopted
the religious life " through ill-humour, childishness and
caprice," and the charge is repeated by several historians
who have followed him. In this, however, they do the
princess a grave injustice, for, as we have seen, her resolve
to enter religion was one which dated from the time of her
first sojourn at Chelles, and in which she had stubbornly
persisted ever since, notwithstanding the strenuous op-
position she had had to encounter. Without doubt,
the ill-advised efforts of her mother to force her into a
marriage with the Prince de Dombes, and her distress
at the dissipated life led by her father and at the still
more scandalous conduct of her elder sister, served to
confirm this resolve, and to hasten her retirement to the
cloister, where she hoped to find peace and security. But,
even if her relatives had been all that could be desired,
we see no reason to suppose that she would have been
content to remain in the world, for everything points to
a religious vocation incontestably serious.
Mile. d'Orleans would appear, therefore, to have en-
tered— or rather re-entered — the Abbey of Chelles with
the most sincere convictions and with an earnest desire
to do her duty humbly and faithfully in the life to which
she felt herself called. But she did not continue long
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 151
in this laudable resolution, for, even with the best inten-
tions, it was very difficult for a young woman of her inde-
pendence of character, and, moreover, a Princess of the
Blood, to render for any length of time that implicit
obedience demanded from subordinate members of a
religious community. " So long as she had been obliged
to struggle," writes one of her biographers, " the religious
thought dominated her, by absorbing all other sentiments ;
but, from the day when the princess had triumphed over
all obstacles, from the day when the grating of the cloister
had fallen for ever upon her, in placing an insurmount-
able barrier between the world and her, a secret movement
perhaps introduced itself into her mind, which inspired
her with the desire to recover a little of the power which
she was losing by her renunciation."1 In fact, after
a few months of retreat, Soeur Sainte-Bathilde, by which
name the princess was now known, revealed herself as
ambitious, restless and dissatisfied, with a marked ten-
dency towards Jansenism, and with an affection for
worldly things which positively horrified the more devout
sisters. " She was unable to remain except as ruler,"
writes Saint-Simon, with only too much justice this
time, " in the place to which she had come in order
to obey."
The Abbess of Chelles was, as we have mentioned in
a previous chapter, Madame de Villars, an estimable
woman, but exceedingly tenacious of her dignity and
a stern disciplinarian. For these reasons she was very
far from popular with a section of the community, par-
ticularly among those who held Jansenist views, which
were anathema to the abbess, a lady of the most rigid
1 £douard de Barthelemy, les Filles du Rigent.
152 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
orthodoxy ; and nothing would have better pleased
these malcontents than to see their superior translated to
some other sphere of usefulness. Of that, however,
there seemed little probability, and the malcontents were
obliged to resign themselves to her domination with the
best grace they could assume, until the arrival of the
young princess in their midst offered them a means of
escape. Perceiving the growing dissatisfaction of the new
recluse with the humble position which she occupied, they
skilfully exploited it, and laboured incessantly to inspire
her with ambitious ideas, and persuade her that the first
place at Chelles was the only one compatible with her
illustrious birth. In this little conspiracy they had the
active assistance of Pere Ledoux, the almoner of the
abbey, a learned Benedictine, but an ardent Jansenist ;
and in a surprisingly short time the scruples of the
princess vanished, and she allowed herself to become the
leader of a party whose avowed object was to drive
Madame de Villars into surrendering her post in favour
of a girl of twenty-one.
The abbess, becoming suspicious, sent for Sceur Sainte-
Bathilde and questioned her closely. The latter, not
yet ready for open hostilities, endeavoured to dissipate
her suspicions by making jest of the rumours which had
reached the reverend Mother's ears. But she had counted
without her allies, who desired to hasten matters, and
began to conduct themselves in a manner which left no
doubt as to their intentions. In a few weeks the con-
vent, ordinarily so peaceful, was in a veritable ferment.
The abbess, sustained by the elder nuns, endeavoured
to assert her authority ; but the younger members of the
community were in full revolt, and the situation speedily
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 153
became so intolerable that she decided to abandon the
struggle.
On March 26, 1719 — that is to say, only seven months
after Mile. d'Orleans had taken her vows — Dangeau writes
in his Journal : " People are beginning to say that the
Abbess of Chelles, who is sister of the Marechal de Villars,
will resign her abbey, and that Mile. d'Orleans, who is a
nun in that house, will become abbess. I even believe that
some steps have already been taken with the Pope to
obtain the bulls."
On April 12, the same chronicler records that the
Due d'Orleans, accompanied by the Cardinal de Noailles,
had gone to Chelles, and that every one believed that
Mademoiselle had been declared abbess, while Madame
de Villars was receiving a retiring pension of 12,000 livres.
" This is not yet settled," he adds, " but there is every
appearance that it soon will be."
The affair had, in point of fact, been decided that
same day. Madame de Villars had agreed to resign her
post, and had accepted a pension of the amount stated
and a lodging at the Abbey of Panthemont, near her
brother's hotel, by way of compensation ; Mile. d'Orleans
was to become abbess in her stead, as soon as the necessary
formalities could be completed, and, in the meantime, to
avoid any further friction with the retiring superior,
" whose haughtiness," says Madame, " she was unable
to support," she was to retire to the Val-de-Grace. She
arrived there on April 21, where she was visited by the
Duchesse d'Orleans, who had consistently supported
Madame de Villars, because the Marechal de Villars was
one of the most devoted partisans of the Due du Maine,
and was furious at her daughter's victory. A most vio-
154 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
lent scene followed. " She [the Duchesse d'Orleans] said
that she would never pardon her daughter for having
arranged with the duke, unknown to her, to become
abbess. The nun replied that, since her mother had
always taken the part of the late abbess against her,
she had not confided to her the secret, because she
would have opposed it. Then the mother began to weep
bitterly, and declared that she was very unhappy with
her husband and children ; that her husband was the
most unjust man in the world, since he kept in captivity
his brother-in-law,1 the best and most pious man in the
world — a saint— and that God would punish him. The
daughter having replied that respect imposed silence
upon her, the mother became still more furious."2
In the second week in May, Madame de Villars quitted
Chelles, upon which the nuns immediately proceeded to
elect Mile. d'Orleans in her place, and a courier was
despatched to Rome to obtain the bulls of confirmation.
These reached Paris in the middle of June, but owing
to a family bereavement, of which we shall speak in the
succeeding chapter, the consecration of the new abbess
did not take place until September 14. 3 Madame, who
1 On December 29, 1718, the Due du Maine had been arrested for
his share in the Cellamare conspiracy, and imprisoned in the Chateau
of Doullens.
2 Correspondance complete de Madame, Duchesse d'Orldans, Letter
of May 5, 1718.
3 Mile. d'Orleans — or, rather, Madame d'Orleans, as she was now
called in the world — had, however, returned to Chelles on June 25,
escorted by her sister, Mile, de Valois, and Madame d'£pinay, one of
her mother's ladies-in-waiting, whom Dangeau tells us she " entertained
to supper and a display of fireworks " (!). The same chronicler relates,
under date August 14, that she had been joined by Mile, de la Roche-
sur-Yon, daughter of the Princesse de Conti, who, having obtained
permission to come to Chelles, on the pretext of paying a visit to the
new abbess, had sent back word that she intended to remain there and
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 155
assisted at this ceremony, which was invested with all
the pomp imaginable, has left us an interesting account
of it:
" I promised to give you an account of my journey
to Chelles. I started on Thursday, at seven o'clock, with
the Duchesse de Brancas, Madame de Chasteautier and
Madame de Ratzamhausen ; and arrived at half-past ten.
My grandson, the Due de Chartres, had already arrived ;
my son arrived a quarter of an hour later, and then
Mile, de Valois. Madame d'Orleans had caused herself
to be bled for the express purpose of not coming. She
and the abbess are not very good friends, and, besides,
her extreme indolence would have prevented her from
incommoding herself and rising a little early. We went
to the church ; the abbess's prie-Dieu was placed in the
choir of the nuns ; it was draped with violet velvet
covered all over with gold fleurs-de-lis ; my prie-Dieu
was against the balustrade ; my son and daughter1 were
behind the pulpit, for the Princes of the Blood may not
kneel on my carpet, that being a right reserved for the
grandsons of France. All the King's musicians were in
the tribune ; the Cardinal de Noailles celebrated Mass.
The altar is very beautiful ; it is formed of black and
white marble. There are four statues of white marble
representing saintly abbesses, and one bears so striking
a resemblance to our abbess that one would believe that
it was her portrait. It was, however, made before my
granddaughter was born, for she is only twenty-one
become a nun. However, the young lady's resolution failed her after
a few days, and, in response to the maternal entreaties, she consented
to return home.
1 Charlotte Elisabeth d'Orleans, wife of Leopold I., Duke of
Lorraine.
156 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
years old. Twelve monks of her Order [the Benedictine],
wearing superb chasubles, came to serve Mass. After
the cardinal had read the Epistle, the Master of the
Ceremonies entered the choir of the nuns and brought
back the abbess. She came, looking exceedingly well,
followed by two abbesses and half a dozen nuns of her
convent ; made a low reverence to the altar and to myself,
and knelt before the cardinal, who was seated in a great
arm-chair before the altar. They brought, with due
ceremony, the confession of faith, which she read, and
after the cardinal had recited a number of prayers, he
gave her a book, which contained the rules of her con-
vent. She then returned to her place, and when they
had read the Credo and the offertory, she came to the
offering, accompanied by the abbesses and her nuns.
They brought for the offering two large candles and two
loaves, one of which was gilt and the other silver. After
the cardinal had communicated, she returned to kneel
before him, and he gave her the cross. He reconducted
her to her seat, not to her prie-Dieu, but to her abbess's
seat, which was a kind of throne, surmounted by a
Princess of the Blood's dais, covered with fleurs-de-lis.
As soon as she was seated, the trumpets and the hautboys
sounded, and the cardinal, followed by all his priests,
placed himself by the altar on the left side, his cross in
his hand, and they sang the Te Deum. All the nuns then
arrived two by two, and approached to show their sub-
mission to their abbess, by making her a low reverence.
That reminded me of the honours which were paid to
Atys, when they made him high-priest of Cybele, for
they also came two by two to salute him. I thought
that they were going to sing, as in the opera. After the
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 157
Te Deum we entered the convent, and at half an hour
after midday we sat down to table, my son, my grandson
the Due de Chartres, the Princesse Victoire de Soissons,
the young demoiselle d'Auvergne, daughter of the Due
d'Albret, and the three ladies who were with me. The
abbess placed herself by my side in her refectory, at
a table of forty covers, with her sister Mile, de Valois,
the two ladies who accompanied her, twelve abbesses,
and all the other nuns of the convent. It was amusing
to see all the black robes round the table. My son's
people served a very splendid repast, and the populace
was allowed to pillage the dessert and the sweetmeats
after dinner was over."
CHAPTER VIII
Visit of the Duke and Duchess of Lorraine to Paris — Magnificent fete
in their honour at the Luxembourg — An unbidden guest — Atten-
tions paid by the Duchesse de Berry to the Duchess of Lorraine —
Reconciliation between Madame and her granddaughter — Altera-
tion in the latter 's conduct towards her mother — She " greatly
edifies " the Carmelites during the Holy Week of 171 8 — Fetes in
honour of the Duchesse de Berry at Chantilly — Ungracious be-
haviour of the princess — She resumes her effort to usurp the honours
of a queen — Indignation of the public — Protests of the Corps
Diplomatique — She becomes enceinte — Her efforts to conceal her
condition — She gives birth to a daughter, and her life is in serious
danger — Refusal of the Sacraments by the cure of Saint-Sulpice
and the Cardinal de Noailles — The princess recovers — Her secret
marriage with Rion — Consideration of the question whether this
event took place before or after her illness.
AT the beginning of 1718, Leopold I. of Lorraine, who
-L~\- had married the Regent's sister, Charlotte Elisa-
beth d'Orleans, came to Paris, to render homage to
Louis XV. for his duchy of Bar. He was accompanied
by his wife and also by his mistress, Madame de Craon,
a lady upon whom Madame makes some piquant observa-
tions in her letters to her German friends. The Duchesse
de Berry showed herself extremely attentive to the dis-
tinguished visitors. On their arrival, she placed in the
duchess's chamber at the Palais-Royal a superb commode,
filled with scarves, aprons, handkerchiefs, fichus and
ribbons, "with a deshabille and every other similar kind
of present " ; she entertained them to dinner and supper,
and on February 28 she gave in their honour, at the
Luxembourg, a fete which surpassed in prodigal splen-
158
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 159
dour anything which Paris had witnessed for years, and
to a description of which the Nouveau Mercure conse-
crated a considerable part of its February and March
numbers.1
" It was of an extraordinary magnificence and admir-
ably arranged," writes Dangeau. " There was a table of
one hundred and twenty-five covers for the ladies, and
other tables for at least as many men. The Princes of
the Blood supped at the ladies' table. The ladies who
supped with the Duchesse de Berry were all magnificently
dressed, and she had even requested those who were in
mourning to lay it aside for that day. M. de Lorraine did
not take his rank, but sat down to supper among the
ladies, to preserve his incognito. The Palais du Luxem-
bourg was splendidly illuminated both within and
without, and a more superb and better ordered fete
had never been seen. All who were present say marvellous
things about it."
This sumptuous fete did not pass off without one of
1 The sumptuousness and variety of the menu was such that the
editor was inspired to describe it in verse :
" Des filets minces d'aloyau,
Des gendarmes au jus de veau,
Petits dindons aux ciboulettes,
Et des anchois en allumettes,
Poulets de grains, mets excellent,
Cuits derriere le pot cassant,
Pigeon au soleil, chose exquise,
Des cotelettes en surprise, etc."
We are also informed that the first course consisted of 31 kinds
of soup, 60 entrees, and 132 hors d'ceuvres ; the second and third
of 132 hot side-dishes and 60 cold ; the dessert, or the fruit, as it
was called at this period, of 100 baskets of fresh fruit, 94 of dried
fruits, 50 salvers of iced fruit, and 106 compotes ; that the dishes
and plates were carried by 200 Swiss, and that 132 lackeys were com-
missioned to keep the glasses of the company filled.
160 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
those scandals which seem to have been inseparable from
everything which the Duchesse de Berry did. During
supper, the princess was informed that four persons who
had not been invited, " and were not fit to be," had
boldly installed themselves at the men's table. One
of them was a certain Foucault de Magny, an eccentric
personage, " mad with vanity," who, after being dis-
missed from the intendancy of Caen, for " many and
gross knaveries,"1 had lately purchased from the Baron
de Breteuil the post of introducer of the Ambassadors,
in virtue of which office he appears to have considered
himself invited to the fete.2 Highly indignant, the
princess despatched Saumery, her first maUre-d 'hotel, to
order the intruders to retire immediately. Three of them
obeyed, and withdrew without making any disturbance ;
but " M. de Magny received the reprimand very ill, and
answered M. de Saumery so insolently that the latter
seized him by the cravat to conduct him to the Duchesse
de Berry."3 A violent scuffle ensued, which ended in
Magny wrenching himself free and effecting his escape
from the Luxembourg. Next day, he expressed himself
in such vigorous terms in regard to the Duchesse de Berry,
that the princess applied for a lettre de cachet, and before
night M. de Magny found himself in the Bastille. He
only remained there until March 12, when he was set at
1 Saint-Simon.
2 The Ambassadors had been duly invited, but they did not go,
since their pretension to sit at the same table as the Princes of the
Blood was not admitted. Had they attended, Magny would, of course,
have accompanied them, and he might, therefore, claim to have been
included in their invitation. The Duchesse de Berry's orders to him
to withdraw were, no doubt, the result of her annoyance at the refusal
of the Ambassadors to grace her fete with their presence.
3 Dangeau, February 28, 1718.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 161
liberty, at the request of the duchess ; but he received
orders to resign his post as introducer of the Ambassadors,
and altogether appears to have found his supper at the
Luxembourg a somewhat costly repast.
The Due and Duchesse de Lorraine remained in
Paris until April 8, and the Duchesse de Berry continued
her attentions to them up to the end ; indeed, on the
night before their departure, notwithstanding that the
Duchesse de Lorraine had paid her a formal farewell visit
some hours before, she went to the Palais-Royal to em-
brace her aunt once more. In acting thus, the princess
was seeking to please Madame, who was devoted to her
daughter. She had lately come to the conclusion that she
had committed a grave error in alienating her grand-
mother, in view of the affection which the Regent enter-
tained for the latter and the not inconsiderable influence
which she enjoyed ; and she had eagerly seized so favour-
able an opportunity of recovering her good graces. Her
pains were not wasted. " I am very satisfied with my
granddaughter," writes the old princess, " she has
behaved very well towards my children of Lorraine.
She has sense, and manifests an inclination to return to
religion and a disgust of vice. I trust that God will
have compassion upon her and will accord her the grace
of a sincere conversion."1
The Duchesse de Berry did not fail to follow up her
success, and the affection and respect she showed for her
grandmother appear quite to have won the old lady's
heart. " She conducts herself very well towards me,"
she writes at the end of May, " and forgets nothing to
show her affection. I love her sincerely." And three
1 Letter of March 31, 171 8.
M
162 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
weeks later : "I should be very ungrateful if I had no
attachment for her, for she testifies the greatest possible
affection for me, and often shows me so much attention
that I am quite touched."1
For some time past, too, the Duchesse de Berry's
conduct towards her mother had shown a marked im-
provement, and when, in March, 1718, the Duchesse
d'Orleans was taken somewhat seriously ill, she became
quite a devoted daughter. She discontinued her card-
parties at the Luxembourg, installed herself at the Palais-
Royal, and nursed the sick woman " with all the zeal
of a sceur grise."2 " It would be impossible," writes
Dangeau, " to testify more affection and attachment than
the Duchesse de Berry has shown for her mother during
this illness."3
This remarkable alteration in the conduct of the
princess synchronized with outward manifestations of
the most pronounced piety. She passed all the Holy
Week of 1718 with the Carmelites of the Faubourg Saint-
Jacques, and " greatly edified them. She received the
Sacrament on the Thursday and the Friday ; she fasted
on bread and water."4 In June, she returned to Paris
from La Muette, where she was, as usual, spending the
summer, for the solemnities of the Feast of Corpus
Christi, and " edified all the public in the procession."
She visited the Carmelites three times during the month
of July ; twice in August, and spent a week with them
at the beginning of September. And yet all the time
her liaison with Rion continued ; indeed, their relations
1 Letters of May 29 and June 21, 1718.
2 Madame, Letter of June 21, 1718.
3 Journal, March 22, 1718.
4 Dangeau.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 163
were, if possible, more open than ever. This apparently
amazing inconsistency is, however, as we shall presently
see, capable of a very simple explanation.
On August 26, 1718, a Bed of Justice was held, and
a decree registered reducing the Due du Maine and his
younger brother, the Comte de Toulouse, from the rank
of Princes of Blood to that of simple peers, and taking
away from the latter the superintendence of the young
King's education. The abolition of the monstrous privi-
leges accorded by Louis XIV. to his natural sons gave
the greatest satisfaction to the Princes of the Blood ;
and the Due de Bourbon, desirous of showing his grati-
tude, thought that he could not do better than by giving
a superb fete — or rather series of fetes — in honour of the
Duchesse de Berry at that magnificent chateau the em-
bellishment of which had been one of the first cares of four
generations of Condes.
The princess arrived at Chantilly in the evening of
Sunday, September 25, accompanied by a Court of
twenty-three ladies, who had been " nominated " by her,
and, bien entendu, the Chevalier de Rion, and was
received with sovereign honours. Immediately on her
arrival, supper was served, Monsieur le Due being the
only man to have the privilege of sitting at the table
of the Duchesse de Berry. Supper over, the company
adjourned to the salon, where the card-tables had been
set out, and play for very high stakes went on far into
the night.
The following day was devoted to a walk in the gardens;
and the Due de Bourbon caused an agreeable surprise
by distributing groups of musicians in different parts of
the labyrinth, in the centre of which a sumptuous " colla-
164 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
tion " had been prepared. While this was being par-
taken of, unseen vocalists sang a cantatilla composed for
the occasion by Cauchereau, in praise of the Duchesse de
Berry, which must have been a welcome novelty to the
princess who had so often excited the malicious wit of
the chansonniers. In the evening, the card-tables again
claimed the attention of the company, and there was
also a grand concert, under the direction of Valette, the
choirmaster of Senlis Cathedral. Tuesday was occupied
by a stag-hunt ; the curee1 in the evening took place by
the light of torches and fireworks.
On Wednesday, a visit was paid to Monsieur le Dues
menagerie, one of the finest private " zoos " in Europe,
where the Duchesse de Berry was much interested by the
sight of a full-grown lion playing with a bitch by whom
he had been suckled when a cub.2 In the evening, an
Italian opera was performed, and was followed by a
grand supper in the Galerie des Cerfs, which had been
splendidly illuminated.
1 The curie was the ceremony of throwing the entrails of the quarry-
to the hounds, who, after being loosed, were frequently called back by
the piqueurs, in order to show how well disciplined and under what
complete control they were. It was still in vogue in the time of
Napoleon III. An interesting account of a curee at Compiegne in 1866
is given by Madame de Hegermann-Lindencrone in her recently pub-
lished memoirs, In the Courts of Memory (Harpers).
2 Apropos of this menagerie, an alarming incident occurred during
the visit of the Duchesse de Berry to Chantilly. One day, while a
number of the duke's guests were strolling about the gardens, a mag-
nificent tiger, which had escaped from its cage, suddenly made its
appearance upon the scene, to their unutterable consternation.
Certain chroniclers assert that Rion bravely confronted the animal,
and kept it at bay until its keeper arrived, when, surprised by the
tumult its presence was occasioning, it allowed itself to be recaptured,
and that this courageous act increased the passion of the princess
for her favourite. But Saint-Simon says nothing about the chevalier,
and ascribes the fortunate termination of what might have been
a tragic affair to the presence of mind of the keeper.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 165
The two following days were occupied by card-parties
and another sumptuous supper; and on the Saturday there
was a stag-hunt in the forest of Halatte, which continued
after darkness had fallen, the Due de Bourbon having
caused wax-torches, " costing six livres apiece," to be
attached to thirty thousand trees in the forest. On the
Sunday, the company dispersed, and the Duchesse de
Berry and her Court returned to Paris.
Despite the splendour of these fetes, despite all the
honours which were paid to her and the unceasing atten-
tions not only of the Due de Bourbon, but also of her
old enemy, Madame la Duchesse the elder,1 the Duchesse
de Berry, if we are to believe Saint-Simon, behaved in a
most ungracious fashion. " It would have been im-
possible for her," he says, "to be treated with more
magnificence and more honour, or to have been enter-
tained by a greater diversity of ingenious and charming
fetes, and it would have been impossible for her to
receive the honours of which she was the object with more
haughtiness and indifference, or to show more constraint
and ennui. And he adds that, during the whole of her
stay at Chantilly, she did not address a word to the young
wife of the Due de Bourbon (Marie Anne de Bourbon-
Conti), because she refused to pardon her for having
opposed, several years previously, the marriage of the
Prince de Conti to Mile, de Valois.
At the end of October, the Duchesse de Berry persuaded
her father to allow her to exchange the Chateau of Am-
1 In order to please the Duchesse de Berry, Madame la Duchesse
commissioned her lover, or secret husband, the Marquis de Lassay,
to take charge of Rion, and see that he had everything he required.
A special table was assigned the favourite, and a carriage and relays
of horses placed at his disposal.
166 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
boise, which had been assigned her as a country-residence
by her marriage-contract, but which she had never cared
to occupy, for that of Meudon, and lost no time in dis-
missing its governor, Du Mont, an old and valued servant
of Monseigneur, and conferring the post upon Rion.
Having installed herself at the Luxembourg for the winter,
she began to affect more sovereign airs than ever, and on
December 7, at a representation of the Semiramis of
Destouches, she repeated the attempt which she had
made in the first months of the Regency to usurp the
honours of a queen at the Opera. This time, she did not
appear in a box, but engaged a part of the amphitheatre,
which she caused to be railed off — " in order that the
rest of the seats might not be confused with those which
she had retained "* — and sat there, enthroned in an arm-
chair placed upon an estrade, in the midst of a Court
of some thirty ladies. The indignation which the re-
newal of the princess's pretensions aroused was increased
by the inconvenience which this arrangement occasioned
the public, and by the fact that the Due and Duchesse
d'Orleans were present in their box, and thus appeared
to authorise their daughter's enterprise.
The Duchesse de Berry did not dare to repeat this
performance, but shortly afterwards she was guilty of
a much more serious violation of established usage.
It was the custom for new Ambassadors, after pre-
senting their credentials to the Regent, to go in state
to the Luxembourg to salute the princess, as the first
lady in the land. One day, having to receive the Venetian
Ambassador, the Duchesse de Berry caused her arm-chair
to be placed on an estrade of three steps — a right which
1 Dangeau, December 7, 1718.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 167
has never been claimed by the Queens of France, who,
at these audiences, were accustomed to sit without even
a carpet under their feet. The ladies present could not
conceal their astonishment ; while the Ambassador stood
for some moments as though at a loss what to do. Finally,
he approached the " throne," bowed to its occupant, and,
after another embarrassing pause, turned his back upon
the princess and retired, without having addressed to her
a single word.
A meeting of the Corps Diplomatique was at once
convened, and the same evening a unanimous protest
was sent to the Regent, in which he was informed
that no Foreign Minister would in future visit the
Duchesse de Berry, unless he had first assured himself
that an enterprise of this kind would not be repeated.
The Ambassadors, in fact, abstained from presenting
themselves at the Luxembourg for some weeks, nor
would they consent to return until they had received
the most positive assurance that such a thing should never
happen again.
These adventures provided the satirists with material
of which they were not slow to avail themselves, and
produced a fresh crop of chansons, caricatures and pamph-
lets at the expense of the princess. But, offensive as
most of these were, they were innocuous in comparison
with the obscenities provoked in the first weeks of
1719 by the rumour that an interesting event was ere
long expected at the Luxembourg.
The rumour was only too true, and the efforts which
the Duchesse de Berry was making to conceal her con-
dition, with which object she had been leading an even
gayer life than usual — visits to the Opera-balls, unwhole-
168 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
some suppers, " washed down by wine and strong
liqueurs,"1 high play, often prolonged until the small
hours of the morning, and so forth, had ill prepared her
for what, in those days of unskilled surgeons, was always
attended with very considerable danger. As the time
approached, the princess shut herself up in a small room
at the extremity of her apartments at the Luxembourg,
which was very conveniently situated for secret visits.
None but Rion, Madame de Mouchy, and a waiting-
woman, upon whose discretion she could absolutely rely,
had free admission to this room. The Due and Duchesse
d' Orleans were not allowed to enter until their daughter
had intimated her willingness to receive them ; and, of
course, it was the same with Madame de Saint-Simon,
the dames de compagnie on duty, the first waiting-woman,
and the doctors. " All were admitted from time to time,
but a bad headache or want of sleep caused them often to
be asked to excuse her, or, if they entered, to leave directly
afterwards. They did not press their attentions upon the
sick woman, knowing only too well the nature of her
malady ; but contented themselves by inquiring after her
through Madame de Mouchy, who, holding the door ajar,
replied to them. This ridiculous proceeding was enacted
before the inmates of the Luxembourg, of the Palais-
Royal, and of many other people, who, for form's sake
or out of curiosity, came to inquire the news, and it
became the common talk of the town."1
With the courage of despair, the Duchesse de Berry
struggled up to the last to give the lie to these reports.
On March 23, she held her usual weekly reception at the
Luxembourg ; on the following morning, she drove to
1 Saint-Simon.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 169
Meudon and passed the day there with her father ; on
the 26th, she dined with the Carmelites. But two days
later the duchess gave birth to a daughter,1 and was
soon in so critical a condition that on the 31st the Abbe
Languet, the cure of Saint-Sulpice, urged upon the Regent
the advisability of her receiving the Sacraments.
The Regent hesitated to speak to his daughter on the
matter, the more so that the cure declared before every
one that he should refuse to administer the Sacraments,
or to allow them to be administered, so long as Rion or
Madame de Mouchy remained in the sick-room or even
in the Luxembourg.
The Due d'Orleans took the cure aside, and for a long
time endeavoured to persuade him to give way ; but to
no purpose. Finding him inflexible, he suggested that
the matter should be referred to the Archbishop of
Paris, the Cardinal de Noailles. To this Languet con-
sented, and promised to submit to the orders of his dio-
cesan, provided he was allowed to explain his reasons. The
Regent no doubt flattered himself that he would find
his Eminence more complaisant than the cure. But, if
he did, he was soon undeceived.
The Cardinal de Noailles arrived ; the duke took him
aside with the cure, and their conversation lasted more
than half an hour. As Languet 's declaration had been
public, the prelate judged it fitting that his should be
so also ; and, as soon as the conference terminated, pro-
claimed, in a loud voice, before all present, that he
warmly approved of the action the cure had taken,
adding that he absolutely forbade, under canonical
1 This child, according to Duclos, subsequently became a nun at
the Abbey of Pontoise.
170 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
penalties, any priest whatever from administering the
Sacraments to the Duchesse de Berry, so long as Rion
and Madame de Mouchy remained in the Luxembourg.
" It may be imagined," continues Saint-Simon, " what
a stir such an inevitable scandal as this caused in a room
so full of people ; what an embarrassment it occasioned
the Due d'Orleans, and what a noise it immediately made
everywhere. Nobody blamed the cur6 or the archbishop ;
some because they knew the rules of the Church and did
not dare to impugn them ; others, the majority, from
horror at the conduct of the Duchesse de Berry, and from
the hatred which she had drawn upon herself by her
pride."
The conference between the Regent and the two eccle-
siastics recommenced, this time to decide which of them
should undertake to communicate this determination
to the sick woman, who, in the meanwhile, had spon-
taneously made her confession to a Franciscan monk,
her director at the Carmelites. After a short discussion,
for the princess, in whom the thought of death inspired
the most abject terror, was eagerly awaiting the Sacra-
ments, the Cardinal and the cure stepped back, and the
Regent, approaching the door of the sick-room, opened it
a little way, called Madame de Mouchy, informed her of
the decision which had been arrived at, and requested her
to announce it to her mistress. " The Mouchy, much
astonished and still more indignant, rode the high horse,
talked about her merit and of the affront which the bigots
were endeavouring to put upon her and upon the Duchesse
de Berry, who would never surfer or consent to it, but
would die — in the state she was — if they had the im-
prudence and the cruelty to inform her of it." Finally,
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 171
however, she consented to acquaint the princess with the
resolution respecting the Sacraments ; but she took care
to arrange matters to her own liking, for the answer
which she presently delivered to the Regent through the
half-open door was a blank refusal.
The Due d'Orleans at once reported this reply to the
archbishop and the cure. The latter merely shrugged
his shoulders, but the archbishop reproached the prince
with having entrusted such a person with so grave a
mission, and urged him to intervene personally and
exhort his daughter to do her duty as a Christian shortly
to appear before God. The Regent, feeling that he did
not possess the necessary courage for a scene with the
duchess, refused ; whereupon the cardinal announced
his intention of undertaking the task himself. The
prince, who did not dare to forbid him, but who feared
that the prelate's remonstrances might bring on a
dangerous crisis, begged his Eminence to wait until
preparations could be made to receive him. " He went,
therefore, and held another discussion through the half-
open door, the success of which was on a par with the
preceding one. The Duchesse de Berry fell into a fury,
broke out into bitter denunciations of these hypocrites,
who took advantage of her state and their calling to dis-
honour her by an unheard-of scandal, and did not spare
her father for his stupidity and weakness in allowing it."1
The Due d'Orleans returned to the cardinal, " feeling
very small and altogether at a loss what to do." How-
ever, he told him that his daughter was too weak and
in too much pain for the moment to receive him, and
implored him to have a little patience. His Eminence
1 Saint-Simon.
172 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
consented, and remained for two hours, when, perceiving
that the Regent had no intention of permitting him to
enter the sick-room, he decided that it would be both
useless and undignified to wait any longer, and retired ;
but not before he had reiterated, in a loud voice, to the
Abbe Languet his orders not to administer the Sacra-
ments, or to allow them to be administered, until he had
obtained the expulsion of Rion and Madame de Mouchy
from the Luxembourg.
" The Due d'Orleans hastened to announce to his
daughter the departure of the Cardinal, at which he
himself was much relieved. But, on leaving the room, he
was astonished to find the cure glued against the door,
and still more to hear that he had taken up his post there
and meant to remain, happen what might, because he
did not intend to be deceived on the subject of the
Sacraments. And, in fact, he remained there for four
days and four nights, except during short intervals for
food and repose, which he took at his house, quite close
to the Luxembourg, when his place was filled by two
priests, whom he left there."1
The Duchesse de Berry, however, refused to yield,
although during the night of April 1-2 she was so much
worse that she was believed to be dying.2 But in the
morning her illness took an unexpected turn for the
better, and on the following day she was pronounced out
of danger. Then, and not till then, did the Abbe Languet
and his allies raise the siege.
1 Saint-Simon.
2 " The Duchesse de Berry passed a very bad night, and was for
four hours in very great danger" (Dangeau, April 2, 1719). Buvat,
who calls the princess's illness " an apoplexy," says that she was
" for three hours like one dead " (Journal de la Regence, April, 1719).
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orlkans,
duchesse de berry
From a painting at Versailles by an unknown artist
(Photo by \V. A. Mansell & Co.)
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 173
Such is the narrative of Saint-Simon, which has been
generally accepted by historians, but which there is the
strongest reason to believe is quite inaccurate in one
most important particular. The cure of Saint-Sulpice
and the Archbishop of Paris resolutely refused the
Sacraments to the Duchesse de Berry, so long as Rion
and Madame de Mouchy remained at the Luxembourg,
because they believed, as did nearly all Paris, that she
was living in sin, and that the child to whom she had
just given birth was a child of shame. But they could
have had no hesitation about administering them, had
they been in possession of what are almost certainly the
true facts of the case.
We have seen that the singular tactics adopted by
Rion towards the Duchesse de Berry were the result
of the counsels of his great-uncle, the Due de Lauzun.
It was he who had drawn up the plan of conduct which
compelled Rion, naturally an easy-going and agreeable
young man, to show himself tyrannical, exacting, jealous,
and capricious, in order to establish his empire more
firmly and to reduce the infatuated princess to more
complete subjection. But Lauzun went farther than this.
Whether because he entertained a grudge against the
Royal House for the weary years at Pinerolo to which his
pretensions to the hand of la Grande Mademoiselle had
brought upon him, and desired the piquant revenge which
the union of his own nephew with its first princess would
afford him, or because he really desired the elevation of his
kinsman, he did not cease to represent to Rion that, until
a secret marriage had united him to the eldest daughter
of the Regent, his situation would remain precarious,
because the lady was notoriously fickle in her affections,
174 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
and did not lack soupirants ; and that if, by chance,
one of them was to catch her changeful fancy, she would
have no hesitation in discarding him, as she had dis-
carded La Haye, La Rochefoucauld, and Bonnivet.
Rion appreciated the wisdom of the old courtier's
counsels, the more readily since those which he had
already given him had proved so efficacious. He con-
sulted Madame de Mouchy, who warmly approved this
daring project. " She knew that she was sure of her
lover, and that, when he had become the husband of
the Duchesse de Berry, all the doors which shut out their
intimacy would be thrown open."1
The precious pair worked energetically to reconcile the
princess to the idea. " Rion," writes Madame, " made
her believe that he was of the House of Aragon ; that
the King of Spain was keeping his kingdom from him, and
that, if they were married, they would be able to reclaim
it. La Mouchy used to talk to her about this day and
night."2 At the same time, Rion, acting always on the
advice of Lauzun, became more tyrannical and capricious
than ever. Several times he failed to keep the rendez-
vous which the princess had given him ; he received
rudely the envoys whom she despatched to ask for ex-
planations ; he pretended to have fallen in love with a
danseuse at the Opera, at that time very much the
mode ; he compelled the princess to postpone at the
last moment a ball which she had arranged to give ;
he criticised her toilette, her jewels, and everything she
wore, and wished to force her to dress in accordance
with his own fancy. In a word, he showed himself a
1 Saint-Simon.
2 Letter of October 25, 1719.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 175
veritable despot . These manoeuvres succeeded admirably,
and the poor Duchesse de Berry, obsessed by the fear of
losing so dear a lover, felt prepared to make any sacri-
fice to retain him. But what appears to have been the
determining factor in assuring the triumph of the con-
spirators were those qualms of conscience, that " most
horrible fear of the devil and death,"1 which, from the
end of the year 1716, drove the erring princess to prayer
and fasting at the Carmelites.
Although of the marriage itself there is no shadow of
doubt — it is admitted alike by the writers of serious
memoirs and by the authors of chroniques scandaleuses —
no documentary evidence of it exists. Saint-Simon places
it immediately after the dangerous illness of which we
have just spoken, and nearly all contemporaries are of
this opinion.2 " The danger being finally over," writes
Duclos, " the ecclesiastical guard was removed, and
the princess thought only of recovering her health.
Notwithstanding her fury against the priests, the fear
of hell had seized her, the more violently that her health
was not fully re-established, and that her passion was
as lively as ever. Rion, aided by the counsels of the Due
de Lauzun, his uncle, resolved to profit by the disposition
of his mistress to bring her to a marriage which should
tranquillize her conscience. The Due de Lauzun, charmed
to see his nephew playing at the Luxembourg the same
role that he himself had played with Mile, de Montpensier,
imagined the plan, the means, the expedients ; and
Rion acted in conformity. They did not experience great
1 Saint-Simon.
a Chroniques indiscrHes sur la Regence. According to the so-called
Memoires de Maurepas, the Duchesse de Berry and Rion were secretly
married by the cure of Saint-Sulpice in the chapel at the Luxembourg.
176 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
difficulty with a woman madly in love and terrified of the
devil at the same time. They received the nuptial bene-
diction from a priest but little particular and well paid.
M. de Barthelemy, however, maintains that the marriage
took place at the end of the year 1716, that is to say,
only a few months after Rion became the lover of the
Duchesse de Berry, and more than two years before the
scandal at the Luxembourg. And here is what he says :
" In our opinion, it is beyond doubt that the marriage
existed from the end of the year 1716, for how otherwise
can we explain those frequent visits to the Carmelites,
those confessions, those retreats, reported by Madame
herself ? We have, besides, been fortunate enough to
discover an incontestable document, which proves the
exactitude of these facts. Until recently [1874], the
author of this quasi-conversion had been unknown, and
a passage from a letter from the Marquis d'Argenson1
to the Marquise de la Cour de Balleroy, whose precious
correspondence is preserved in the Bibliotheque Mazarine,
tells us that it is Massillon,2 which explains the excellent
1 Rene Louis de Voyer de Paulmy. He was Minister for Foreign
Affairs, November 1744 to January 1747, and author of the celebrated
memoirs bearing his name.
2 Jean Baptiste Massillon (1663-1742). He was one of the most
celebrated of French preachers, and has been called " the Racine of the
pulpit." The son of a notary, he entered the Congregation of the Oratory
in 1 68 1, and ten years later drew attention to himself by an eloquent
funeral oration on Villars, Archbishop of Vienne. Summoned to Paris
and placed at the head of the seminary of Saint-Magloire, he greatly
enhanced his reputation by the lectures which he dehvered there. At
Advent 1699 and Lent 1704 he was selected to preach before the
Court, and was warmly complimented by Louis XIV., who paid, on the
former occasion, a striking tribute to Massillon's fearless eloquence.
" I have heard," said he, " eloquent preachers in my chapel and have
been satisfied with them ; but, when I have heard you, I feel dissatis-
fied with myself." Massillon was chosen to preach the funeral oration
on the Prince de Conti (1709), on the Grand Dauphin (171 1), and on
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 177
relations of this great orator with the Regent. ' People
speak of a grand conversion at the Luxembourg/ writes
he on January 9, 1717; ' Pere Massillon has been its
instrument. In truth, never has priest or monk better
conducted an affair. He has persuaded her, at the
end of several retreats which have been made at the
Carmelites, that she must marry to take away the sin.
She has espoused Rion. I tell you of it, because I have
seen the wedding-dress, which is very beautiful.' This
declaration, formulated by an ocular witness, and, more-
over, an important person, can leave no doubt, and
abundantly justifies me."
Without admitting the learned historian's contention
that this letter amounts to a positive proof that the
marriage took place before the end of 1716 — for the
future Minister for Foreign Affairs was not always very
careful of the truth,1 and it should be remembered that
he was at this time only twenty years of age, and was
writing to a fair lady, who, like too many women of the
period, found a correspondence the more attractive the
more piquant and sensational it happened to be — never-
Louis XIV. himself. All three, and particularly the last, which opened
with the words, " Dieu seule est grand, mes freres," are considered
masterpieces of pulpit oratory. In 171 7, he was appointed Bishop of
Clermont, though he was not consecrated until two years later, and
selected to preach the Lenten sermons before the young King, on
which occasion he composed his celebrated Petit-Careme, a series of
ten short discourses. In 1719, in which year he was elected a member
of the French Academy, he withdrew to his diocese, and only twice
subsequently revisited Paris, namely, to attend the consecration of
Dubois as cardinal and to preach Madeline's funeral oration (1723).
At Clermont, his charity and amiable disposition made him generally
beloved.
1 In the same letter, the marquis brings an accusation against
Massillon, the falseness of which is too obvious to require any re-
futation : *' The director who is, it is said, as interesting in the ruelle
as in the pulpit, has become the gallant [of the Duchesse de Berry]."
N
178 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
theless, taken in conjunction with the circumstances to
which it refers, it certainly seems to us to point very
strongly to the princess having regularised her relations
with Rion about this time.
And, even supposing the marriage did not take place
at the date he alleges, there is still every reason to believe
that the child to whom the Duchesse de Berry gave birth
in the spring of 1719 was born in wedlock. For more than
two years preceding this event the princess had been,
as we know, a frequent visitor at the Carmelites of the
Faubourg Saint- Jacques. She passed nearly all the
great festivals of the Church among these holy women ;
she fasted as rigidly as they did ; she rose in the night
to say her office with them ; scarcely a week went by,
when she was in Paris, without her visiting the convent ;
and sometimes she spent several days at a time in retreat
there. Are we to believe that for more than two years
she persisted in the most revolting hypocrisy that it is
possible to imagine ? Are we to believe that for more
than two years the Carmelites, a community justly famed
for generations throughout France for their piety, and
perfectly informed of all that was happening in the world
outside, would have tolerated in their midst a woman
who persisted in living in mortal sin ?
We shall presently see how feverishly anxious was the
Duchesse de Berry during the last months of her life to
secure the Regent's consent to her marriage being made
public. If, then, she were already married at the time of
her illness, she must certainly have caused her father to
be informed of the fact when she lay upon what she
believed to be her death-bed ; and the conversations
between the latter and Madame de Mouchy through
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 179
the half-open door of the sick-room must have related
to the princess's desire that the Due d'Orleans should
then and there announce the marriage, which would have
saved Rion and the confidante from the disgrace which
menaced them, put a stop to the slanderous reports which
were in circulation, and removed all objection on the
part of the Cardinal de Noailles to the administration of
the Sacraments. As to the " fury " of which Saint-Simon
speaks, if the poor woman, in the almost moribund state
in which she then lay, was capable of flying into a fury, it
was more likely to have been inspired by the refusal of
her father to set her right with the Church and the
world than by the firmness of the ecclesiastics, who were
only performing their obvious duty.
CHAPTER IX
The Duchesse de Berry leaves Paris for Meudon — Opposition of the
Regent to the declaration of her marriage with Rion — He visits
the princess but twice in three weeks — His conversation with Saint-
Simon — Rion ordered to join his regiment on the Spanish frontier —
Painful scenes between father and daughter — A fatal supper-party
— The Duchesse de Berry falls ill — She removes from Meudon to
La Muette — Her cruel sufferings — She becomes better, but this
improvement is speedily followed by a dangerous relapse — Her con-
dition declared to be hopeless — Rival doctors — Death of the
Duchesse de Berry — Grief of the Regent, which, however, is of
short duration — Obsequies of the princess — Her debts — Madame de
Mouchy and the ring-case — Banishment of this personage — Disgrace
of Rion — His later years.
THE Duchesse de Berry had decided that, as soon
as she was able to be moved, she would go to
Meudon and remain there until the autumn, by which
time she hoped that the scandal she had occasioned would
be to some extent forgotten, or that her father would be
persuaded to allow her to announce her marriage. The
doctors did not fail to represent to her the danger she
would incur in travelling so soon after an illness which
had all but proved fatal ; but " nothing could make her
endure Paris any longer,"1 and on April 12 she set out for
Meudon, followed by Rion, Madame de Mouchy, and
the majority of her Household.
Her departure was undoubtedly hastened by the
behaviour of the Due d'Orleans, who, though he had
tolerated his daughter's liaison with Rion, was furiously
1 Saint-Simon.
180
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 181
indignant on learning that it had been transformed into a
marriage, and still more exasperated when she demanded
his consent to the announcement of the misalliance
which she had contracted. To mark his displeasure,
he did not visit the Luxembourg for a whole week — that
is to say, from the 4th, on which day a violent quarrel
seems to have taken place between him and the princess,
until the nth— and the abstention of this adoring father,
who had always been in the habit of spending several
hours a day with his daughter, naturally aroused much
comment and greatly aggravated the scandal.
The removal of the Duchesse de Berry to Meudon,
in the delicate state of health in which she then was, was
followed, as we might expect,1 by a relapse, and on April 18
Dangeau records that she " does not leave her bed and
has the double tertian fever." This malady was doubtless
aggravated by mental agitation, for the Regent gave no
indication of abandoning his opposition to the announce-
ment of the marriage, and, not being minded to endure
any more painful scenes just then, allowed several days to
pass without coming to see her. On the other hand, Rion,
who had a shrewd suspicion that the princess's days were
numbered, pestered her unceasingly to make the de-
claration which would assure his future ; and, quite apart
from her desire to satisfy him, she knew that her own
reputation— or what shreds of it still remained to her—
imperatively demanded this step.
1 Madame attributes this relapse to her granddaughter's intemper-
ance : " The illness of the duchess is the result of having drunk too
much brandy and eaten enormously. As soon as she feels a trifle better,
she no longer exercises any moderation in eating and drinking, and
suffers a relapse." And she adds : " It is a marvel that she is still alive ;
she is diaphanous, and is breaking up from day to day." Letter of
April 16, 1 719 (edit. Jaegle).
182 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
On the 19th, the Due d'Orleans at length made his
appearance at Meudon, where he appears to have experi-
enced a very unpleasant time, for a week elapsed before
he could summon up courage to repeat his visit. In the
meantime, he had decided to consult Saint-Simon, upon
whose support he knew that he could rely ; and one day,
when he had gone to visit the Duchesse d'Orleans at the
Abbey of Montmartre, where she was making one of her
frequent " retreats," he sent for the duke, and told him
of the scandalous misalliance which his daughter had
contracted and of her determination to declare it.
Saint-Simon tells us that, aware of the strength of the
duchess's passion, her fear of the devil, and the scandal
which had just happened, the marriage itself did not
surprise him, but that he was profoundly astonished that
a princess so inordinately proud should be so anxious to
proclaim it. " The Due d'Orleans," he continues,
" dilated upon his troubles, his anger, that of Madame,
who wished to proceed to the last extremities, and the
extreme vexation of the Duchesse d'Orleans. Fortu-
nately, the majority of the officers destined to serve on
the frontiers of Spain (War with that country had just
been declared) were leaving every day, and Rion had
only remained on account of the illness of the Duchesse de
Berry. The Due d'Orleans thought that the shortest plan
would be to encourage hopes by delay, in forcing Rion to
depart, flattering himself that the declaration would be
deferred more easily in his absence than in his presence.
I warmly approved this idea, and on the morrow Rion
received, at Meudon, a curt and positive order to depart to
join his regiment in the Army of Berwick." The Duchesse
de Berry was beside herself with grief and indignation on
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 183
learning of this order, but, " knowing the cause, she felt
her inability to hinder its execution." Rion, on his side,
did not dare to disobey, and on April 26 he set out for
Perpignan, where his regiment was stationed.
On the same day, we learn from Dangeau, the Due
d'Orleans, greatly daring, went again to Meudon. The
writer adds that he " returned very early," and we can
well believe that he found no inducement to prolong his
visit. " Father and daughter," says Saint-Simon,
" feared each other, and the departure of Rion had not
smoothed over matters between them. She had told him,
and repeated it, that she was a rich widow, mistress of
her own actions, independent of him ; had flown into a
fury and roundly abused the Due d'Orleans, whose
arguments and opposition she was unable to endure.
He had experienced these scenes at the Luxembourg,
when she was convalescent, and he experienced not less
violent ones at Meudon, during the few visits he paid her
there. She wished to declare her marriage, and all the
intelligence, art, gentleness, anger, threats, prayers, and
entreaties of the duke barely sufficed to make her consent
to a brief delay."
These painful scenes were scarcely calculated to re-
establish the health of a person but lately returned from
the brink of the grave, and, although on the 29th — on
which day Madame came to see her granddaughter,
for the first time since her departure from Paris — Dangeau
notes that the princess was better, she was still very weak.
The infrequent visits of her relatives, and particularly
of the Regent, who, as we have seen, had only been twice
to Meudon in a fortnight, although it was but six leagues
from Paris, occasioned her the keenest mortification, the
184 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
more so since their abstention, she knew, was being
remarked by the public, and must serve to confirm its
suspicions as to the nature of her recent illness at the
Luxembourg. It was this which determined her, the
moment she was able to leave her bed, to give a supper-
party to her father on the terrace at Meudon. In vain
the doctors represented to her the criminal imprudence
of such a proceeding, declaring that, in her state of health,
she was peculiarly liable to take a chill, which would
almost certainly prove fatal. " It was for that very
reason that she persisted in the idea that a supper on
the terrace, so soon after the extreme danger in which she
had been, would dissipate all suspicion that she had been
confined, and induce the belief that she was on the same
terms as ever with the Due d' Orleans, notwithstanding the
unusual rarity of his visits."1
On May i the fete took place, but it did not have the
effect on public opinion which the princess desired ;
while the consequences of her exposure to the night air
was an intermittent fever, which the continued opposition
of the Regent to the declaration of her marriage, the
separation from her beloved Rion, and the pointed
manner in which her family avoided her did not tend to
diminish. She grew disgusted with Meudon, " like people
ill in body and mind who, in their chagrin, attribute every-
thing to the air and the place,"2 and, despite the remon-
strances of the doctors, decided to remove to La Muette.
La Muette, being much nearer Paris, she hoped that the
Due and Duchesse d'Orleans would visit her more fre-
quently, if only for form's sake. " The Duchesse de Berry,"
writes Dangeau, on May 10, " intends to come to-day to
1 Saint-Simon. 2 Ibid.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 185
La Muette, the air of which she believes to be better for
her than Meudon." However, the princess was too un-
well to leave Meudon until the 14th, when she was con-
veyed to La Muette " in a large coach, between two sheets. ' ' 1
Short as the journey was, it, nevertheless, caused her
cruel suffering, for her other ailments were now com-
plicated by a severe attack of gout. She determined to
try the waters of Passy, and, though they appear to have
afforded her some temporary alleviation, since on the
16th, when she received a visit from her father, Dangeau
describes her as " much relieved," this was speedily
followed by another relapse, of so serious a nature that
both Madame and the Duchesse d'Orleans, notwithstand-
ing their indignation against her, felt obliged to hasten to
La Muette. The elder princess, who beneath a rough
exterior concealed a kind heart, was touched by the
sufferings of her granddaughter. " I went to see Madame
de Berry on Sunday last [May 21]," she writes. ' I
found her in a sad state ; she had such frightful pains in
the soles and toes of both feet that the tears came into my
eyes. I saw that my presence prevented her from crying
out, and thereupon I took my departure. I thought she
looked very bad. They caused three doctors to hold a
consultation, who determined to bleed her in the foot.
They had great difficulty in deciding her to submit, for the
pain in her feet was so intolerable that she uttered loud
cries when the sheets of the bed merely touched them.
The bleeding was successful, and she has suffered less
since.2 It was the gout in both feet." 3
1 Dangeau.
2 " The pains of the Duchesse de Berry were greatly intensified
for two hours after she was bled, but they diminished afterwards,
and she slept for eight consecutive hours " {Journal de Dangeau,
May 2i, 1719). 3 Correspondance complete, Letter of May 23, 1719-
186 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
These agonizing pains in the feet returned at the end
of the month and continued at intervals until the middle
of June,1 when they greatly diminished, though the
princess was still unable to walk. " The Duchesse de
Berry is much better, according to what they say," writes
Dangeau on June 19, " and the doctors declare that there
is no danger."
Such was certainly the opinion of the patient herself,
and on the 24th she celebrated her supposed convalescence
by giving a grand concert at the La Muette, at which she
announced her intention of returning to the Luxembourg.
On the 30th, we learn from Dangeau that she " had
borrowed the King's litter to take the air in the Bois de
Boulogne, but, finding herself too feeble for that, had
postponed this promenade until Sunday (July 1)." He
adds that she still reckons on returning to Paris at an
early date, and is having the Luxembourg refurnished.
But the Duchesse de Berry was never to see the Lux-
embourg or Paris again. During the early days of July
she continued to improve in health ; the gout in her feet
ceased to trouble her, and she was even able to walk a
short distance. But on the 14th she was suddenly taken
dangerously ill, and it was soon recognised that her
chances of surmounting this new crisis were very slight.
" The Due d'Orleans returned this evening from Saint-
Cloud," writes Dangeau. " He had stopped at La Muette,
where he found the Duchesse de Berry worse than she
has yet been ; she has a rather violent fever, and he did
not wish to leave La Muette until she had been bled.
Her pain and her weakness are increasing." And on the
1 Writing on June i, Buvat assures us that the poor woman uttered
such agonizing cries they could be heard at a distance.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 187
morrow : " The Due d'Orleans was awakened early in the
morning and informed that the Duchesse de Berry had
passed a very bad night. The doctors consider her in very
great danger. The Duchesse d'Orleans remained with her
until midnight. They intend to give Madame de Berry
an emetic to-morrow. It is a remedy which appears
very dangerous in the state in which she is, but they
believe there is nothing else which can afford her relief."
On the morning of the 16th, the Franciscan confessor
of the Duchesse de Berry was summoned to La Muette,
and ordered not to quit the chateau. The duchess,
however, did not appear to consider that she was in any
real danger, for she refused to submit to the treatment
which the doctors prescribed or to make her peace with
Heaven, and " relations and doctors were at length
obliged to speak a language to her not used towards
princesses, save in the most urgent extremity."1 This
had its effect, and she consented to take the only remedy
which it was believed could save her, and to receive the
Sacrament later in the day.
The emetic greatly relieved the patient, and it is quite
probable that her life might have been prolonged for
some time, had she not, with a folly which seems almost
inconceivable, taken advantage of this respite to consume
a quantity of fruit and iced beer and wine, with the result
that might be expected.2 In the interval, she had confessed
1 Saint-Simon.
2 Buvat, Journal de la Rigence. Madame also speaks of this fatal
gluttony, but, according to her, the unfortunate princess had been
indulging in similar clandestine repasts for the last fortnight. " The
poor Duchesse de Berry," she writes, on the morrow of her grand-
daughter's death, " took her own life as effectually as if she had blown
out her brains with a pistol, for she consumed in secret melon, figs,
and milk. She confessed to me herself, and her doctor told me, that
188 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
and subsequently received the Sacrament publicly,
" speaking," says Saint-Simon, " to those present con-
cerning her life and her state, but like a queen in both
instances. After this spectacle was over," he continues,
" and she was alone with her intimates, she applauded
herself for the firmness she had displayed, and asked them
if she had not spoken well, and if she were not dying with
firmness and courage."
The next day, the princess's case appeared desperate.
" There is no longer any hope of curing her," writes
Dangeau. " The Due d'Orleans went [to La Muette] in
the morning, and the Duchesse d'Orleans goes frequently,
and is always with her. On the 18th, there being no
improvement in her condition, she received the Viaticum
and Extreme Unction from the hands of the Abbe de
Castries, Archbishop-elect of Tours, her first almoner. The
Regent and the Due de Chartres preceded the Holy
Sacrament on its way from the church of Passy to La
Muette, and also on its return. Saint-Simon observes
that " she received it, as it appeared, with much piety,
she had closed her door against him, as well as against the other doctors,
for a fortnight, to accomplish this fine work."
In another letter, written three weeks later, the old princess accuses
Madame de Mouchy of having abetted the Duchesse de Berry in this ;
and there can be no doubt that this unscrupulous woman, knowing
that her mistress was doomed, was ready to satisfy all her caprices,
in order to ingratiate herself with her and extract from her, as we shall
presently see, all that she could : "As for the death of the poor
Duchesse de Berry, I know well who ought to be blamed for this mis-
fortune. It is the favourite of the poor duchess, the accursed Mouchy,
who is the cause of her death. She killed her as effectually as though
she had driven a knife into her throat. The duchess was consumed
by a slow fever ; her favourite brought her, in the night, all kinds of
things to eat : fricassees, little pates, melons, salad, milk, prunes, figs ;
she gave her iced beer to drink. For a fortnight she was unwilling to
call in any doctor, and the fever kept on increasing all the time."
Correspondence complete, Letter of August 10, 1719.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 189
quite differently from the first time."1 Afterwards, she
sank into a sort of coma, from which she recovered only
at long intervals.
On the 19th, as a last hope, the Regent, on the advice of
some of his friends, decided to call in a quack doctor of the
name of Garus, who had invented an elixir much talked
of just then, and the secret of which Louis XV. afterwards
purchased. Garus lost no time in obeying the summons,
but found the princess so ill that he expressed the opinion
that matters had gone too far for even his wonderful
remedy to save her. However, he consented to administer
it, stipulating, however, that nothing was to be given
the patient except by his advice.
Dangeau says that this elixir " revived the Duchesse de
Berry a little, which inspired some fresh hope." But
Saint-Simon assures us that it " succeeded beyond all
hope " and that " nothing remained but to continue it " ;
and accuses Chirac, the first physician of the Due d'Orleans,
of having caused the death of the princess rather than
leave to Garus the honour of curing her. Here is what
he says :
" The Duchesse de Berry continued to improve and
became so much better that Chirac, her regular doctor,
began to fear for his reputation, and, seizing his oppor-
tunity, when Garus was asleep upon a sofa, hurriedly
presented a purgative to the duchess and made her
swallow it, without saying a word to any one, the two
nurses chosen to wait upon her, and who were the only
persons present, not daring to oppose him. The audacity
of this was as complete as its villainy, for the Due and
1 " She received the last Sacraments with such firmness," writes
Madame, " that every one's heart was rent" (Letter of July 19, 1719)-
igo UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Duchesse d'Orleans were close at hand in the salon.
From this moment to the one in which the patient re-
lapsed into a condition similar to that from which the elixir
had rescued her, there was but the briefest interval. Garus
was awakened and summoned. Seeing this disorder,
he cried out that a purgative had been administered,
which, whatever it might be, was poison in the state in
which the princess was. He wished to depart ; he was
detained and conducted to the Duchesse d'Orleans. A
great uproar ensued ; cries from Garus, impudence and
unequalled audacity from Chirac, in defending what he
had done. He was unable to deny it, for the two nurses
had been questioned and had admitted it. The Duchesse
de Berry drew near her end while this debate was going
on, and neither Garus nor Chirac could do anything to
prevent it. She lasted, however, the rest of the day, and
did not expire until about midnight. Chirac, seeing the
death-agony approaching, traversed the room, made an
insulting reverence at the foot of the bed, which was open,
wished her ' a pleasant journey ' (in equivalent terms),
and went off to Paris. The marvel is that nothing came
of this and that he remained the doctor of the Due
d'Orleans."
It is only fair to Chirac to observe that this charge is
unsupported by any testimony whatever, and, since the
accused physician enjoyed great influence at the Palais-
Royal and might very well have offended Saint-Simon,
it is probably merely a fresh instance of the outrageous
manner in which that vindictive chronicler was in the
habit of calumniating those against whom he happened to
cherish a grievance.
However that may be, the improvement in the con-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 191
dition of the patient which Garus's elixir had effected
was not maintained. " The Duchesse de Berry," writes
Dangeau, under date July 20, " was in a very weak
state this morning, and in the evening it was thought
that she would not survive the night." In point of fact,
the unfortunate princess expired in the early hours of the
morning of the 21st. She had completed her twenty-
fourth year only a month previously. " The poor Duch-
esse de Berry died to-night between two and three
o'clock," writes Madame. " Her end was very peaceful ;
they say that she died as though she had fallen asleep."
None of her relatives was with her in her last moments,
the Due and Duchesse d'Orleans having quitted La
Muette about an hour previously. The Regent, however,
had wished to remain until the end, and Saint-Simon
tells us that it was he who dissuaded him, though not
without great difficulty. At this supreme moment,
indeed, the kind-hearted prince had forgotten all the
trouble which his daughter had caused him during the last
few months, and remembered only the devoted affection
which he had cherished for her since her infancy. Saint-
Simon describes him as " plunged in the most bitter
grief," and says that he wept so copiously that " he
feared that he would suffocate." It was the same on the
morrow at the Palais-Royal, where Madame " found her
poor son in a state which would have softened a rock,"1
1 Saint-Simon asserts that Madame was little affected by her
granddaughter's death ; but the contrary would appear to have been
the case : " She [the Duchesse de Berry] said," writes the old princess,
" that she was dying without regret, since she was reconciled with God,
and that, if her hfe were to be prolonged, she might offend Him anew.
That touched us so much that I should not be able to express it.
At bottom, she was a good woman, and, if her mother had taken more
care of her, and had brought her up better, there would have been
nothing but good to say of her. / confess that her death goes to my
heart."
X
192 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
and where the Duchesse d'Orleans, according to Buvat,
thought it necessary to enter his bedroom, accompanied
by the Due de Chartres and his sisters, and " to entreat
him earnestly to console himself as best he could for this
loss, representing to him that the prince and princesses,
his children, stood in need of the preservation of his
health and his protection."1 However, if we are to
believe Saint-Simon, the reflection that the yoke to
which he had submitted, and had of late found so heavy,
was severed, and that he was now free from all annoyance
on the score of the marriage with Rion, soon brought him
consolation. As for the Duchesse d'Orleans, we can well
believe the chronicler's assertion that she regarded her
daughter's death as a deliverance.
The death of the Duchesse de Berry aroused com-
paratively little interest among the public, greatly to the
relief of the inmates of the Palais-Royal, who had feared a
posthumous scandal to crown those which the deceased
princess had caused during her life. Several couplets,
however, of a more or less obscene character, were
circulated in Paris. One of these compositions purported
to relate the life of the princess, and the opening
verses — the only ones which can possibly be transcribed
— ran thus :
" Celle de qui j'e"cris l'histoire
Est la Messaline du temps ;
J'en veux e"terniser la gloire
Par des hommages eclatants."
The autopsy which was performed on the Duchesse de
Berry on the day after her death proved that no amount
of medical skill would have sufficed to save her. " Her
head was all full of water," writes Madame ; " she had
1 Journal de la Rdgence.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 193
an ulcer in the stomach, another in the hip ; the rest
was like pap, and her liver was affected." Saint-Simon,
who had been commissioned by the Regent to attend this
operation, adds that she was " found to be again en-
ceinte," so that her death saved the Regent from having
to decide between acknowledging Rion as a son-in-
law and a repetition of the scandal of the preceding
spring.
Saint-Simon had also been charged with the funeral
arrangements, and he took care that they should be as
simple as the rank of the departed would permit. On
the 22nd, the princess's heart was taken to the Val-de-
Grace by her first almoner, the Abbe de Castries, and
Mile, de la Roche-sur-Yon, who were accompanied by
Madame de Saint-Simon and two of the " dames." On
the morrow, at ten o'clock at night, the body, which had
been placed, after the autopsy, on a catafalque in the
chapel of La Muette, where masses had been said without
interruption, was conveyed in an eight-horse coach to
Saint-Denis, escorted by forty pages and guards bearing
torches, and followed by two carriages, one containing
the almoners, the other the ladies of the princess. The
funeral service was celebrated, according to usage, at the
beginning of September ; but it was marked by an entire
absence of the customary pomp, and there was no funeral
oration, a most extraordinary omission at the obsequies
of a member of the Royal House. The reason, however,
is sufficiently obvious. " They have been so embarrassed
about making her funeral oration," writes Madame,
" that they decided that it was best not to make one
at all."1
1 Letter of August i, 1719.
O
194 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Although, as we have mentioned elsewhere, the de-
ceased princess had enjoyed an immense income, she
was found to have left behind debts amounting to over
400,000 livres, which the Regent was called upon to
discharge, as her husband's appanage and the pension
which Louis XIV. had accorded her had reverted to
the State. It is, however, scarcely surprising that
her revenues, great as they were, should have been in-
sufficient to meet her expenditure, since she had had
two costly residences in the Luxembourg and La Muette
and, latterly, a third, Meudon, to keep up ; 1 never denied
herself anything which happened to take her fancy ;
appears to have kept no accounts, and had been merci-
lessly exploited by her greedy and unscrupulous favour-
ites.
The untimely death of the Duchesse de Berry caused
the greatest consternation among the officers of her
Household. The majority of them had, according to the
custom of the time, purchased their charges, generally
for considerable sums, since they had naturally looked
forward to enjoying the emoluments for many years, or
of being able to sell them whenever they felt so inclined.
Many had invested the whole of their savings in acquiring
these offices, and now found themselves faced by ruin
and destitution. The Regent, however, came to the
rescue. He continued the salaries of the higher officials,
with one notable exception, of which we shall presently
speak, and accorded the others pensions for life, to reim-
burse them for the loss of their charges ; and on August 27
Madame writes : " All the people who were in the service
1 Buvat says that she had at the moment of her death, at these
different establishments, no less than eight hundred servants.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 195
of the Duchesse de Berry appear entirely consoled for her
death." And she adds : " I, too, am consoled, on account
of many things which I have learned since her death, but
which cannot be committed to paper."
Buvat tells us that, to pay these salaries and pensions
and to discharge the princess's debts, " the Regent judged
proper to establish a levy of four sols per livre on the
tailles of the generality of Paris." There can be little
doubt, however, that Buvat was misinformed, and that
the levy had been made for an entirely different purpose,
for, great as were the faults of Philippe d'Orleans, he was
scrupulously honourable in financial matters, and noth-
ing is more unlikely than that he would have thrown the
burden of his daughter's extravagance upon the shoulders
of the subjects of the King of France. Moreover, there
would have been no excuse for so disgraceful an abuse
of his authority, since we learn, from the official report
of the affixing of the seals at La Muette and Meudon,
published by the same chronicler, that the Duchesse de
Berry had left behind her " a casket filled with jewels
of all kinds in shagreen boxes of various sizes . . . three
other shagreen boxes, which the said casket was unable to
contain, in which were jewels of various kinds ; a card-
board box containing several precious stones and a
great oblong diamond ; a chest filled with candlesticks
and other pieces of silver and silver-gilt " ; and so forth.
The sale of these objects, some of which must have been
of great value, would certainly have gone far to furnish
the Regent with the amount required.
The same report mentions that Madame Margrais, one
of the late princess's waiting-women, had made a de-
claration, in which she stated that " three ring-cases,
196 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
two of shagreen and one of a Chinese wood," were missing
at La Muette. What became of two of these cases
is unknown, but the third happened to be safe in the
Regent's bureau, and how it came there deserves to be
told.
On the evening of April 16, a little while after she had
made her confession and received the Sacrament, the
Duchesse de Berry dismissed every one from her room,
with the exception of Madame de Mouchy, and then,
pointing to the key of her jewel-casket, told her confidante
to bring her ring-case, containing a collection of rings
which Saint-Simon estimates to have been worth more
than 200,000 ecus. This ring-case, according to Madame
de Mouchy's account, she presented to her, in recognition
of her faithful services; but it seems far more probable
that the princess limited her generosity to one or two
of these costly trinkets, and that the favourite, whose
avarice had been excited by the sight of such a fortune,
coolly appropriated the whole collection.
Such a proceeding would have been quite in keeping
with her odious character, and Madame assures us that
she had been robbing the Duchesse de Berry systemati-
cally for some time, with the aid of duplicate keys, and
had " made fine coups." M. de Barthelemy even thinks
that the whole story was a fabrication, and that Madame
de Mouchy, seeing that her mistress had only a few
days to live, crowned her numerous peculations by a
monstrous robbery ; but it seems very natural that, after
the criminal complaisance she had displayed during the
princess's illness, she should have received some rich
present.
However that may be, on the evening in question
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 197
Madame de Mouchy found herself in possession of the
ring- case, which she showed to her husband. That
gentleman, who, though as avaricious as his wife, was
more timid, expressed his fear that, when the princess
was dead, and her ring- case was found to be miss-
ing, they might be accused of theft, if they said
nothing about it before. Madame admitted the force of
what he said, and accordingly informed, in confidence,
one or two of the few friends she possessed in the
Duchesse de Berry's Household, where both she and
her husband were generally hated and despised, of
the magnificent present of which she had just been
the recipient.
These friends, of course, promised the strictest secrecy,
and equally, of course, proceeded to communicate the
news to the first person they happened to meet, with the
result that it speedily reached the ears of Madame de
Saint-Simon. That lady, who knew the immense value
of the contents of her mistress's ring-case, was so as-
tonished that she deemed it her duty to inform the
Due d'Orleans without a moment's delay. The Regent
had left La Muette an hour or two before, but she wrote a
letter and despatched it to the Palais-Royal by a trusty
messenger.
Meanwhile, Madame de Mouchy, learning that the
affair had become public property, had decided to take
counsel of Madame de Saint-Simon. She found the
dame d'honneur in the salon, which, though it was now
very late, was still full of people, since the Duchesse de
Berry was so much worse — thanks to the clandestine
repast of which we have spoken elsewhere — that no one
thought of going to bed. Approaching Madame de
198 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Saint-Simon, with an air of well-simulated embarrass-
ment, she related what had occurred, and then, drawing
the ring-case from her pocket, showed it to her. The
duchess, after duly admiring it, called the ladies who were
nearest her to come and admire it also, and in their
presence — for she had called them with this intention —
told Madame de Mouchy that it was indeed a superb
present, but that, for that very reason, she advised her
to go and inform the Regent of her good fortune as soon
as possible. This counsel, given in the presence of
witnesses, greatly embarrassed Madame de Mouchy, but,
coming as it did from the head of the Duchesse de Berry's
Household, it was equivalent to an order; and she accord-
ingly replied that she would act as Madame de Saint-
Simon suggested, and left the room to find her husband
and acquaint him with the very unwelcome turn the affair
had taken. But let us allow Saint-Simon to relate the
denouement in his own words :
" The next morning, they appeared together at the
Palais-Royal, and demanded to speak to the Due d'Or-
leans, who, having been warned by Madame de Saint-
Simon, ordered them to be admitted immediately, and
requested the few people who happened to be in his
cabinet to withdraw, for it was very early in the forenoon.
Madame de Mouchy, her husband by her side, compli-
mented the Regent as well as she could. The Due
d'Orleans, for all response, inquired where the ring-case
was. She drew it from her pocket and handed it to him.
The Due d'Orleans took it, opened it, examined it carefully
to see if there was anything missing, for he knew perfectly
what it contained, shut it again, drew a key from his
pocket, locked it up in a drawer of his bureau, and then
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 199
dismissed them by an inclination of the head. They
bowed and withdrew, equally infuriated and ashamed.
From that time they did not reappear at La Muette.
Soon afterwards, the Due d'Orleans arrived there, and,
after visiting his daughter for a moment, drew Madame
de Saint-Simon aside, thanked her warmly for what she
had written to him and what she had done, and informed
her of how he had just acted, and that the ring-case
would not again leave his hands. So angry was he at this
effrontery that he was unable to refrain from speaking of
it in the salon, in terms very damaging to M. and Madame
de Mouchy, amid great applause from all the company,
even from the servants."
Saint-Simon's assertion that Madame de Mouchy did
not return to La Muette after her interview with the
Regent at the Palais- Royal would appear to be incorrect,
since Dangeau, whose accuracy is beyond dispute, writes
under date April 20 : " Madame de Mouchy left La
Muette before midnight, seeing Madame de Berry's
condition to be hopeless ; all the people of the Household
appeared very animated against her." Her return would
certainly have been necessary, if only to secure the
fruits of her peculations.
Not only did this detestable harpy feel no regret at the
untimely death of the princess whom she had so shame-
lessly exploited, but she did not even attempt to simulate
it. " The Mouchy, who used to control everything,"
writes Madame, " was not afflicted for a single moment.
She played the flute at her window, and the day when this
poor princess was conveyed to Saint-Denis she went to
dine in Paris with a numerous company. She drank
champagne and ate as gluttonously as though nothing
200 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
was happening, and indulged in impertinent talk, which
shocked every one present."1
Having been alone excepted from the ladies of the
Duchesse de Berry's Household who had preserved their
salaries, she had the audacity to demand an audience of
the Regent, to inquire the reason. He declined to receive
her, but referred her to the Due de la Vrilliere, one of the
Secretaries of State. To La Vrilliere she accordingly
went, accompanied by her husband, and was promptly
handed a lettre de cachet ordering them both to leave Paris
within forty-eight hours and not to return. They were,
as a matter of fact, permitted to return some years later ;
" but," says Saint-Simon, " none of the events which had
happened in the interval sufficed to re-establish their
position in the world, or to extricate them from con-
tempt, obscurity, and oblivion."
As for Rion, he experienced a rude awakening from his
dreams of greatness. As soon as the news of the Duchesse
de Berry's death reached the Army of Berwick, the
Prince de Conti, who had always detested his cousin,
hurried off to find the widower, and, when he caught sight
of him, began to sing a coarse song, beginning :
" Elle est morte, la vache aux paniers,
II n'en faut plus parler.'' 2
Others were not slow to follow the example of a Prince
of the Blood, and altogether the young gentleman appears
to have passed a very unpleasant time. Saint-Simon
assures us that his despair at the ruin of his hopes was
such that his friends had to keep watch over him to
1 Correspondance compute, Letter of August i, 17 19.
1 Ibid., Letter of September 28, 1719.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 201
prevent him from destroying himself ; but probably he
exaggerates, since Rion had feathered his nest warmly
enough to make life well worth living. It was not, how-
ever, nearly so warmly feathered as he imagined, for
which he had to thank his light-fingered friend Madame de
Mouchy. "The Mouchy," writes Madame, "was cer-
tainly the most unworthy favourite that was ever seen ;
she betrayed, deceived, and robbed her princess. What
she did that was amusing, was to rob her lover, the Comte
de Rion, to whom the Duchesse de Berry had given large
sums in cash and jewellery. He had placed it all in a
casket which he had left at Meudon. His chere amie
stole the casket and went off with it. I consider that
very comical."1
At the close of the campaign, Rion sold the colonelcy of
his regiment and his government of Cognac, and retired
into private life. As his reappearance on the scene of his
amorous successes so soon after what had passed would
have been very embarrassing for the Palais-Royal, he
was not allowed to return to Paris with the other officers;
but this prohibition was withdrawn some months later.
" M. de Rion, who has not had permission to return since
the campaign which he made in Spain," writes Dangeau,
on April 24, 1720, " obtained it a few days ago, and has
arrived here. It is said that he is married."
This report was incorrect, and, though Rion appears to
have had more than one opportunity of making an advan-
tageous marriage, he preferred to remain a widower. But,
as Madame tells us that " all the women ran after him,"
he no doubt found an abundance of consolation. Satisfied
with having assured himself a place in history, " he led a
1 Correspondance compute, Letter of September 12, 1719.
202 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
life in conformity with his tastes, that is to say of pleasure,
but privately. He remained obscure, and this obscurity
absorbed him."1
He died about the age of forty, much regretted by
the many friends whom his good-nature and pleasant
manners had gained him.
1 Saint-Simon.
CHAPTER X
Charlotte Aglae d'Orleans, Mile, de Valois, makes her appearance in
Society — She refuses to marry the Prince de Dombes — The young
princess is sent to her grandmother at Saint-Cloud— Madame' s
portrait of her— The Due de Richelieu— His extraordinary fascina-
tion for women— His liaison with Mile, de Charolais— Refusal of
the Condes to countenance their marriage— Violent passion of Mile,
de Valois for the duke— Open rivalry between her and Mile, de
Charolais— Indignation of the Regent— Richelieu conspires with
Spain— He f alls into a trap prepared for him by the French Govern-
ment— Warning which he receives from Mile, de Valois — He is
arrested and conducted to the Bastille— Despair of the two prin-
cesses, who make common cause to secure the liberation of
their idol— Their visit to the Bastille— Exasperation of Madame
against her granddaughter— Matrimonial projects in regard to
Mile, de Valois — A mariage manque— Francesco d'Este, Prince of
Modena, proposed as a husband— The Regent accords his daughter
the liberty of Richelieu, in consideration of her consenting to marry
this prince — Amorous escapades of the released gallant — Aversion
of Mile, de Valois to the alliance arranged for her— Her marriage-
She falls ill of measles, which she has purposely contracted, but
recovers — Her despair.
THE affairs of the unfortunate Duchesse de Berry
and the ambitions of Mile. d'Orleans were not the
only family matters to engage the attention of the Regent
during the year 1719. His third daughter, Mile, de
Valois, inspired apparently by the example of her eldest
sister, had lately contrived to achieve a most undesirable
prominence, and bade fair to cause her relatives as much
trouble and anxiety as the departed princess.
It will be remembered that this young lady, now in her
nineteenth year, had, in the summer of 1714, been with-
drawn from the Abbey of Chelles, where, to her profound
203
204 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
disgust, she had been placed en pension with Mile.
d'Orleans. Her return to the world gave rise to a rumour
that she was about to be married. This, however, was
incorrect, although twelve months before a scheme had
been set on foot by the Duchesse de Berry to marry her
to the Prince de Conti, which had been promptly nipped
in the bud by Louis XIV., who had compelled Conti to
espouse Mile, de Bourbon, sister of Monsieur le Due,
while, on the same day (July 8, 1713), the latter prince
took to wife, likewise by his Majesty's command, Marie
Anne de Bourbon-Conti.
For some months after leaving Chelles, Mile, de Valois
was lodged at the Val-de-Grace, though she spent the
greater part of the day with her relatives, returning to the
convent in the evening. But the beginning of the year
1715 found her definitely installed at the Palais-Royal,
and on January 15 she appeared in the Regent's box at
the Opera, where a ball was in progress. On March 3 she
again assisted at an Opera-ball — it must be admitted that
Philippe d'Orleans had singular ideas as to the manner in
which a young girl of fourteen should be brought up —
and, a little later, attended a hunting-party at Marly,
under the escort of Madame, who would seem to have
been very disappointed that her granddaughter had not
fulfilled her expectations on the score of beauty. " When
she was very young," she writes in June 1715, " I hoped
that Mile, de Valois would be pretty, but I have been
very much deceived. She has acquired a great aquiline
nose, which has spoiled her. She had formerly the
prettiest nose imaginable. The cause of this misfortune
is that she has been allowed to take snuff."
During the next two years we hear nothing of Mile.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 205
de Valois, apart from an occasional announcement by
Dangeau that she had accompanied her father to the
Opera or her mother to the " Comedie." Beyond escort-
ing her on these occasions, the Due and Duchesse d'Or-
leans appear to have troubled themselves very little about
their daughter, and to have made not the slightest attempt
to shield her from the dangers to which young girls were
exposed in an age in which virtue had gone altogether
out of fashion and modesty was barely tolerated. When,
however, Mile. d'Orleans had refused to sacrifice her
vocation on the altar of political expediency by marrying
the Prince de Dombes, the Duchesse d'Orleans began to
pay far more attention to the young princess, and over-
whelmed her with cleverly-simulated demonstrations of
affection, hoping by this means to persuade her to accept
the position which her elder sister had refused. But, to
her profound mortification, Mile, de Valois offered an
equally stubborn resistance, and, though the duchess
brought all her batteries into play, and bombarded her
with arguments, tears, reproaches, and threats, she stood
her ground resolutely. Nothing, she declared, would
induce her to wed her cousin.
Unable to triumph over her daughter's resistance, the
Duchesse d'Orleans conceived for her the most intense
dislike ; declared that she could not endure the sight
of her, and rendered the unfortunate girl's life at the
Palais-Royal perfectly miserable, by her incessant re-
proaches. " Mile, de Valois," writes Madame, under date
September 6, 1716, " is not on good terms with her
mother, who wished to persuade her to marry the Prince
de Dombes, eldest son of the Due du Maine. The mother
is perpetually reproaching her daughter with the fact that,
206 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
if she had married her nephew, the misfortune which had
overtaken her brother and his son would not have
happened. She cannot endure the sight of her daughter,
and has begged me to keep her some time with me."1
Mile, de Valois, in consequence, was installed at Saint-
Cloud, where she was almost immediately asked in
marriage by Monsieur le Due, on behalf of his brother, the
Comte de Charolais, that half-crazy prince about whose
ferocious depravity so many anecdotes are related. Mile.
de Valois would appear to have regarded the prospect
not unfavourably, but her parents were of a different
opinion, and declined to give their consent. No doubt,
the mere fact that her daughter was well disposed to-
wards her suitor was in itself sufficient to determine the
Duchesse d'Orleans to oppose the match.
At Saint-Cloud Madame had abundant opportunities
of studying her granddaughter, and the judgment she
formed of both the appearance and character of that
young lady was anything but favourable.
" Mile, de Valois," she writes, " is a brunette ; she has
very beautiful eyes, but her nose is villainous and too big.
In my opinion, she is not beautiful. There are, however,
days when she is not ugly, for she has a fine complexion
and a beautiful skin. When she laughs, a long tooth in
her upper jaw produces a vile effect. Her figure is short
and ugly ; her head sunk in her shoulders ; and what is
worse, in my judgment, is the lack of grace that she shows
in everything that she does. ... If she were one of those
persons who have no desire to please, I should not be
surprised at her neglecting herself to this degree. But
1 The misfortune was the decree of August 26, 1718, of which we
have spoken elsewhere. See page 163 supra.
Charlotte Aglae d'Orleans (Mlle. de Valois), Hereditary
Princess, and afterwards Duchess, of Modena
From the painting by Pierre Gohert, at Versailles
(Photo by W. A. Mansell & Co.)
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 207
she loves to be thought pretty ; she has some taste for
the toilette, and she cannot understand that the best
toilette is graceful and distinguished manners, and that,
when those are wanting, nothing can supply their place.
... I have by no means a good opinion of her, and I do
not pray for her preservation. She has no good instincts ;
she cares nothing at all about her mother, and very little
for her father ; she detests me more than the devil ;
she is deceitful,1 untruthful, and horribly coquettish ; in
short, she will give us all cause for mortification. I wish
that she were already married and far away from here ;
and I should like her to be married to a foreign prince,
so that one might hear no more about her."
Notwithstanding the very unflattering portrait which
Madame traces of her granddaughter, Mile, de Valois, at
this time, appears to have been regarded by her contem-
poraries as a very agreeable young lady. Without being
beautiful or even pretty, she pleased and attracted, since
her fine eyes and her dazzling complexion went far to
redeem the defects of which her grandmother speaks ;
while, if her manner towards her relatives was not dis-
tinguished by an excessive amiability, she was affable
and good-humoured enough towards the rest of the
world. Moreover, though of an excessively indolent
disposition, she possessed considerable intelligence, which,
had she chosen to exercise it, might have resulted in her
becoming quite an accomplished princess. What, how-
ever, the writer says about her graver moral failings is
unhappily only too true, though perhaps coquetry is
1 Writing in May 1717, Madame had said: " Madame d'Orleans
would be the most deceitful person in the world, if it were not for her
daughter, Mile, de Valois. She is even worse. I think it is horrible to
find such deceitfulness in a person so young."
208 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
hardly the term to apply to her part in the romance
which we are about to relate.
The little sympathy which Madame felt for her grand-
daughter did not prevent her from doing what she con-
ceived to be her duty by the girl, and during the winter
of 1718-19 she frequently escorted her to the Opera,
the Comedie-Francaise, and to various social functions,
while she also entertained a good deal at Saint-Cloud for
her benefit. It was now that Mile, de Valois seems first to
have made the acquaintance of the too-celebrated Due de
Richelieu, for whom she speedily conceived a passion
of the most ardent kind.
Born in 1796, Richelieu was at this time in his twenty-
fourth year and already in a fair way to become the
most scandalous Lovelace of a scandalous age. " If I
believed in sorcery," writes Madame, " I should say that
this duke must possess some supernatural secret, for he
has never found a woman who has opposed to him the
least resistance ; all run after him ; it is truly shameful.
He is not, after all, more handsome than other men,
and he is so indiscreet and fond of babbling that he has
himself declared that if an empress, beautiful as an angel,
were enamoured of him and wished to pass the night with
him, on condition that he should say nothing about it,
he should prefer to forsake her and never see her again
so long as he lived. He is a great poltroon, 1 without heart
and without soul ; it revolts me to think that he is the
pet of all the ladies."2
1 This, of course, is quite untrue ; Richelieu was one of the most
redoubtable duellists of his time and one of the bravest soldiers who
ever girded on a sword ; indeed, his reputation for courage was second
only to his reputation for gallantry.
2 Correspondance complete, Letter of October 1, 1719.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 209
Madame did not exaggerate the infatuation of her sex
for this young man. It, indeed, almost passes belief.
Citizens' wives, actresses, women of title, nay, even
Princesses of the Blood, instead of waiting to be wooed,
pursued him with a fervour and persistency which was as
ridiculous as it was indecent. " They solicited the honour
of being dishonoured ; and, shocking to relate, more than
one woman surrendered herself, not from the intoxication
of passion, but from the intoxication of pride ; more than
one woman ruined herself in order to be ruined by him,
and to hear it talked about. It was, as it were, a com-
petition of scandal, as a joust of immodesty."1
If we are to believe Soulavie, it was no uncommon thing
for Richelieu's confidential valet de chambre, whose post
must have been an exceedingly lucrative one, to find
himself entrusted with as many as ten or a dozen letters,
each inviting his master to a rendezvous for the same
evening. The duke, he adds, did not take the trouble to
open all these poulets, since the majority of them were
usually in cypher and took some time to transcribe,
but contented himself by opening that of the lady whom
he wished to visit. The others he locked up in his desk,
without even breaking the seals, and left them for the
perusal of the historians of his time who have had access
to his papers. Since his sense of honour where the opposite
sex was concerned was practically non-existent, he derived
a cynical amusement from making game of the passion
of these foolish women, and often despatched, as though
by mistake, to one whose favours he did not happen to
desire the billet doux of some more happy rival. This
procedure naturally led to bitter quarrels between as-
1 Lescure, les Mattresses du Regent.
P
210 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
pirants to the ducal affections, and in March 1719 two
high-born dames, the Marquise de Nesle and the Com-
tesse de Polignac, fought a duel for the possession of his
heart — with knives in the Pre-aux-Clercs, according to
Buvat, with pistols in the Bois de Boulogne, according to
Soulavie — for which they were subsequently banished
by the Regent to their country-houses.
At the time when he appears to have attracted the
notice of Mile, de Valois, Richelieu's attention was princi-
pally occupied by that young lady's cousin, Louise
Anne de Bourbon-Conde, Mile, de Charolais, the third of
the six sisters of the Due de Bourbon, all of whom had
inherited the good looks of their mother, Madame la
Duchesse the elder. Mile, de Charolais, however, was
undoubtedly the flower of the flock ; in fact, she was
generally regarded as one of the prettiest women at the
Court. " The charms of her countenance," writes
Rulhiere, " surpassed all that painters have been able to
conceive ; "l while Besenval declares that " Nature had
lavished upon her a thousand perfections," and that she
possessed " eyes of such wondrous beauty that at the ball
they shone through her mask and caused her always to be
recognised."2
Mile, de Charolais loved Richelieu with an all-consuming
passion, to which the duke, whose senses were pleased by
her beauty, and whose vanity was naturally flattered by
the preference of a Princess of the Blood, had not been
slow to respond ; and for the past three years she had been
his mistress. She certainly was a very devoted one, for
when, in February 1716, the duke was sent to the Bastille
1 Rulhiere, Anecdotes sur le Marichal de Richelieu.
a M6 moires.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 211
for the second time,1 as a punishment for having fought a
midnight duel with the Comte de Gace in the Rue Saint
Thomas-du-Louvre, she and her elder sister, the Princesse
de Conti, who is also believed to have been honoured by
Richelieu's regard, contrived to gain admittance to the
imprisoned nobleman on several occasions, disguised as
two charitable women who had permission to visit the
poorer prisoners. On the death of Richelieu's neglected
wife, Anne Catherine de Noailles, in the following autumn,
many were of opinion that he and Mile, de Charolais
would take advantage of the former's freedom to regu-
larize a connection which was by this time the talk of
Paris ; and it is certain that, had the decision rested with
the parties themselves, they would have lost no time in
fulfilling this anticipation. For the lady was madly in
love with the duke ; and the duke, if he did not altogether
reciprocate the lady's passion, was keenly alive to the
advantages which would accrue to him from his marriage
with a Princess of the Blood. But the pride of the Condes
proved an insurmountable obstacle ; and, though the
enamoured princess employed every possible persuasion
to induce her relatives to relent, they remained inexorable.
However, she did not abandon all hope of ultimately
overcoming their opposition, and, in the meanwhile,
since she was not permitted to love with the sanction of
the Church, continued to do so without it.
Although the charms of Mile, de Valois compared
1 His first embastillement had taken place in April 1711, when he was
barely fifteen, not, as is commonly supposed, owing to the resentment
of Louis XIV. at his presumptuous advances to the Duchesse de Bour-
gogne, but at the request of his father, whom he had exasperated by a
whole series of delinquencies, of which the famous adventure in the
Dauphine's bedchamber was only one.
212 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
unfavourably with those of her cousin, she was of even
more exalted station, and M. de Richelieu was not the
man to despise a conquest which promised to enhance so
much his already great reputation as a vainqueur de dames.
He did not, however, consider it at all necessary to be off
with the old love before being on with the new ; and, while
paying court to the daughter of the Regent, was far from
neglecting the daughter of the Condes, who still remained
in ignorance of a treason which was the talk of the Court.
At length, however, she was undeceived.
The story goes that one evening, while playing cards at
Saint-Cloud, Richelieu, seeking under the table for the
feet of Mile, de Valois, between which and his own very
tender communications had been established, addressed,
all unwittingly, his imprudent caresses to those of her
unfortunate rival, who, " though devoured by jealousy,
had the patience to continue this game for a long while,
in order to gauge the strength of his passion." At the
conclusion of the rubber, however, she " rose like a Fury,
with flashing eyes which seemed about to leap from her
head, and, under the pretext of indisposition, retired to
her apartments, to storm with anger and spite against
Mile, de Valois, leaving the duke much disconcerted
at the consequences of his mistake, and with little desire,
for that evening at least, to resume his communications
with his new inamorata."1 What made the incident the
more piquant, was that Mile, de Valois, who did not
understand that Richelieu had made a mistake, and
believed that he had really intended these demonstrations
of affection for her cousin, was even more indignant
than the other. Singularly enough, neither of the
} Soulavie, Memoir es du due de Richelieu.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 213
princesses testified any resentment against the duke,
who was deceiving them both, but they vowed
eternal enmity against one another, and showed it in
the most public manner, to the great diversion of the
Court.
The Regent, who, though he had perforce tolerated the
misconduct of the Duchesse de Berry, had no intention of
extending a similar indulgence to her younger sister,
was as angry as his indolent character would permit,
nor was his wrath mitigated by the fact that Richelieu
was an adherent of the party of the Bastards and an
assiduous frequenter of the little Court of Sceaux. He
accordingly determined to give the audacious gallant a
broad hint as to the possible consequences of his pre-
sumption ; and one evening, at a masked ball, having
perceived Mile, de Valois in conversation with a gentle-
man who was wearing a domino very closely resembling
that which he had ascertained Richelieu was to assume
for the occasion, he approached and said to him : " Mask,
be careful, if you do not wish to go a third time to the
Bastille." The person addressed, who happened to be
one of Richelieu's friends, Montconseil by name, hastened
to undeceive his Royal Highness, upon which the prince
added in a threatening tone : " Tell, then, your friend
Richelieu what I have just told you, under the impression
that you were he."1
Partly to distract attention from his intrigue with
Mile, de Valois, and partly to avenge himself for the
opposition of her father, Richelieu carried off the actress
la Souris, the Regent's mistress of the moment. But
Philippe d'Orleans showed himself little moved by this
1 Soulavie, Mimoires de due du Richelieu.
214 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
misfortune, and promptly consoled himself with another
daughter of Thespis, Mile. Emilie.
Throughout the winter of 1719 Miles, de Charolais and
de Valois continued their little comedy ; the one striving
to win back her faithless gallant, the other to wrest him
altogether from the faltering clasp of her cousin, both
seemingly oblivious to the fact that Richelieu was " pro-
viding them each day with new rivals." But, one fine
morning at the end of March, they, in common with a
great many other ladies, were stricken to the heart by the
terrible news that the gates of the Bastille had closed
upon their idol for the third time, and on this occasion for
an infinitely more serious offence than those which had
resulted in his previous incarcerations.
Although Richelieu, as we have mentioned, was an
adherent of the faction of the Bastards, he had taken no
part in the Cellamare conspiracy, the discovery of which
at the end of the previous year had led to the arrest and
imprisonment of the Due and Duchesse du Maine and
their principal supporters. But, early in 1719, he was
rash enough to engage in a little conspiracy on his own
account, and, seduced by the promises of the Spanish
Minister, Alberoni, agreed to facilitate the taking of
Bayonne, where the regiment of which he was colonel
was stationed, by the troops of Philip V.
Unhappily for him, the emissary whom Alberoni had
employed in his negotiations with Richelieu, an Italian
adventurer named Marini, had sold his services to the
French Government, with the result that the entire
correspondence fell into the hands of the Lieutenant of
Police d'Argenson and Dubois. Little suspecting the
trap into which he had fallen, on March 28 Richelieu
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 215
went to the Minister of War, Le Blanc, " made a thousand
protestations of devotion, and pressed him to give him
permission to go and rejoin his regiment."1 Later on the
same day, however, he received intelligence which must
have caused him considerable alarm. The Regent, who
was, of course, kept informed of the progress of this
affair, was indiscreet enough to let fall some words which
implied that M. de Richelieu had got himself into very
serious trouble. Mile, de Valois, who was informed by her
mother of this, became very uneasy, and lost no time in
dispatching her confidential waiting-woman, Madame
Piche, to the Hotel de Richelieu, with a letter which
Soulavie has preserved for us, and of which conscientious
historians will prefer to leave to him the responsibility,
although, as M. de Barthelemy points out, it is only fair
to observe that its orthography bears a remarkable re-
semblance to that of the numerous letters of the lady in
the Archives des Affaires Etrangeres :
" As you have assured me that there could be no proof
against you,2 1 do not doubt that the warning I am giving
you will be useless. But, since it has appeared to me
that you like to be informed of everything, I have warned
you : the assembly of the Council is to consider the
Spanish business. I reckon on knowing more this evening,
which I will communicate to you ; but what urges me to
write to you, is something which has escaped my mother,
who was under the impression that I knew it, and who,
when she perceived that I did not, recommended me
strongly to say nothing about it. Write me, if you are
without uneasiness, for I confess that I am so no longer."3
1 Correspondance complete de Madame, duchesse d'OrUansv, March 30.
2 She means in connection with the Cellamare affair.
3 Soulavie, Memoires du due de Richelieu.
216 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
This letter was followed, a few hours later, by another,
in which the princess warned the duke that her father had
just said publicly that he had in his possession documents
which contained the most damning evidence of the plots
which had been formed against him.
Richelieu had now very little doubt that he had been
betrayed by Marini, and all uncertainty was removed
when, at ten o'clock the following morning (March 29),
while he was still in bed, Duchevron, the Provost's
lieutenant, with a dozen archers, arrived at his hotel, and,
scarcely giving him time to dress, conducted him to the
Bastille. " A letter from Alberoni to this duke [Richelieu]
has been intercepted," writes Madame, " which renders
his treason clearer than the day. My son has caused him
to be arrested and to be taken immediately to the Bastille.
This duke will cause many tears to flow in Paris, for all
the ladies are in love with him ; I do not understand
why, for he is a little toad, in whom I find nothing
agreeable."1
If M. de Richelieu's escapade had occurred while Louis
XIV. was still on the throne, the duke would probably
have paid for it with his head, as the Chevalier de Rohan
did in 1674, or at least have remained a close prisoner
in the Bastille for the rest of his days. Happily for him,
his fate was in the hands of Dubois and the Regent,
who both inclined to clemency, the one by system, the
other by calculation. Happily, too, the public generally
was disposed to regard the intrigues of a young " me-
chant," whose follies were the talk of every cafe and
cabaret in Paris, as a subject for merriment rather than
for indignation, since, according to the testimony of all
1 Correspondance compute, Letter of March 30, 1719.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 217
his contemporaries, it was entirely unconnected with
the real conspiracy, of which Sceaux was the rendezvous
and the theatre. Thus, an affair which, at first sight,
appeared very grave, and likely to entail serious conse-
quences for its author, soon assumed a different aspect ;
and, after being treated for a time with some approach to
severity, the captive was transferred from the bare and
gloom}-7 chamber in which he had been originally confined
to a comfortable apartment on the second floor, and given
some books, a backgammon-board, and a violoncello, to
beguile the tedium of his enforced leisure.
These concessions he probably owed to the good offices
of his feminine adorers at the Court, and more particu-
larly to those of Miles, de Charolais and de Valois. No
sooner did they learn of the arrest of the duke, than the
two princesses, hitherto so furiously jealous of one
another, agreed to forget their rivalry for the nonce, and to
join forces for the rescue of their common idol. The
Regent, on his side, declared that it was his intention to
have Richelieu brought to trial as a State criminal,
adding that the Government had sufficient evidence in its
possession to cost the duke four heads, if he had them.1
These threats, which, it is needless to say, he had no
intention of carrying into effect, threw the princesses into
a terrible state of alarm ; and Mile, de Charolais, in order
to spur her cousin to the most desperate exertions,
actually went so far as to promise her that she would
never try to see Richelieu again, if Mile, de Valois suc-
ceeded in obtaining his pardon from the Regent.
That lady scarcely needed any such incitement to
persuade her to move Heaven and earth on behalf of her
1 Duclos, Memoires secrets.
218 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
imprisoned gallant, and she seems to have given her
father a very unpleasant time, " quarrelling with him,
demanding the duke's liberation publicly, and threatening
to make a scandal, or commit some act of folly, if he were
not soon released from his prison."1 Mile, de Charolais
energetically seconded her efforts, and told the Regent,
who was one of her soupirants, that " she refused to see
him, since he had sent the duke to the Bastille."2
To the despair of the two princesses, however, Philippe
d'Orleans pretended to be inexorable, and declared that
Richelieu's treason merited the scaffold, and that he was
determined to bring him to trial.
The object of the ladies' solicitude seems to have been
much less disquieted as to the fate in store for him.
He read the latest romances ; dined twice a week with the
governor ; plaj^ed upon his 'cello ; stood at his window
and sang duets with Mile, de Launay, the Duchesse du
Maine's sprightly young waiting-woman, who was lodged
in a room in the same tower ; and every afternoon, after
making an elaborate toilette, promenaded on the terrace
of the Bastille, " when all the ladies assembled in the
street to gaze at this beautiful image."3
Mile, de Valois was without doubt among these ladies,
but she did not confine herself to such platonic visits.
Aware that, in 1716, Mile, de Charolais had made use of a
golden key to unlock the doors of Richelieu's prison, she
resolved to follow her example ; and Soulavie affirms that
she employed a large sum of money which her father had
lately given her in corrupting the warders of the Bastille,
in order to gain admission to the fortress. The same
1 Me" moires du due de Richelieu.
2 Correspondence complete. 3 Ibid.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 219
writer relates that the two princesses came together to
see the duke at night, " bringing with them candles,
Hint and steel, sweetmeats, and plenty of bank-notes in
case of need " ; and that the prisoner concerted with
them the answers that he should make on the morrow
to the insidious questions of Le Blanc and d'Argenson.
Since the late autumn of the preceding year, Mile, de
Valois had been, as we have mentioned, living at Saint -
Cloud with her grandmother, who, however, brought her
almost every day to Paris to visit or assist at some social
function. The surveillance which the old princess had
exercised over her charge had been far from severe,
and she had treated her with extreme indulgence ; and
her wrath may therefore be imagined when she learned
to what extent she had been deceived, and how hopelessly
the girl had succeeded in compromising herself with
" that accursed Due de Richelieu."
After a violent scene, she sent her granddaughter back
to her mother, much to the disgust of that lady, and
firmly refused to receive her again ; and in a letter to
one of her German friends she pours out her feelings
in language " which," observes Barthelemy, " leaves us,
unfortunately, no doubt about the pranks of Mile, de
Valois."1
" You ask me," she writes, " what has recently caused me
so much indignation. I cannot relate it in detail, but only
as a whole. It is the frightful coquetry of Mile, de Valois
with that accursed Due de Richelieu, who has shown
people the letters he has received from her, for he only
loves her from motives of vanity. All the young nobles
of the Court have been able to see these letters, in which
1 Les Filles du Regent.
220 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
she gives him rendezvous. Her mother wished me to
have her back with me, which I flatly refused ; but
she does not cease to return to the charge, and I am
horribly vexed ; the human race makes me shudder.
I cannot endure the idea of seeing Mile, de Valois again,
and I must do it, in order to avoid a very painful scandal.
The sight of this madcap will make me ill. All this is the
result of the apathy and fatuity of the mother. May God
forgive her ! But she has brought her daughter up very
badly." And she concludes by a violent tirade against
Richelieu, whom, she declares, " she detests with all her
heart, and would see without shedding a tear hanging
from a gibbet."1
The Regent, on his side, was becoming seriously per-
turbed at the conduct of the young princess, since he had
no desire to see another of his daughters emulating the
exploits of the Duchesse de Berry, and, if he appeared to
close his eyes, it was in order to avoid the necessity of
taking steps which would only have increased the scandal.
At the same time, he was fully resolved to rid himself
of this " madcap " with as little delay as might be, by
arranging a marriage for her with some foreign prince,
and packing her off to Germany or Italy, where her
peccadilloes would be her husband's affair, and not his,
and, as Madame observes, " one would no longer hear her
talked about."
Already there had been a question of several marriages
for her, and when, towards the end of the previous
summer, Provana, the Ambassador of Victor Amadeus II.
of Savoy, King of Sicily, had come to propose the Quad-
ruple Alliance, he had suggested a marriage between his
1 Correspondance complete, Letter of May 13, 1719.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 221
master's heir, the Prince of Piedmont, and Mile, de
Valois. This marriage appears to have been under con-
sideration for some months, though, for political reasons,
it did not altogether commend itself to the Regent ;
while Dubois was strongly opposed to it. The latter, if
we are to believe Saint-Simon, unwilling to incur the
odium of breaking off the negotiations, had recourse to
a characteristic expedient. He knew that Madame was
warmly attached to her step-daughter, the Queen of
Sicily, and corresponded with her regularly ; also that
recent events had greatly irritated the old lady against
Mile, de Valois. Without appearing in the matter himself,
for Madame detested him heartily, he caused her to be
informed of what was in the wind, " in the hope of some
flash of German ferocity." He was not disappointed.
" Madame," says Saint-Simon, " was in the habit of
writing every week to the Queen of Sicily. She told her,
without any circumlocution, that she had ascertained
that the question of a marriage between the Prince of
Piedmont and Mile, de Valois was being seriously dis-
cussed ; that she loved her too much to wish to make her
so worthless a present and to deceive her ; that she there-
fore warned her, and so forth ; and she related to her
forthwith all that she knew, or believed that she knew.
Then, when the letter had been despatched, and it was
beyond any one's power to have it stopped and seized,
she informed the Due and Duchesse d'Orleans of all that
it contained. The latter was exasperated, but the Due
d'Orleans, who had never been favourably disposed to-
wards the affair, and much less since it had been remitted
to the Abbe Dubois, did nothing but laugh. Dubois
laughed also, and much more heartily, at this sudden and
222 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
surprising result of his craft. And thus this marriage
came to nothing."
However, at the end of the summer of 1719, rumours
of an alliance between Mile, de Valois and another prince
from beyond the Alps began to spread at the Court and
rapidly gathered consistency.
The parti in question was Francesco d'Este, Hereditary
Prince of Modena, son of Duke Rinaldo and Charlotte
Felicite of Brunswick-Hanover, and was at this time
twenty- two years of age. Madame, who was not un-
naturally inclined to regard any one who was desirous of
taking her granddaughter off her relatives' hands through
rose-coloured spectacles, tells us that he was " very
favourably spoken of " ; that he " possessed ability and
high principles," and that, although he could not be
called handsome, he was " well brought up and very
sensible." But, as we shall presently see, he was, though
well-meaning enough, a poor sort of creature, and the
very last person in the world to inspire either affection or
respect in a romantic, high-spirited and self-willed young
woman like Mile, de Valois.
It was the Marchese Rangoni Machiavelli, the Modenese
Minister at Versailles, who had first conceived the idea
of this union and suggested it himself to the Regent,
with whom he had succeeded in ingratiating himself " by
a witty cynicism and by the employment of the buffoon-
eries of his nation."1 That prince received the proposition
very favourably, for both on political and private grounds
the match was one to be desired. It would rally Modena,
which of recent years had been alternately the ally of the
Empire and France, definitely to the side of the latter,
1 Lemontey, les Filles du Regent, Revue retrospective, Serie I, torn. 1
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 223
and, at the same time, disembarrass him in a decorous
manner of a daughter whose vagaries were threatening to
become a public scandal.
Machiavelli duly advised his Court of the result of his
overtures, and the Conte di Salvatico was deputed to
proceed to France as Envoy Extraordinary and make the
formal demand for the hand of Mile, de Valois. At the
outset, Salvatico came near to ruining everything, since
he was so ill-advised as to address his request to the
King through the medium of his Majesty's gouverncur,
the Marechal de Villeroy, instead of through Dubois,
which so irritated that important personage that he began
to raise all kinds of difficulties. Salvatico, however,
realizing his mistake, hastened to repair it, with true
Italian adroitness, and begged Dubois's acceptance of five
valuable paintings, among which was a work by Paul
Veronese. This timely gift proved an effective solatium
for the Minister's wounded amour-propre, and matters
proceeded so smoothly that in a few days nothing re-
mained but to obtain the consent of the lady.
This, as may be anticipated, proved no easy task, since
the princess, more and more enamoured of Richelieu,
obstinately refused to listen to any matrimonial proposi-
tion, much less to one which would entail her removal to
so great a distance from her idol ; and the Regent soon
perceived that the only hope of persuading her to accept
the Prince of Modena as a husband, and relieve the French
Court of her presence, was to work upon her affection
for her captive lover in such a way that she should be
willing to expatriate herself for his sake.
Richelieu had now been in the Bastille for nearly five
months, and, notwithstanding the representations of his
224 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
late wife's uncle, the Cardinal de Noailles, who declared
that he was in a very precarious state of health, and the
entreaties and reproaches of Miles, de Charolais and de
Valois, the Regent resolutely refused to hear of his
liberation. Moreover, towards the end of August, he
adroitly let fall a hint that fresh documents had recently
come to light which made the case against the prisoner
even more grave than it already was. This had the
effect of driving the two princesses to the last extremity
of despair; and Philippe d'Orleans, perceiving that the
psychological moment had arrived, played his trump card,
and offered his daughter the liberty of Richelieu on
condition that she would wed the Prince of Modena.
For some days the young princess hesitated, for the
price demanded of her was a heavy one, including as it did
not only the renunciation of her lover, but of her country
as well — separation from Paris and the Court, beside
which all the rest of the world was but an aching void.
But, with all her faults, she was a generous-hearted girl,
who deserved a better fate than to have bestowed her
affections upon one so little capable of appreciating them;
and when she recognised that her father would never
yield on any other terms, and that the condition of the
prisoner's health — the duke had been suffering from
dysentery — was causing the doctors who attended him
real anxiety, she ended by consenting.
The Regent lost no time in fulfilling his share of the
bargain, and on August 30 Richelieu was liberated from
the Bastille, with orders to repair to the country-house
of the Cardinal de Noailles, and remain there until his
Majesty's further pleasure should be known.
Overjoyed at regaining his freedom, the duke quitted
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 225
his gloomy prison and repaired to Conflans. But he did
not consider it necessary to obey the latter part of the
royal command, and intelligence soon reached the Regent
that, when night fell, M. de Richelieu was in the habit of
scaling the walls of the garden and making his way to
Paris, returning, however, before his absence could be
discovered ; and that, on these nocturnal excursions, it
was shrewdly suspected that he had paid more than one
visit to Mile, de Valois,1 and had also been entertained
by a lady who was at that moment very near his Royal
Highness's heart.
The consequence was that, on September 10, the duke
was commanded to betake himself to a house belonging
to him at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, one Dulibois, a re-
tired colonel of dragoons, being deputed to accompany
him, and to remain with him until recalled by his
Majesty. But this change of residence was far from
curing the young gentleman of his propensity for mid-
night travel, for light carriages and swift horses were
easy enough to procure ; and the worthy ex-dragoon was
a convivial soul, who found M. de Richelieu's wine so
much to his liking that, when bedtime arrived, he was
seldom in a condition to account for his own actions, let
alone for those of his charge.
Detection and a lettre de cachet exiling him to
1 If we are to believe Besenval, the duke's resourcefulness enabled
him to gain access to his inamorata whenever he desired. "The
apartments of Mile, de Valois at the Palais-Royal," he writes,
"abutted, on the side of the Rue de Richelieu, on a neighbouring
house, the wall of which was merely a partition. M. de Richelieu
rented this house, caused the wall corresponding to the cabinet of
Mile, de Valois to be pierced, and had a door constructed, which was
hidden by a great cupboard, where the princess kept her preserves.
Master of this means of approaching Mile, de Valois, I leave you to
judge if he did not constantly take advantage of it." — M6moires.
226 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Richelieu, in Poitou, came towards the end of Octo-
ber ; but this new banishment, though it put an
effectual check on any further surreptitious visits to
Paris, did not prevent him from maintaining an active
correspondence with Mile, de Valois, in which he ex-
horted her to decline to fulfil the promise her father
had extracted from her. In consequence, the princess,
who, according to Madame, had appeared more resigned
to her fate, since she had seen the ravishing toilettes
which were being made for her,1 and the beautiful dia-
monds which had been sent from Modena, began to evince
an increasing repugnance to the marriage, and " although
her conversation was gay and animated, her eyes were
always red, and one saw clearly that she passed the night
in weeping."
The doleful appearance of the princess was not lost
upon the public, and many were the chansons to which it
gave rise, of which the following will serve as an example :
" J'espouse un des plus petits princes,
Maitre de tres petits Etats,
Et qui pour ne valent pas
Une de nos moindres provinces.
L'on y manque de tout, la finance est petite.
Quelle difference, grand Dieu !
Entre ce triste et pauvre lieu
Et le riche lieu [Richelieu] que je quitte."
Richelieu is believed to have cherished the hope of
persuading Mile, de Valois to break off the match and of
marrying her himself. But, after a while, he came to the
conclusion that the Regent would scarcely be disposed to
tolerate as a son-in-law a gentleman who had been guilty
1 Madame says that she had forty different costumes ; Buvat that
she had sixty, fifteen for each season of the year.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 227
of high treason, and that the most probable result of
following in the footsteps of the Chevalier de Rion would
be a fourth and indefinite sojourn in the Bastille, if not a
still more unpleasant fate. An ardent lover might have
been prepared to brave even these dangers, but vanity
and self-interest had counted for far more in Richelieu's
liaison with the princess than sentiment ; and so his
letters to her grew gradually fewer and less tender, and at
length ceased altogether. This no doubt explains why,
towards the end of the year, Mile, de Valois, who had for
some time past refused to share in any of the gaieties of
the Court, reappeared at her mother's card-parties and
other social functions, and seemed altogether more
resigned to her approaching marriage.
The preliminaries of that event were soon settled, for,
for different reasons, the relatives on both sides were at
one in their desire to hasten it. On November 26, the
articles of the marriage-contract, which had been sent to
Modena for approval, were returned, having been accepted
without any comment ; on the 28th, the Regent officially
informed the King that everything was satisfactorily
arranged ; and the same evening the courtiers were
authorized to pay their compliments to the family of the
bride-elect.
The date originally decided upon for the marriage was
January 25, 1720, but, owing, Dangeau tells us, to an
oversight on the part of the Bishop of Modena, who had
omitted some formality for the publication of the banns
in that town, it was found necessary to postpone it until
Monday, February 12 ; the departure of the bride being
fixed for the following Thursday. And the chronicler
adds : " She has not yet been informed of the day on
228 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
which she must set out, from fear of distressing her ; in
proportion as the time of her departure draws nearer,
her grief increases."
In point of fact, either because Richelieu had repented
of his prudent resolutions and had resumed his corre-
spondence with her, or, more probably, because of her
natural reluctance to expatriate herself, Mile, de Valois
had begun once more to reveal the aversion with which she
regarded her approaching marriage in a manner that was
apparent to every one, and which, says Madame, " occa-
sions me truly great distress." She exhausted every
pretext that she could imagine to defer her departure, but
Salvatico made such strong representations on the subject
to Dubois that all her efforts proved fruitless.
On January 31, 1720, the marriage-contract was signed.
The King gave the bride a dot of 900,000 livres ; the
Regent one of 200,000, and jewels to the same value,
which included a parure of nine diamond and emerald
clasps, and a knot of the same jewels. On February n,
at six o'clock in the evening, the betrothal ceremony took
place in the King's cabinet at the Tuileries, the Due de
Chartres representing the Prince of Modena. The Car-
dinal de Rohan officiated, and Mile, de Montpensier, the
future Queen of Spain, held the train of her sister's mantle.
At the conclusion of the ceremony the little Louis XV.
went to the Palais-Royal, to take formal leave of the
princess, and presented her with a magnificent necklace
of pearls and diamonds.
At noon on the following day, the marriage was
celebrated in the chapel of the Tuileries, by the Cardinal
de Rohan, and immediately afterwards the King, accord-
ing to custom, conducted the bride to her carriage and,
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 229
addressing the coachman, said: "A MoiUne." And
the guards and officers who were to escort her to Modena
had orders to follow her carriage, just as if she were really
starting for Modena at that moment.
The same day, the Marquis de Sabran, husband of the
Regent's former inamorata, started for Modena, with
the news of the celebration of the marriage, bearing the
following note from the princess to her husband :
" The ceremony, Monsieur, which has just taken place
gives me to you, and my heart does not disavow it. I
am setting out to begin with you a union which ought to
make the happiness of my life, and which it is my ardent
desire may contribute to yours."1
1 Buvat relates some piquant anecdotes concerning the Prince of
Modena which were going the round of Paris.
" We are assured that this princess (Mile, de Valois) has already-
aroused an extraordinary jealousy between the Prince of Modena, her
future husband, and the Prince Jean Frederic Clement, his brother,
who is two years younger than he, the elder having been born on July 2,
1698, and the younger on the first day of September 1700. It is
attributed to the sight of the portrait of this princess, the beauties of
which charmed the two brothers, as well as all the persons of the Court
of Modena who had the pleasure of seeing the portrait, which repre-
sented her in a state of nature. They wished to make out that the
younger did not refrain from expressing his sentiments, and declared
publicly that the Princess of Orleans, whom his brother Francois
Marie was about to espouse, was the most beautiful woman who had
ever appeared in Italy, as she was in the world ; that she could not fail
to captivate the hearts of all who saw her or might see her, and that he
could not refuse her his, although he had only seen her on canvas.
This having been reported to the Prince Francois Marie, did not fail to
arouse a jealousy so violent that he persuaded the Duke of Modena, his
father, that, for the sake of peace, it was necessary to banish the Prince
Jean Fr6d6ric and order him to retire to Rome, where he has been
these two months, to divert himself."
And Buvat adds : " It is also said, in anticipation, that jealousy will
not fail to oblige the princess, soon after her arrival, to submit to the
law that this passion has established there, as well as in the other
Courts of Italy, and even among persons of less distinguished rank, and
to wear a kind of padlock, the key of which is scrupulously guarded
by the husband." — Journal de la R&gence, February 1720.
230 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
The illness of the Duchesse de Villars, who had been
selected to accompany her to Italy, as the representative
of Louis XV.,1 necessitated the departure of the princess
being postponed for some days beyond the date originally
fixed, namely from the 14th to the 21st. This respite,
needless to say, proved a most welcome one to her
Highness, who, on her wedding-day, had had " more
the air of a victim who was being dragged to the sacrifice,
than of a princess who walks to the altar of Hymen ; "a
and even Madame, who, as we have seen, had little sym-
pathy for her granddaughter, was moved to compas-
sion. " I have never seen so sad a bride," she writes,
a week after the wedding. " For three days she has
neither eaten nor slept ; she spends the nights in
weeping."
The same day on which this letter was penned, the
princess was taken ill, and on the following morning the
doctors pronounced her to be suffering from an attack
of measles. This malady she undoubtedly owed to her
obstinacy in going to Chelles, three days earlier, to take
leave of her sister, who was herself suffering from it ; and
Madame asserts that she had insisted on visiting the
abbess, between whom and her younger sister there was
very little love lost, in the hope of contracting the disease,
and thus retarding her departure, even at the risk of her
life.
" I have been a prophetess of misfortune," she writes,
" and unhappily I have spoken only too truly. When the
Princess of Modena told me that she wished to go to
1 The honour of being accompanied by a lady representing the King,
Saint-Simon tells us, had never been accorded before to any but
daughters and granddaughters of France.
2 Besenval, Mimoires.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 231
Chelles to take leave of her sister, I counselled her not to
do so, telling her that too short a time had elapsed since
they had had small-pox in the convent ; that the abbess
herself was suffering from measles, and that these diseases
are easily contracted. She answered : ' That is what I
am seeking.' I said to her : ' Take care ; one finds that
sooner than something good, and often one's life is in
danger.' Despite all I did, she went there on Saturday
last and spent the whole day with her sister, the abbess.
On Sunday, she was taken ill, and already had the
symptoms of measles."
The illness of the princess, which was aggravated by her
imprudence, was a somewhat serious one, and on the
25th her condition was decidedly grave. But in the night
which followed she took a turn for the better, and thence-
forth improved so rapidly that two days later the doctors,
to her great annoyance, pronounced her fit to leave her
bed, and her departure for Italy was fixed for March 15.
The lady, however, much to the astonishment of those
who knew the ingenuity she had displayed in inventing
pretexts to defer the dreaded moment, insisted on ad-
vancing the date and setting out five days earlier, not-
withstanding the warnings of the doctors. The reason for
this move was that the princess, aware that she would
not be sufficiently recovered by the earlier date to start
without imprudence, counted on being thus provided with
an admirable pretext for prolonging a journey the end of
which she regarded with so much repugnance. On the
9th, she went, accompanied by her father and mother,
to take leave of Madame, who tells us that " she was
not in a condition to utter a single word, so much did she
weep ; she could only take my hands, kiss them, and
232 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
squeeze them in hers. She clasped her hands together
like a person in despair. My son [the Regent] took her
away by force, and with much emotion on his part ;
he was doing as much violence to his feelings as to
i >>
hers."
CHAPTER XI
Departure of Mile, de Valois — Her retinue — Premeditated delays — In-
cessant quarrels between the French and Italians in her train —
Nightly gambling — Orgies — Strained relations between the princess
and the Duchesse de Villars : the affair of the soupcoupe — The
Conte di Salvatico, Envoy Extraordinary of the Duke of Modena —
His ridiculous passion for the princess — His love transformed into
hatred by her refusal to listen to him — Reception at Lyons — Arrival
at Avignon : visit to the Ghetto — Madame de Bacqueville, favourite
of the princess — Salvatico writes to the Regent demanding her re-
call— The Regent consents, but it is decided to conceal this decision
from the princess until she has embarked at Antibes — Suspicions of
the princess : her letter to her father — Arrival at Antibes — The
princess is informed of the recall of her favourite.
EARLY in the afternoon of the following day, the
Princess of Modena set out on her journey to
Antibes, where she was to embark for Genoa. She was
accompanied by a veritable Court, or rather a caravan,
numbering over one hundred and fifty persons. The
Duchesse de Villars, Madame de Simiane, one of the ladies
of the Duchesse d'Orleans, and Mesdames de Bacqueville
and de Goyon, occupied seats in her carriage. To these
last two ladies, and particularly to Madame de Bacque-
ville, the princess was greatly attached, and she had
demanded and obtained from her father a promise that
she should be allowed the consolation of her society at
Modena. The Regent accompanied his daughter as far
as Essonne, where she was to pass the night, and then
took leave of her and returned to Paris, doubtless felici-
tating himself on having at last got rid of a young lady
233
234 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
who had promised to become a terrible handful. But his
responsibilities, as we shall see, were far from being at an
end.
On the 1 2th, the princess arrived at Fontainebleau,
where she remained two days, on the pretext of indis-
position. This was the beginning of interminable delays,
for her Highness availed herself of every conceivable
pretext for deferring the dreaded meeting with her
husband ; while her Court, composed as it was of two
nationalities with very little love for one another, was dis-
tracted by jealousy and insubordination ; and many of
the disputes over etiquette which were continually arising
were so bitter that it was considered necessary to refer
them to the French Court for settlement, and to await its
decision before resuming the journey. By March 17 the
cortege had advanced no farther than Briare, from
which town Desgranges, the Master of the Ceremonies,
writes to the Regent : " We make slow progress. It
is for your Royal Highness to say whether this is expedient
for the princess, and accords with the impatience which
the prince ought to feel, and with the expense. Yester-
day, after stopping for the night, we journeyed for three
hours. This is not travelling, and, however anxious
the equerry may be to spare his horses, we ought to make
a passable day's journey ; there are nineteen horses for
two carriages. If you write something about our progress,
you must not let it be known that I have had the honour
of speaking of it to your Royal Highness."1 " We have
news of Madame de Modene from Nevers," writes Dan-
geau, on March 27. " She continues her journey in a
rather leisurely fashion, and when she arrives at the
1 Archives des Affaires £trang£res, cited by Barthelemy.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 235
places where she is to pass the night, she plays at biribi
until three o'clock in the morning,1 and does not start
again until midday."
At Nevers, where she was accorded a magnificent
reception and sumptuously lodged, a slight attack of
fever furnished the august traveller with an excuse for
remaining for the Easter fetes. Desgranges informed the
Regent that the princess had performed her religious
duties in a manner that edified all her little Court, which,
however, does not seem to have profited much by her
example, for though the French conformed regularly
enough to the canonical prescriptions, the Italians, " see-
ing themselves outside their country and deprived of the
advantages of hypocrisy,"2 produced all kinds of dispen-
sations and insisted on being served en gras throughout
Holy Week. Moreover, no sooner had they heard Mass,
than they all hurried off to play biribi, and gambled until
the small hours of the following morning.
After remaining a week at Nevers, the princess moved
on to Moulins, where another long delay was only pre-
1 This perpetual gambling was the most unpleasant feature of this
singular journey. The bank was held by professional gamblers, who
preceded the princess and arranged the tables against her arrival in
every town at winch she intended to stop. The harm thus done was
incalculable, for, though the members of the princess's suite, for the
most part hardened gamesters, might be trusted to take care of them-
selves, this was not the case with the provincial gentry and townsfolk,
who, coming to pay their respects to the princess, allowed themselves
to be drawn into a game of which they were quite ignorant, with some-
times disastrous consequences. " That famous ship of purple and gold,"
writes Lemontey, " which bore a courtesan-queen into the arms of
Mark Antony, appears to me charged with less opprobrium than this
slow itinerary, in which, already corrupted in the flower of her youth
and travelling towards throne and altar like a scourge, a princess of
eighteen years scattered poison into people's hearts, consternation into
families, and that sudden ruin which follows despair and suicide."
1 Lemontey, let Fillet du Regent.
236 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
vented by the intervention of the Duchesse de Villars, who
wrote to the Regent, complaining bitterly of the way
everything was being mismanaged, and threatening to
return to Paris if she were not invested with full au-
thority. Between this lady and the princess relations
had been exceedingly strained almost from the first day
of the journey. The duchess pretended that her rank
entitled her to share with the latter the honours of the
soupcoupe, that is to say, to drink from a wine-glass
presented on a soupcoupe. This the princess absolutely
refused to admit, and, to humble the vanity of the
duchess, she ceased to dine and sup with her, or, when
she was obliged to, abstained from drinking during the
whole meal. Madame de Villars followed her example,
and decided to die of thirst rather than compromise by
so much as a drop of water the pretensions of the duch-
esses.
The illness of Madame de Simiane, who was found to be
suffering from smallpox and had to be left behind, in
charge of a doctor who had been summoned from Lyons,
detained the travellers three days at La Palisse, and,
continuing their leisurely progress, on April 15 they
reached Tarare, where they were overtaken by a special
courier from the Regent, with a letter for his daughter,
in which he informed her that he " was surprised and
annoyed at the time she had lost on her journey by
too frequent and too long stoppages," and directed her
" to give orders that they should make all the speed that
could possibly be made without causing her inconveni-
ence." The writer had certainly good reason for his
irritation, for, owing to the incessant delays, the expenses
of the journey which would, in any circumstances, have
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 237
been very great, were rapidly mounting up to a most
alarming figure.
The princess, however, troubled herself very little about
the paternal indignation, and nothing at all about the
French Treasury, which would have to defray the cost of
her caprices, and, so far from endeavouring to make up for
lost time, she cudgelled her brains to devise fresh pretexts
for delay. "Letters are to hand from Madame de Modene,"
writes Dangeau, on April 19. " She writes from Roanne,
and continues her journey very slowly." And he adds :
"The Envoy of Modena [the Conte di Salvatico] complains
a little of the want of consideration which she has for him :
this princess frequently takes her meals quite alone."
This requires some explanation. The Conte di Salvatico
was a grotesque personage, with a long, cadaverous face,
a scraggy neck, and a ludicrous gait, which resembled
hopping rather than walking ; while he bent almost
double whenever he bowed to any one, and spoke the
most detestable French. Notwithstanding all this, he
was extremely vain and imagined himself irresistible.
No sooner was he presented to Mile, de Valois, than he
became desperately enamoured of her, and the enthusi-
astic description of her charms which he despatched to
Modena no doubt served to communicate something of
his ardour to Francesco d'Este. Such was his conceit
that he believed in a possible success, and more than once
presented himself at the door of her apartments at hours
when visitors were not admitted. " So far from en-
deavouring to conceal his passion," writes Madame, " he
proclaimed it openly in the salons of Versailles," adding
protestations which the pen of that outspoken old lady
is alone able to transcribe. Madame, by the way, appears
238 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
to have regarded Salvatico's infatuation as a rather
fortunate circumstance for her granddaughter, since he
was the only person able to make known at Modena
the reputation she bore in Paris.
This little comedy at first caused Mile, de Valois
considerable amusement, but after a time she began to
find it decidedly embarrassing ; and when during the
journey, despite sundry hints from the princess, Salvatico
continued his unwelcome attentions, and at length went
so far as to make her a formal declaration of love, at the
same time threatening to make her very unhappy if she
declined to listen to him, she rebuked him sharply,
avoided him as much as possible, and excluded him from
her table. Thenceforth, love was transformed into hatred
and the one-time adorer into an implacable enemy.
On April 16, the princess arrived at Lyons, where a
reception worthy of the second city in the kingdom
awaited her. The municipal authorities, in their robes
of office, with the Provost of the Merchants at their head,
met her at the Porte de Vaise and presented her with the
usual hyperbolical address of welcome ; cannon thundered
forth salutes ; and " the great number of the bourgeois
and the people who were in the streets and at the windows
was a public testimony of the eagerness of this town to
pay respect to all who bear the august name of our Kings. "
After all this, her Highness naturally felt that it would
be exceedingly ungracious on her part to hasten her
departure ; and so she remained a week, receiving deputa-
tions, visiting the public buildings and the principal indus-
tries of the town, going to the play, and concluding the
day with biribi and lansquenet.
On the 23rd, the caravan quitted Lyons, all the cannon
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 239
on the ramparts and the arsenal firing a parting salute,
and moved slowly on to Vienne. On leaving this town
on the 25th, which happened to be the anniversary of her
husband's birth, the princess, in honour of the occasion,
gave the sum of 10,000 livres for distribution among the
poor. It was easy for her to be generous at the expense
of the French Treasury, and the sums she dispensed
" four largesses et aumones " in the course of her travels
were not the least formidable item when the bill came to
be cast up.
May 4 found her at Avignon, where she was lodged in
the ancient palace of the Popes. She was very gracious
to the Papal officials, and, after visiting the principal
churches and convents, expressed her intention of in-
specting the Ghetto — it was an excuse for wasting another
day — much to the gratification of its inmates. Their
gratification, however, was somewhat discounted by the
trouble and expense which this honour entailed, for they
were required " to cover the filthy streets with sand, to
decorate the fronts of their houses, and to scatter flowers
and odoriferous herbs on the ground to counteract the
evil smells." However, they rose to the occasion nobly,
and illuminated their synagogue with six hundred
candles, notwithstanding that candles were at this period
exceedingly dear, selling at three livres the pound.
After remaining four days at Avignon, the princess
continued her journey, accompanied for some distance
by Monseigneur d'Eley, the vice-legate, and crossed the
Durance at Bompas to reach Marseilles. Her Highness
was in a far from amiable humour, for she had reason to
suspect that an intrigue was on foot to separate her
from her friend and confidante, Madame de Bacqueville.
240 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
This Madame de Bacqueville, " a creature without
reputation and without morals,"1 had been an intimate
friend of the princess from the latter's childhood, and
exercised over her an influence almost as pernicious as
that which Madame de Mouchy had exercised over the
Duchesse de Berry. During the journey she had never
ceased to encourage the princess in all her caprices,
even to the length of conducting herself with unseemly
levity in church,2 had sought to embitter the quarrel
between her and the Duchesse de Villars, and had mocked
openly at the enamoured Salvatico. That personage
was deeply incensed against her, and from Valence he
addressed a letter to the Regent, throwing all the re-
sponsibility for the unreasonable delays that had occurred,
the frenzied gambling that went on nightly, " sometimes
for seventeen consecutive hours," and the quarrels with
the Duchesse de Villars, upon her, and declaring that the
presence of such a woman at Modena would ruin his
daughter with the Duke, her father-in-law, and entreating
him not to allow her to accompany the princess into Italy.
The Regent, to whom other persons had already written
in the same sense, at once resolved to retain Madame de
Bacqueville in France, and despatched orders to her to
that effect ; and, by the same courier, a letter to his
daughter explaining that his reason for recalling the lady
was the strong objection which her family had raised to
her expatriating herself. These letters were addressed
to Madame de Villars, who was informed of their con-
1 Lemontey, les Filles du Regent.
3 " What happened yesterday at Romans is altogether extraordinary,
where she [Madame de Bacqueville] approached the princess at Mass,
and made her laugh and jest, to the great scandal of all the town, and
particularly of the confessor [the Abbe Colibeaux], who wept at it"
(Letter of Salvatico to the Regent, April 30, 1720).
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 241
tents and charged to deliver them. But that lady, know-
ing the character of the princess and " fearing a terrible
scandal," after consultation with Salvatico, begged the
Regent to allow her to defer this until the princess had
embarked at Antibes, to which he consented.
The princess, however, had, as we have said, a shrewd
suspicion of what was in the wind and, before leaving
Avignon, she wrote to her father, imploring him " not
to crown her despair and her unhappiness by depriving
her of the only consolation she could have, and which
he had so often promised her." This letter she entrusted
to one of her valets de chambre, and announced her inten-
tion to await the answer at Marseilles ; but at Orgon
orders were received from the Regent formally forbidding
her to pass through Marseilles. Nevertheless, she insisted
on spending a day there, and then decided to go to
Toulon, where she assisted at the launching of a ship,
and thence to Frejus.
" The Duchess of Hanover," writes Madame, " has no
need to hurry to see her new granddaughter, our de-
moiselle de Valois, who is in not the least hurry to reach
Modena. She is a person singularly fanciful and wilful ;
without paying any attention to the pressing recommen-
dations of her father, she intends to make a tour through
the whole of Provence, and to visit Toulon, which is
altogether out of her way. She intends also to go to
Saint-Baume. She troubles not the least about all the
expense which this entails, and which falls upon her
father. This greatly irritates me, although the father
and the mother deserve to receive nothing but mortifica-
tion from their daughter, so much have they spoiled her.
I have seen many wrong-headed women, but I have never
R
242 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
found one so bad as this ; the blood of the Montespan
shows itself plainly in her. But it is not my fault, and I
can say to my son, as in the play : ' Tu I' as voulu, Georges
Dandin.' "1
The messenger whom the princess had despatched to
Paris did not bring back any answer to the letter with
which he had been entrusted, which confirmed her
suspicions on the subject of Madame de Bacqueville;
and she questioned the Duchesse de Villars, to whom
she had thought it advisable to apologize for her haughti-
ness during the journey, as to whether she had received
any orders from the Regent in regard to that lady.
The duchess, dreadfully embarrassed, replied that, if she
had received any such order, she would have communi-
cated it to her. Upon which the princess observed that,
although Madame de Villars might cherish justifiable
grievances against her, she did not believe that she would
deceive her. Later in the day, she asked Salvatico for a
list of those whom she was to take with her to Modena ;
and that gentleman, not daring to omit the name of
Madame de Bacqueville, wrote it down at the head, and
then hurried off to Madame de Villars, to protest that
he had only done this to avoid a scandal, and to beg her
to deliver the Duke of Modena from a person who " would
cause him to die of grief." The duchess rated the Italian
sharply for his pusillanimity, and accused him of wishing
to throw all the odium of the deception upon her, but,
nevertheless, consented to continue it.
Finally, on May 28, they reached Antibes, having
occupied eleven weeks to accomplish a journey which,
with reasonable expedition, would not have needed more
1 Correspondance complete, Letter of June 16, 1720.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 243
than a month, and at five o'clock on the following after-
noon the Princess of Modena went on board the galley
which was to convey her to Genoa. When darkness fell,
this vessel and the squadron which was to escort it,
which included two Sardinian galleys, were brilliantly
illuminated.
Once safely on board, it was necessary to acquaint the
princess with the order recalling Madame de Bacqueville,
and to give her her father's letters. The execution of this
unpleasant duty was postponed until the morrow, in order
that the Princess of Monaco, who had come to visit her
and had remained to supper, " might not be a witness of
her grief." But when the critical moment arrived, the
courage of the Duchesse de Villars failed her completely,
and she begged the princess's half-brother, the Chevalier
d'Orleans,1 who commanded the galleys, to take her place.
The chevalier consented, but he does not appear to have
had much relish for the commission, for it was not until
they had been two days at sea that he could bring himself
to discharge it.
To the great relief of Madame de Villars, the storm
which she had so much dreaded did not break, and the
grief of the princess at the separation from her confidante,
" although extreme, was very gentle " ; she refrained from
addressing any reproaches to the duchess for her part
in the deception which had been practised upon her, and
wrote to her " cher papa " that, "notwithstanding that
his orders had crowned her unhappiness and her despair,
she knew only how to obey him, even if he demanded
her life."
1 Jean Philippe d'Orleans (1702-1748), natural son of the Regent,
by the Comtesse d'Argenton. He was General of the Galleys and
Grand Prior of France.
244 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
The fact is that her Highness had had the sense to com-
prehend that, although Philippe d'Orleans might be the
most long-suffering of fathers, she must by this time have
pretty well exhausted his indulgence, and that to alienate
him altogether would be the height of folly, in view of the
fact that she would have to reckon with a dangerous
enemy at the Court of Modena, in the person of the
egregious Salvatico, who would be certain to do every-
thing in his power to injure her with the Duke. She had
therefore judged it prudent to resign herself to the sacrifice
of her unworthy favourite, for whom she merely de-
manded a pension. This request was immediately granted,
and Madame de Bacqueville was accorded a pension of
6000 livres, " to console her for no longer being able
to poison a young princess by her counsels and her
example."1 About the same time, the Duchesse de
Villars received one of double that amount, presumably
to compensate her for the bickerings over the soupcoupe.
One would perhaps have thought it would have been
possible to find a better use for the public money.
1 Lemontey, les Filles dn Regent.
CHAPTER XII
Arrival at Genoa — Unpleasantness over the payment of the princess's
dowry : impertinent conduct of Salvatico — Departure for Modena
— The Duke of Modena and his two sons meet the princess at
Reggio — Portrait of Francesco d'Este — Character of the Duke —
Deadly monotony of his Court — Persecution of the princess by
Salvatico — The princess falls ill of smallpox — Singular conjugal
relations — Letters of the Abb6 Colibeaux, confessor to the princess,
on this delicate subject — Chavigny, French Minister at Genoa, sent
by the Regent to verify the facts — His report — Severity of the
Duke towards the young couple — Pilgrimage to Loretto — The prin-
cess persuades her husband to fly with her to France — Her letter
to her father — The Regent refuses to receive them, and despatches
the Abbe Philibert to persuade them to return— Despair of the
princess — Her return to Modena — Mortifying reception — Salvatico
resumes his persecution — -Ineffectual protests of Chavigny and
Philibert — Return of Francesco d'Este — Visit of the prince and
princess to Lucca — They take up their residence at a country-house
near Reggio — Anguish of the princess on learning of the reported
marriage of the Due de Richelieu — She becomes more reconciled to
her lot — Birth of a son.
ON June 3 the squadron arrived off Genoa, but it
was not until the evening of the following day
that the princess was able to disembark, owing to a
difference of opinion between the French officers and
the Government of the Most Serene Republic on the
question of the salute. Finally, it was arranged that
the cannon of the city and of the galleys should fire
simultaneously ; and a deputation of six Genoese nobles
put off to the squadron to bid her Highness welcome
and escort her on shore. She landed at ten o'clock at
night, and was conducted to the Palazzo Durazzo, where
the Modenese ladies and officials charged to receive her
245
246 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
had been waiting for nearly a month. The princess, how-
ever, declined to avail herself of their services until the
eve of her departure, in order to avoid the disputes over
precedence which threatened to ensue between them and
her French attendants.
The Genoese Government wished to give a grand ball
and other fetes in honour of their distinguished guest ;
but the latter declined, as she maintained that she
ought to be treated as a Princess of the Blood Royal
of France, and not as a Modenese princess. She was,
besides, in no humour just then to take part in any
festivities ; while serious unpleasantness had arisen
over the payment of her dowry, which was causing
her the keenest mortification. In accordance with cus-
tom, the dowry ought to have been paid to Salvatico,
as the representative of the Duke of Modena, at the
same time as the princess was formally delivered into
his charge. But, through some misunderstanding, the
French resident at Genoa, the Comte de Chavigny, had
received neither the money nor any orders on the sub-
ject ; and the vindictive Italian, delighted at an op-
portunity of humiliating the lady who had so con-
temptuously rejected his adoration, intimated that
he should refuse to take charge of her Highness until
the dowry was forthcoming. Not content with that,
he had the impertinence to present himself at the
princess's apartments at midnight, and complain bitterly
to the Duchesse de Villars of the failure of the French
Court to carry out its obligations. Finally, it was
arranged that a courier should be despatched to Modena,
to ascertain the wishes of the Duke, as the princess
declined to leave Genoa until these were known, declaring,
Francesco d'Este, Hereditary Prince of Modena
(afterwards Francesco II., Dukk of Modena)
From an engraving by Cornelius Meysens
,
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 247
with reason, that " it was impossible to deliver her up
without knowing whether she were wanted."
The Duke's reply arrived on June 8, and was to the
effect that, having every confidence in the word of the
King of France, he would receive his daughter-in-law
without waiting for the dowry ; and at four o'clock on the
morning of June II, the princess, " not without extreme
distress," writes Madame de Villars, " bade farewell to
that lady and the rest of her French attendants who were
returning to France, and took the road to Piacenza, this
early start being made to avoid travelling during the heat
of the day."
Passing through the Milanese, where every honour
was paid her, on June 20 the princess arrived at Reggio,
where she found the Duke of Modena and his two sons
awaiting her. The Duke hurried to prevent his daughter-
in-law alighting, and " addressed to her some very
affectionate words ; after which the prince advanced,
kissed his wife on both cheeks, and seated himself beside
her."
The poor girl must have felt her heart sink as
she contemplated the man with whom she was
probably condemned to spend the rest of her days.
She had not expected to find him handsome, although
the portrait which had been sent to Paris had repre-
sented him as far from unprepossessing ; but this short,
insignificant-looking youth, with his long, brown face,
and melancholy, black eyes, was positively ugly. And
then how dull he seemed, how gauche, how timid ! Be-
yond mumbling a few banal compliments, like a schoolboy
repeating a lesson, he had not a word to say for himself.
The " happy pair " entered the town, escorted by
248 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
over a hundred carriages, each drawn by six horses,
filled with the nobility of the country, and remained
there for several days, while they were entertained
to a succession of fetes. Then they proceeded to Modena,
where another flattering reception awaited them ; but
scarcely had the princess installed herself in her apart-
ments in the imposing Palazzo Ducale, than the Court
returned to Reggio, to assist at another round of fetes.
These festivities served to afford the expatriated
princess some distraction, and left her little time for
brooding over the separation from all her friends; and
on July 24 Dangeau announces that she is " much more
pleased with the country than she expected to be."
But, once they were over, and the Court of Modena
settled down to its ordinary life, she discovered that
her worst fears were to be realised. The Duke was an
austere, bigoted man, ruled by monks and Jesuits, and
lay favourites, who practised, or at any rate affected,
an excessive devotion ; and his Court was the reflection
of his own dull and monotonous existence. It was,
indeed, more like a monastery than a Court. Every
one was expected to rise very early and attend Mass ;
dinner was served at an hour when many of the fashion-
able ladies of Paris and Versailles were sipping their
morning chocolate ; the usual occupation of the ducal
family in the afternoon was a drive, the carriages pro-
ceeding at an almost funereal pace ; supper was at eight
o'clock ; and at ten they went to bed. In short, no
greater contrast to the gay and feverish life of the Court
of France could well be imagined.
To increase the princess's discontent, Salvatico had
been appointed Grand Master of the Court, which pro-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 249
vided him with numerous opportunities of making
himself unpleasant, of which he did not fail to take
every advantage. He claimed the right of entering
her apartments at any hour he wished ; he is said to
have passed a whole night at her door ; he intercepted
the letters which her relatives and friends in France
wrote to her, and actually had the audacity to suppress
several from the Regent, in order to create the im-
pression that she had quarrelled with her father ; he
furnished blind and lame horses for her carriage and
pewter for her table, and, in fact, neglected no means
of annoying her.
Furious with indignation, she sought the advice
of the Abbe Colibeaux, who had remained with her
in the quality of confessor. The abbe endeavoured
to calm her, pointing out that Salvatico was protected
by the Jesuits, who ruled the Duke, and that it would
be most imprudent to make enemies of them. She
declined to listen to him and complained to her husband,
who spoke to his father " and besought him to get rid
of this mischievous devil." 1 But the " mischievous
devil ,; was far too useful a servant for the Duke to
dispense with, his powers of vision and of hearing being
preternaturally acute ; and the only result of the prince's
interference was to embitter Salvatico still further
against the princess.
Meanwhile, that young lady had been endeavouring
to instill a little animation into the dull Modenese Court.
She began to hold receptions ; she installed a biribi table
in her apartments ; she entertained some of the leading
1 Correspondance complete de Madame, Duchesse d'Orlians, July
30, 1720.
250 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
ladies of the town to supper ; and she made friends
with her three sisters-in-law, timid girls, whom their
austere father had relegated to an almost cloistral
existence, and took them alternately for drives into
the country in a phaeton, which she drove herself.
This pleased the public, but it did not please the spiteful
Salvatico, who persuaded the Duke that his daughter-
in-law ought not to be out so late, " on account of the
dew," although Coiibeaux tells us that she never returned
to the palace later than five o'clock. He also complained
that she drove much too fast, and would wear out her
horses, which would have to be replaced at considerable
expense ; that she kept the young princesses up too
late at night, which was detrimental to their health,
if not to their morals ; and he endeavoured to deprive
her of their society, by suggesting that they should
be placed in a convent. The gloomy old bigot, who
had not the smallest sympathy with the exuberant
spirits of youth, listened with frowning brow, and did
not fail to intimate his displeasure to his daughter-in-
law. The ducal reprimand, however, had little effect,
and the princess continued her country-excursions and
her card-parties until, about the middle of August, she
became unwell, and the doctors assured her that she was
enceinte.
Although, as we shall presently see, this was alto-
gether impossible, the princess did not express any
incredulity ; but kept to her apartments, and followed
the regimen prescribed for her. Soon, however, the
doctors were compelled to admit that their diagnosis
was incorrect, and that what they had taken for the
symptoms of pregnancy were those of smallpox.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 251
For some time the princess was very ill ; indeed,
for :wo or three days she was considered to be in such
grave danger that the Sacraments were administered ;
and she called Colibeaux to her bedside, and, handing
him a casket, directed him to burn all the papers which
it contained, without saying anything about it. It is
not improbable that among these papers were the love-
letters which she had received from the fascinating
Richelieu.
Eventually, she recovered, and found, to her in-
expressible relief, that the fell disease had respected
her face, and that she was scarcely marked at all. Her
first thought was to write to her father, whom, in view
of the unpleasant situation of affairs at Modena, she
was now most anxious to conciliate, to inform him of
her return to health, and to assure him that " death
itself would not have been capable of preventing her
from loving him with all her heart." The Regent, though
he probably entertained some doubts as to the sincerity
of these assurances, replied in a very affectionate letter,
and ordered a Te Deum to be sung at Notre-Dame
for his daughter's recovery. Salvatico, on his side,
testified his joy by reducing the salaries of the princess's
Household all round, notwithstanding that the emolu-
ments of even quite important officials at the Court
of Modena were already so low that they would have
been rejected with contempt by the lackeys at Versailles
or the Palais-Royal.1
1 " The retrenchment is most shameful," writes Colibeaux, " for
the majority of the marquises and counts who fill the ante-chambers
of this Court have only an old louis d'or of Parma a month for
salary and everything." Letter of September 22, 1720, published by
Barthelemy.
252 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
To beguile the tedium of her convalescence, the princess
formed a close friendship with a young and pretty woman
of the Court, the Marchesa Levisani. But soon the duke,
instigated doubtless by Salvatico, determined to put an
end to this intimacy, which was apparently considered
derogatory to the dignity of his daughter-in-law, and
requested Colibeaux and Madame Piche to employ their
influence with her Highness to persuade her to renounce
it. Both, however, declined to interfere, and Colibeaux
wrote indignantly to the Regent that they seemed to
desire to deprive the princess of the little amusement
that she could find at Modena.
The Prince of Modena, who during his wife's illness
and convalescence had not been permitted by the Duke
to approach her, and had passed the time at his villa
at Sassuolo, returned towards the end of September ;
but his reappearance upon the scene brought no pleasure
to the princess, but very much the contrary. If she
had cherished any hope that her first impressions of
her husband had been too hastily formed, and that
he would improve upon a nearer acquaintance, it had
very speedily been dissipated. Not only was Francesco
d'Este plain, awkward and shy, but dull, stupid, morose,
and close-fisted. Moreover — and this was a matter which
threatened to destroy the peace of the new menage
— whether it was that his wife took too little trouble
to conceal her indifference for such a partner, or that
the possession of this French princess, with her beauty,
her pride, her vivacity, and her savoir-faire, was too
imposing for him, the marriage had not yet been con-
summated.
The letters of the Abbe Colibeaux, preserved in the
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 253
Archives des Affaires Etrangeres, initiate us into the
secrets of this princely household. For the auricular
confession and the jurisdiction which the priests of
those days arrogated to themselves in matrimonial
questions permitted the ecclesiastics to express them-
selves with much greater frankness than the doctors,
who confined themselves to material facts, without
troubling about moral considerations ; and the abbe,
charged by the Regent to keep him informed of the
most intimate details of his daughter's life, acquitted
himself of his mission with a fidelity so scrupulous as
to render a considerable part of his despatches quite
unsuitable for publication, save in the most unblushing
of chroniques scandalenses. Here, however, are some
passages which may with safety be transcribed :
" October 3, 1720. — I believe that the prince has some
share in the chapter of the Canon Law which speaks
de frigidis et maleficiatis."
" November 7, 1720. — Everything would go on mar-
vellously well if it were not for the prince's weakness
of temperament, to say nothing more ; for the princess
says that he is incapable. He gives assurances to the
contrary. Madame Piche and I have given the Princess
of Modena on this matter the most suitable advice.
She assured me again yesterday that she has followed
it, but that it has only served to confirm this truth
more and more. I have begged her to continue, for the
prince is very timid, and she has given me her promise.
One must rely on the good faith of the princess, who has
always appeared to me very sincere."
" November 21, 1720. — The subject of the quarrel
is that the prince loves greatly the princess, and would
254 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
like to give her proofs of it ; but his ability does not
correspond to his good intentions, which is a pity."
Colibeaux adds that, after this quarrel, the prince had
an interview with his father, at which he, much to his
embarrassment, was requested to be present, and that
his Highness had been sent by the Duke to Bologna,
with an intimation that he was not to return until he
had succeeded in overcoming his timidity."
" November 28, 1721. — All Modena knows it (i.e.
that the marriage is not yet consummated), and thus
all Italy will know it soon. People say that the princess
is to blame. I have made her understand how essential
it is that she should exculpate herself in the eyes of
the public, and behave in good faith in this particular ;
that the laws of marriage which are made for sovereign,
as well as for private, persons oblige . . . and that, as
regards myself, I cannot permit her to approach the
Sacraments, unless I am assured that she will do her
duty, and without trickery."
" December 19, 1721. — I have reason to believe that
the princess does her duty in this particular ; she has
promised me, and she assures me of it."
The Regent, disquieted by these reports, instructed
Chavigny, the French Minister at Genoa, to proceed
to Modena, to study the question on the spot and verify
the facts. Chavigny passed a month at the Court, inter-
viewed all the parties concerned, and confirmed the
opinion of the confessor that the blame did not He with
the princess, " who had not testified a repugnance
for her husband which could be made the subject of
any reproach."1 He appears to have been by no means
1 Chavigny to the Regent, January 14, 1721, cited by Lemontey.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 255
favourably impressed with the latter, whom he describes
as "of very limited intelligence and not wanting in
dissimulation and cunning."
During his stay, the princess pressed him to en-
deavour to destroy the credit of Salvatico, but this
he prudently declined to attempt, preferring " to
leave this work to the natural inconstancy of the
Duke," who was in the habit of changing his favourites
as frequently as the Regent did his mistresses. How-
ever, there were as yet no signs of Salvatico's favour
diminishing, and, thanks to the persistent malignity
with which he pursued her, and the irritation of the
Duke at the prospect of the failure of his hopes, the
princess's situation was an extremely unpleasant one.
The Duke did not share the opinion of Colibeaux and
Chavigny, and had insisted on his daughter-in-law
sacrificing the Marchesa Levisani, who, he believed,
was exercising a pernicious influence over her, and
acting as intermediary between her and her friends in
France, and that lady had been banished from the Court ;
while he talked of placing his daughters in a convent,
in order to deprive her of the consolation of their
society.
The prince was also experiencing a far from pleasant
time, as his father, who had always detested him, now
treated him in a most unpaternal manner. He was
also exceedingly mortified to learn that the situation
in this singular menage was common talk in Paris,
and had an angry scene with his wife on the subject.
Very superstitious, he became convinced that a spell
had been cast over the marriage, and implored Colibeaux
to exorcise the demon, which the abbe declined to do,
256 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
explaining gravely that he knew of no prayers applicable
to such a case.
Then he decided to make a pilgrimage with his wife to
the shrine of Our Lady of Loretto. Colibeaux approved
this project, though he confided his opinion to the Regent
that, " if this journey had any result, it would be a true
miracle." And a few days later he writes : " This journey
is regarded as the last resource of the marriage, after
which one can have no further hope " ; adding that the
princess has promised to be very kind indeed to her
husband, and that he means to see that she keeps her
word.1
It is to be feared that the worthy abbe, either out of
complaisance for his august penitent, or from regard
for his own reputation as a director of consciences,
had all along been deliberately closing his eyes to the real
facts of the case, since he can hardly have failed to be
aware that the princess regarded Italy as a frightful exile,
detested her husband, and had only one idea : to get her
marriage annulled and to return to her beloved France.
The unhappy Prince of Modena was perfectly capable of
continuing the succession to the ducal throne, as, indeed,
he subsequently proved ; but he was painfully shy, and
his consort, so far from giving him the smallest encourage-
ment, received his awkward attempts at tenderness with
the coldest indifference or ill-concealed disgust.
The prince and princess left Modena, accompanied by a
considerable suite, which included Colibeaux, the faithful
Madame Piche, the Marchesa Rangoni, Grand Mistress
of the Court and a staunch ally of Salvatico, and the
Contessa Bosquetti, the princess's favourite of the
1 Letters of March 15 and 23, 1721, cited by Lemontey.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 257
moment. The most direct route to Loretto was by way
of Bologna, but, by the Duke's orders, they made a
detour to avoid that town, the reason being that the
Marchesa Levisani had retired thither after her disgrace ;
and the amiable old gentleman did not wish to give his
daughter-in-law the satisfaction of seeing again her
former favourite.
The Prince of Modena had come to Loretto from the
most conscientious motives ; but the princess had con-
sented to make the pilgrimage for a very different reason,
seeing in it the means of realizing her cherished project of
returning to France. Hardly had she reached Loretto,
than she proposed to her husband that they should fly to
Paris, and implore the protection of her father against the
persecution to which they were both being subjected
by the Duke of Modena. The feeble prince, disappointed
perhaps at not receiving any immediate answer to his
prayers, does not appear to have opposed the least
resistance to this astonishing proposition ; and on April 1
— significant date ! — they started for Ancona, whence
they intended to gain Verona and make their way through
Germany into France.
The unfortunate Colibeaux had employed every
imaginable argument to persuade the princess to
renounce her resolution, but the only concession he
was able to obtain was a promise to consult Cha-
vigny before proceeding beyond Ancona. From that
town, where they arrived on the 2nd, her Highness
addressed a long epistle to Chavigny, who had just
returned to Modena with fresh instructions from the
Regent, in which she enclosed letters from herself and
her husband to the Duke, demanding his permission to
258 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
make the journey to France, which appears a little
superfluous, since they had already taken French leave,
and begging him to persuade the old autocrat " to listen
to reason," and " not to oblige them to perform a comedy
before the universe."1
The princess also despatched the following letter for
Chavigny to forward to her father :
" I do not write to you except in trepidation, fearing
that the first step that we have been obliged to take may
be displeasing to you. . . . The Prince of Modena and
myself have been unable to find any other means of
remed3ang the present situation, save by entreating you
to permit us to come and render an account of it to you,
being fully resolved, as soon as you are fully acquainted
with the condition in which we find ourselves, to obey
you blindly.
"... We have been obliged to make use of the pretext
of a journey to Loretto to extricate ourselves from the
situation. . . . Chavigny hastened as soon as we informed
him, but we could not do more for him than await
at Verona the return of his courier, bearer of our
prayers.
" Permit me, in my private capacity, to recall to your
mind the kindness with which you have always flattered
me, and the respectful and tender affection which I have
always entertained for you. . . . The misfortune which
would touch me the most would be to see that you have
already forgotten the promise that you made me when
1 Colibeaux also wrote to Chavigny to assure him of his entire
innocence of any complicity in this escapade : " They have kept the
secret so carefully from me," he writes, " that I have left all my clothes
at Modena, with the exception of a miserable portmanteau ... I am
in despair."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 259
we parted that you would be pleased to see me again and
to love me always, and to know that I should be pre-
cipitated into innumerable misfortunes by you, for whom
I have an affection which I cannot find sufficiently strong
terms to express."
Chavigny despatched a courier in all haste to Paris
and persuaded the fugitives to await the answer of the
Regent. That prince was terribly alarmed by the news,
for the Princess of Modena could not possibly have chosen
a more inopportune moment for her escapade. Philippe
d'Orleans was just then negotiating the marriages of
two of his other daughters, Mile, de Montpensier and
Mile, de Beaujolais, with the Infant Don Luis, heir to the
crown of Spain and that prince's half-brother, Don
Carlos, and he feared with reason the effect of such a
scandal upon the austere Court of the Escurial. He
wrote immediately to the princess, pointing out to
her the danger of embroiling Francesco d'Este with his
father, and entreating her " to suspend her journey until
he should be more amply informed " ; and, at the same
time, addressed a letter to his son-in-law, blaming him
severely for having undertaken this journey without con-
sulting him, and forbidding him to proceed any farther.
Then he sent for the Abbe Philibert, a shrewd and re-
sourceful ecclesiastic, who enjoyed the friendship of his
daughter and might be expected to have some influence
with her, and despatched him to intercept the fugitive
couple and endeavour to persuade them to return to
Modena. He was accompanied by a M. Masselot, a
relative of a favourite waiting-woman of the Princess of
Modena who had followed her to Italy, with instructions
to travel together as far as Augsburg, and there to
260 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
separate and take each one of the two roads by which the
princess and her husband might come from Italy.
Meanwhile, the fugitive couple had reached Verona,
whence the princess, without waiting for the paternal
reply, wrote again to the Regent, informing him that the
Duke of Modena had returned her letter unopened and
had given orders to arrest the couriers who might bring
any others, and declaring that she and her husband were
firmly resolved not to return, since there was every
appearance that to do so would mean unhappiness for the
rest of their natural lives. On April 21 came the
Regent's answer to her letter of the 2nd, to which she
replied, the same day, in the following terms :
" I cannot express to you, my dear papa, the grief that
I feel on learning, through M. de Chavigny, that you do not
accord me the favour that we have demanded of you,
upon which our happiness was depending. It cannot be
equalled save by the despair in which I am at the thought
that the first step which our unhappy situation obliges
us to take has displeased you. I would that I could give
my life to do something which was agreeable to you, and
I am unhappy enough to be able to fear that you may
be angered against me. If you could know the reason
for our action, I should hope that you would be no longer
annoyed with us for having addressed ourselves to you
as our only refuge."1
The princess and her husband appear to have passed a
very pleasant time at Verona, where they lived incognito,
although they did not refuse the honours that were
offered them. They declared that they were more
determined than ever not to return to Modena, although
1 Letter of April 21, 1721, published by Barthelemy.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 261
the prince was becoming seriously uneasy at the attitude
of his father, who was reported to be bitterly incensed
against them, and had even suspended the postal service
between Modena and Verona, in order to cut off all
communication between them and their friends in the
capital.
On May n, the Abbe Philibert arrived at Verona. Not
having the same reasons as Colibeaux for allowing himself
to be deceived, he quickly penetrated the designs of the
princess, and proceeded to represent to her the impossi-
bility of the Regent permitting her to execute them. The
lady at first refused to listen to reason, flew into a
violent passion, and declared her unalterable resolution
to terminate a marriage which appeared to her " like
a perpetual prison." But, recognising at length that
Philippe d'Orleans, for the present at any rate, was deter-
mined not to afford her the least encouragement, she
passed from anger to despair, and, snatching up a pen,
addressed to him a piteous letter, which concluded
thus :
" By all that is most dear to you, I conjure you, my dear
papa, not to abandon me in my sad situation. I am the
most unhappy creature in the world ; on which ever side
I turn I see nothing but grief and despair ; my only
resource is in your kindness. ... I shall not renounce the
hope of seeing you again ; you would not wish it yourself,
my dear papa. I shall return to Italy, not without grief,
but with a reasonable grief."
It proved, however, to be a far easier matter to persuade
the princess to return to Modena than to induce the Duke
to consent to receive her. The fact is that the indignation
which the old prince had expressed at this escapade,
262 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
which, by the way, had come as no surprise to him,
had been merely assumed, since it promised to facilitate
greatly his secret designs. His most ardent desire was
to see the succession to his throne assured, and, as there
seemed to be little prospect of his eldest son, who, as we
have said, he detested, being able to accomplish this,
he had determined to institute proceedings to set aside
his rights to the crown, in favour of his younger brother,
Prince Frederico. Thus, Charlotte d'Orleans, by running
away with her unfortunate husband and prejudicing his
case in the eyes of the public, had constituted herself the
involuntary ally of the Duke.
For some days the Duke, egged on by Salvatico,
opposed a stubborn resistance to the demands of Chavigny
that he should receive his errant daughter-in-law, and it
was only when the Frenchman had threatened him with
the resentment of the Regent that he finally yielded.
On May 28, the princess arrived at Modena. She came
alone, for the prince, not daring to present himself before
his father until the latter's indignation should have had
time to subside, had remained at Venice, whither he
and his wife had proceeded from Verona.
The reception accorded her was mortifying to the last
degree. No one came to meet her ; no one received her
either in the courts or on the staircase of the palace,
and she had to make her way alone to the Duke's cabinet.
The old gentleman greeted her with the usual empty
compliments, and immediately escorted her to her
apartments, whence he sent to summon the three prin-
cesses, and, the moment they appeared, took his departure.
Salvatico, on his side, lost not a moment in resuming his
persecution. He persuaded the Duke to forbid the ladies
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 263
of the Court to visit the princess— a prohibition which was
presently extended to all the French members of her
Household ; and he caused the door of communication
between her apartments and those of her sisters-in-law
to be walled up, which practically precluded all private
intercourse between them. In short, the poor lady
found herself almost completely isolated.
The Abbe" Philibert, who had accompanied the princess
to Modena, addressed a strong protest to the Duke,
but the latter ignored it, under the pretext that the abbe
had no official character. Philibert, much irritated, wrote
to the Regent that the sojourn of his daughter at Modena
was " no longer possible or supportable," and appealed to
Chavigny, who demanded the dismissal of Salvatico,
which was, of course, refused. That personage, profiting
by the continued absence of the Prince of Modena, who,
being still afraid to face his father, had accepted an
invitation to visit the Elector of Bavaria at Munich, was
evidently determined to render the princess's position
intolerable, in order to drive her to create a new scandal ;
and Chavigny and Philibert were in despair. The former
wrote indignant despatches to Paris, representing the
Duke of Modena as a cruel tyrant, whose persecutions had
driven his family and his subjects to such an extremity of
despair that they excited the compassion of all honest
men ; while the latter wrote to the prince entreating him
to return. This the latter at length consented to do, and,
thanks doubtless to his discretion in selecting July 2,
which happened to be his birthday, for his appearance
upon the scene, was received " with moderation and few
words." He found himself treated, however, with almost
as much severity as his wife, and none of the courtiers was
264 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
permitted to pay his respects to him, unless accompanied
by Salvatico.
The ridiculous and humiliating situation of the princess
continued for several weeks, notwithstanding the protests
of Philibert and Chavigny. " Monseigneur [the Regent]
did not reckon when he gave his daughter in marriage
that she would be rendered unhappy," said Philibert to
the duke one day. " There is nothing that I do not do in
order to please her, and I do not believe that I fail in
anything," was the reply. It was clearly impossible to
argue with such a person.
At length, towards the end of July, the young couple
received permission to pay a visit to the baths of Lucca.
The princess immediately began making preparations
which indicated clearly that she hoped never to return.
Colibeaux lost no time in warning the Regent, and de-
manded that the prince should write severely to his
daughter on the subject. The same courier carried a
letter from the princess to her father, declaring that
it was impossible for her to endure any longer the tyranny
of the Duke of Modena, " without drawing upon herself
the contempt of all Italy," and entreating him to give
her and her husband an asylum in some town in France, as
far removed from Paris as he might please. To this the
Regent naturally refused to consent ; nevertheless, the
princess prolonged her stay at Lucca, in the hope that he
might relent.
Her hopes, however, were vain, for not only did the
Regent absolutely refuse to sanction his daughter's
return to France, but he subsequently caused her
to be informed that, until she had abandoned any
such intention, he should not attempt to interfere
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 265
between her and her father-in-law in order to procure a
relaxation of the severity with which she was treated.
This news reached the princess at Rome, whither she
and her husband had come to spend a month incognito.
She was at first greatly distressed, but soon, recognising
that her father was really in earnest, she became more
resigned ; and Philippe d'Orl^ans, on being acquainted
with this, addressed a strong letter to the Duke of Modena,
in which he declared he should regard the treatment
which the prince and princess received from him as a
personal matter.
Towards the end of December, the young people re-
turned to Modena, and shortly afterwards took up their
residence at a country-house belonging to the prince near
Reggio, where it had been decided that they should
henceforth pass the greater part of their time. This
arrangement had been made at the instance of the Regent,
who perceived in it a means of securing reasonable liberty
to his daughter and avoiding the inevitable friction with
the Duke which her presence at Modena would entail.
Singularly enough, however, neither the prince nor the
princess seem to have been at all enamoured of the
prospect ; and the intervention of the Cardinal de Rohan,
the French Ambassador at the Vatican, was required to
induce them to consent. Presumably, they were of opinion
that, with all its inconveniences, residence at the Court
of Modena was preferable to the ennui of existence in the
country.
At the beginning of the following autumn, a rumour
was current in Paris that the Due de Richelieu had
contracted a secret marriage with Mile, de Charolais.
The princess did not fail to be informed of this report,
266 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
which caused the poor lady, in whose breast the passion
which the duke had inspired wTas far from extinguished,
unspeakable distress. " The 17th," writes Madame Piche
to the Regent, " the Abbe" Colibeaux announced to her
the marriage of the Due de Richelieu with Mile, de C.
[Charolais]. This was for her a veritable thunderbolt,
and caused her to weep all day. The husband and all
the family knew not what to make of it. A week later,
the Marselot [Madame Marselot] received a letter from
her sister, who informed her of the marriage of the said
duke. She had the imprudence to speak of it. This is
for her an additional grief, but she did not dare to weep,
which made her very ill."
There was no truth in this report, but it does not appear
to have been contradicted for some time, or, at any rate,
the denial was very slow in reaching Italy. Consequently,
it exercised a great influence upon the princess, who had
evidently been maintaining a correspondence with
Richelieu, and had cherished the illusion that she was
still very near to his heart.1 Now that she believed that
1 Soulavie affirms that, some months after the princess's marriage,
Richelieu followed his expatriated inamorata to Modena, disguised as
a hawker of books, and that, in this character, he succeeded on several
occasions in gaining access to her apartments in the palace, when " he
hastened to make her forget her sorrow and her misfortunes." He also
describes a very piquant interview between the duke and the lady's
husband, who, returning sooner than was expected from the chase, had
nearly surprised the pair at an exceedingly inopportune moment, but
without conceiving any suspicion.
The only evidence in support of this story, which has found its way
into the works of several modern writers with a weakness for the pictu-
resque, is a somewhat obscure passage in a letter of Colibeaux, dated
December 26, 1720 — that is to say, just about the time the chronicler
places the adventure in question :
" The sieur Rati [Rafe] has arrived here, with a gardener. We might
very well have dispensed with both of them." Now, the sieur Rafe
was Richelieu's confidential valet de chambre, and it may be argued
that wherever he happened to be, his master was not likely to be far
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 267
he had abandoned her definitely for her rival, the prin-
cipal motive which had urged her to return to France
was removed, and she became more reconciled to her lot.
It would appear, also, that she had begun to fear that,
if she continued to keep her husband at a distance, the
affair might terminate " d Vitalienne " ; and these
apprehensions were artfully stimulated by Colibeaux,
although he was aware that they were perfectly ground-
less, in the hope that they might lead to the solution so
much desired. He was not disappointed. In the spring
of 1723, the princess was announced to be enceinte ; and
on November 18 she gave birth to a son, who, writes
Colibeaux, " appeared to me to be beautiful and healthy."
off ; indeed, he may have been " the gardener." But, though it is
quite possible that Richelieu did undertake a journey to Modena, since
amorous adventures in which difficulties had to be overcome always
made a peculiar appeal to him, it is, when we pause to consider the
rigorous surveillance to which the princess was subjected by her father-
in-law and Salvatico, highly improbable that he succeeded in obtaining
the lengthy private audiences which Soulavie describes.
CHAPTER XIII
Mile. d'Orl£ans as Abbess of Chelles — Improvements which she executes
at the convent — She constitutes herself the official protectress of
the Jansenists — Efforts of the Regent to induce her to renounce
her heterodox views — He exiles Pere Ledoux, almoner of Chelles —
The abbess retaliates by driving away Madame de Fretteville, who
has been won over by the Jesuits — Extraordinary conduct of the
princess, who transforms her abbey from a monastic retreat into a
kind of country-house and leads with her nuns a life of pleasure —
Calumnies — Sudden reformation of the abbess, who passes from
dissipation to austerity — She leaves Chelles, and, though still re-
taining her title of abbess, becomes temporary superior of the Abbey
of the Val-de-Grace — Brief return to worldliness, followed by in-
creased austerity — She seeks to convert the Regent, and reprimands
him severely for the scandalous manner in which he distributes the
ecclesiastical patronage of the Crown.
WE left Louise Adelaide d'Orleans duly installed as
Abbess of Chelles, in the room of poor Madame
de Villars, whom she had succeeded in ousting from the
office which she had held for more than ten years. The
young lady appears at first to have taken her role of
superior of a religious establishment very seriously, and
she proceeded to reconstruct almost entirely the buildings
of the convent and to restore the church ; while she
rendered a still more valuable service to the community
by assuring its water-supply, the inadequacy of which had
been the chief disadvantage of this otherwise delightful
spot, owing to the fact that the spring which supplied the
town of Chelles was situated on much lower ground than
268
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 269
the abbey. We read in the Journal de la Regence of
Buvat :
" The 22 May, Pere Sebastien,1 Carmelite monk of the
convent of the Place Maubert, native of Lyons, repaired
to the town of Chelles, and, as this monk has a superior
genius for the sciences, and particularly for those which
depend upon mathematics, having examined the ground
about the town and the situation of the abbey, he deter-
mined to have a machine constructed, by means of which
this abbey will have the necessary supply of water,
with a reservoir in the interior of the convent contain-
ing more than two hundred hogsheads, for its daily
necessities and in the event of fire. This will henceforth
exempt the abbey from keeping a waggon with a man
and a horse, as it did formerly for more than eleven
hundred years, to bring it the water which it re-
quired."
Buvat adds that Mile. d'Orleans had caused the follow-
ing inscription to be engraved on a slab of black marble
placed above the fountain of Chelles, " to serve as a
perpetual monument to the glory of this illustrious
princess " :
" Quae per prata humilis Bathildis2 lympha fluebat
Huic dedit Adelais unda superba fluat."
And that, not satisfied with this, the abbess had put
up a bronze plaque, thus inscribed :
1 Jean Truchet, called Pere Sebastien, born in 1657, died in J7X9-
He was celebrated throughout France for his knowledge of mechanics
and hydraulics. His best known invention was a contrivance called
" le diable," whereby the largest trees were able to be transplanted
without injuring them.
2 Sainte-Bathilde was, as we have mentioned, the real founder of
the Abbey of Chelles.
270 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
" Fontem exaltari jussit
Et hunc lapidem posuit
Ludovica Adelais
Abbatissa
Anno aetatis suae
XXI
Mense novembri anni 1719
Imperanti
Ludovico XV
Regenti
Philippo Aurelianensi duce
Adelaidis patre."
The improvement of her convent was not the only
direction in which the princess found scope for her
activity. It will be remembered that Madame de Villars
had been a rigid Molinist, while her youthful successor
had embraced the doctrines of Jansenius, which were
held by Pere Ledoux, the almoner of the convent, and
the great majority of the nuns who had supported her
against the late abbess ; and scarcely had she returned
to Chelles, than she plunged into the controversy which
divided the Gallican Church with the ardour which she
brought to everything which she undertook, and showed
her intention of constituting herself the official pro-
tectress of the Jansenists. In April 1720, supported by
the Cardinal de Noailles, she successfully intervened on
behalf of certain Benedictine monks who, having appealed
against the Constitution Unigenitus, had been banished
by their General to distant monasteries; and a few
months later she obtained authorisation from her father
for this Order to elect as its head the Pere Saint-
Marthe, a particularly zealous opponent of the " Con-
stitution."
The Regent, though he had yielded to his daughter's
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UNRULY DAUGHTERS 271
importunities, was seriously disquieted by the attitude
which she had adopted, fearing that it might lead to
differences with the Vatican, very undesirable at this
juncture. He therefore despatched to Chelles Pere
Trevoux, who had once been her directear, to reason with
her and strive to bring her back to the path of orthodoxy.
The abbess, however, refused to listen to the reverend
Father, and forbade him even to present himself before
her. The Regent, much irritated, replied by banishing
Pere Ledoux, to whose influence this refusal was generally
ascribed, and charged the Jesuits to undertake the
conversion of the princess, by any means that might
commend itself to them. The Jesuits succeeded in
winning over the prioress, Madame de Fretteville, who,
it will be remembered, had contributed powerfully to
develop the taste of Mile. d'Orleans for the religious life
and to persuade her to take the veil. This lady now
enjoyed the princess's entire confidence, and took ad-
vantage of it to represent to her the error of her ways
and to pursue her with incessant remonstrances. The
abbess, however, was one of those whose determination
is only strengthened by opposition, and, ignoring the
arguments and entreaties of Madame de Fretteville, she
tormented her father with demands for the recall of
Pere Ledoux. But the Regent, although, since the death
of the Duchesse de Berry, he had shown much affection
for Mile. d'Orleans, remained inflexible ; upon which she
revenged herself by making matters so unpleasant for
her former favourite that she was obliged to leave the
convent.
After this, the abbess seems to have decided that she
had gone far enough in defiance of her father, and, while
272 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
declining to abandon her heterodox views, she, in other
ways, neglected nothing in order to please him and to
attract him to Chelles, which he soon fell into the habit
of visiting at least once a week. With this object, she
proceeded to give full scope to that taste for worldly
pursuits which she had carried with her into the cloister,
and to transform her abbey from a monastic retreat into
a kind of country-house. The narrow, gloomy cells of
the nuns gave place to light and airy rooms ; the parlours
were converted into veritable boudoirs ; the gardens
lost the somewhat severe aspect which they had main-
tained for centuries, and beds of gorgeous flowers, sanded
paths, and delightful arbours appeared everywhere ;
the latest books, pamphlets, and gazettes were ordered
from Paris ; fine horses and elegant equipages occupied
the stables, and the abbess, accompanied by some of the
more favoured nuns, might frequently be seen riding and
driving about the neighbourhood ; skilled pyrotechnists
were installed in the convent to prepare the fireworks
which constituted one of the principal amusements of the
reverend Mother ; the religious ceremonies assumed the
character of musical fetes ; and dramatic representations
were organised — not the religious tragedies which had
been performed before Louis XIV. and Madame de Main-
tenon at Saint-Cyr, but the most passionate of Racine's
plays, in which the youngest and prettiest of the nuns
and novices took part.
The activities of the abbess herself were as manifold
as those of her father. She worked at embroideries and
tapestries ; she made wigs for the plays performed at
Chelles with her own hands ; she practised pistol-
shooting ; she played and sang ; she studied chemistry,
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 273
physics, and even surgery, and is said to have attained
some skill in the use of surgical instruments.
The Regent came frequently to Chelles ; and in his
wake followed a constant stream of visitors from the gay
world, eager to assist at the singular spectacle of pious
recluses declaiming the most amorous sentiments ; to
enjoy the delightful msiuc, and to partake of the sump-
tuous repasts which the abbess provided for them ;
while, on their side, the chansonniers hastened to sharpen
their pens to describe, or rather to travesty, the life of
this singular community.
" De l'abbaye
Ou reside Venus,
Nonne jolie,
Disant peu d'oremus,
Loin des soins superfius,
Ne songeant tout au plus
Q'a bien passer la vie,
Fait bons les revenus
De l'abbaye.
" Du monastere
L'amoureux directeur
En 1'art de plaire
Vient instruire chaque soeur.
L'amour gagne les coeurs
Par des attraits trompeurs.
C'est la regie severe
Que maintient en vigueur
Le monastere.
" Pour tout office
On goute tous les jours
Mille delices,
Q'assaisonne 1' Amour.
274 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Chaque instant sur le coeur
II repand ses faveurs.
A ce dieu si propice
Elles livrent leurs coeurs
Pour tout office." 1
In the midst of these worldly distractions, the abbess
appears to have preserved the purity of her morals, but
it must be admitted that she furnished calumny with
arms ; and, needless to say, calumny did not fail to turn
them to account. She was accused of filling the place in
the Regent's affections which had been attributed to the
Duchesse de Berry ; of practising the vices of ancient
Greece ; of a gallantry with the Due de Richelieu, who
was said to have entered the convent in disguise, and of
a more durable love-affair with her intendant Augeard,
who was " amiable and young." 2
Although there was probably not a grain of truth in
any of these reports, the worldly, agitated life which the
young lady led was reprehensible enough in all conscience
for the superior of a monastic community, and con-
stituted a very grave scandal. Happily, it did not last
many months ; for it was impossible for this restless,
impulsive creature to be content with anything for very
long. " Sometimes austere to excess, sometimes with
nothing of religion about her save the robe ; musician,
surgeon, theologian, directrice, and all that by leaps and
bounds, though accompanied by much intelligence ;
always fatigued and disgusted by her different situations ;
incapable of persevering in any of them." Such is the
1 Recueil Maurepas, cited by Barthelemy.
2 Duclos, Me"moires secrets.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 275
portrait which Saint-Simon draws of her ; and soon, by
a natural reaction, she abandoned this life of pleasure
for one of excessive piety. Perhaps, the remonstrances
of her exiled almoner, Pere Ledoux, the only person who
possessed any real influence over her, contributed to this
startling transformation ; possibly, it may have been
partly brought about by chagrin at the futility of her
efforts to obtain that ascendancy over her father of which
she had dreamed. Any way, she passed on a sudden from
dissipation to austerity, and turned with a new ardour
towards Jansenism. " Her progress in the spiritual life
was such that she broke one morning, in an access of
devotion, all her musical instruments, and made of them
a great fire, which she lighted with her sheets of profane
music. She gave no more suppers or collations except to
simple nuns, and meditated upon death to such a degree
that she decided one evening, at ten o'clock, on rising
from table, to go and visit her place in the tomb which
she had had excavated for her. Each of the nuns, torch
in hand, accompanied her into the church ; they caused
the vault to be opened and descended. She tried her bed,
and appeared satisfied with her future habitation."1
The public, it is to be feared, was more amused than
edified by this metamorphosis, with regard to the per-
manence of which it was not unnaturally somewhat
sceptical, and the chansonniers did not fail to make merry
at the expense of the abbess :
" Que dans vos yeux Jansenius
Trouve de fortes armes !
Que la bulle U nigenitus
Tient peu contre vos charmes !
1 Soulavie, Memoires du due de Richelieu.
276 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Pour vous plaire, Iris, de bon cceur
Je me ferais janseniste ;
Mais ayez pour moi la douceur
D'une ame moliniste.
" Je vois l'Amour arme de traits
Qui vous suit a la trace ;
De votre air vif, brillant et frais
La grace est efficace.
Je soutiendrai ce dogme-la,
Et ma these est publique,
Quand on devrait chez Loyola
M'appeler heretique." 1
" Iris," however, did not persevere the less in her
Jansenist zeal, and, exasperated against the chiefs of the
Jesuit faction, who had persuaded the Regent to exile
Ledoux, she posed as the protectress of all whom they
persecuted, and opened to them the gates of Chelles.
But, in the midst of this return to devotion, a great
weariness of the career she had chosen came upon her,
and a report was current that she intended to petition
the Holy See to relieve her of her vows. " The Abbess
of Chelles," writes Mathieu Marais, in December 1720,
" is bored in her abbey, and is coming to pass some
time at the Val-de-Grace, where she will be nearer the
Court and expedients to return there, if that be possible."
There was no truth in the report that Mile. d'Orleans
desired to renounce the religious life, but she was cer-
tainly tired of Chelles, where it is not unlikely that she
was experiencing considerable difficulty in enforcing
discipline, the bonds of which had been so much relaxed
that it must have been no easy task to draw them tight
again. Any way, to the Val-de-Gra.ce she came, and, the
1 M. Victor du Bled, la Societe franfaise du XVI' sitcle au' ' XXe
sidcle, Serie 4'.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 277
office of abbess of that celebrated community being then
vacant, obtained authorisation from the Regent to occupy
it temporarily, while retaining her title of Abbess of
Chelles, the direction of the latter convent being under-
taken by one of her favourites there, whom she had
been permitted to nominate in her place.
The nuns of the Val-de-Grace, a community which
had always prided themselves on the regularity and
decorum which prevailed among them, were very far
from gratified by the arrival of a young lady who had
already contrived to make herself so notorious ; nor
were they any the more favourably disposed towards
their new superior when they saw her resume some of the
eccentricities which had marked the early months of her
reign at Chelles, installing herself in an apartment
separated completely from the common dormitory,
establishing a most sumptuous table, and ' very fre-
quently sending very late at night to order pieces of
pastry from a neighbouring pastry-cook, who brought
them to the abbey at unseasonable hours."1 These
things the good Sisters were compelled to tolerate, but
they demanded and obtained of Mile. d'Orleans, as a
special favour, that when her father came to see her, he
should do so without any suite and enter the convent
absolutely alone.
The Regent, in fact, came often to see his daughter,
whose return to worldliness was of very brief dura-
tion, and who speedily returned to devotion, ad-
monished him severely on the wickedness of his ways,
and endeavoured to persuade him to lead a different life.
Becoming more fervidly Jansenist than ever, she plunged
1 Buvat, Journal de la Regence, May 1722.
278 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
with renewed ardour into religious controversy, in which
she proved herself no mean adversary ; and Mathieu
Marais cites a letter of hers in response to one fromjFrancois
de Chamilly, Archbishop of Tours, a partisan of the
Jesuits, which proves that she wielded a vigorous pen,
and was capable of dealing some uncommonly shrewd
blows. She was, too, particularly indignant at the
scandalous manner in which the Regent disposed of his
ecclesiastical patronage, bestowing bishoprics and abbeys
without taking the smallest account of the merits of the
recipients ; and at the distribution of benefices in 1723,
in which he showed even more than his usual indifference,
and promoted several persons notoriously unfit to hold
any sacred office, she addressed to him a remonstrance
couched in the strongest possible terms, " which fright-
ened him," says Saint-Simon, " and which, however,
he read and reread twice. It was admirable," he con-
tinues, " both on the choice of the subject and on the
abuse which he made of it, and threatened him with the
anger of God, who would chastise him promptly. He was
sufficiently moved by it to speak of it, and even to allow
it to be seen ; but I do not know whether he profited by it.
He had not time to do so."
A few days later, in fact, Philippe d'OrMans was
stricken with apoplexy, and expired in the arms of his
latest favourite, Madame de Phalaris (December 23, 1723).
CHAPTER XIV
Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Mile, de Montpensier, fourth daughter of
the Regent — Negotiations concluded for the marriage of Louis XV .
to the Infanta, Ana Victoria, and for that of Don Luis, Prince of
the Asturias, to Mile, de Montpensier — Embassy of Saint-Simon to
Madrid— Festivities in Paris— Departure of Mile, de Montpensier
for Spain — Character of this princess — Her portrait by Madame —
Her journey to the frontier — The exchange of the princesses —
Meeting with Philip V. and Don Luis at Cogollos — The marriage :
an ignorant cardinal — Saint- Simon obtains the public " consumma-
tion " of the marriage — Letter of the Princess of the Asturias to her
father— Philip V. and Elizabeth Farnese— Influence of the Queen
over her husband— Their daily life— Severity of Philip V. towards
transgressors of the moral law — Illness of the princess — Anxieties
of the King and Queen — Extraordinary behaviour of the princess —
She obstinately refuses to attend the State ball to be given in her
honour — Saint-Simon's interview with her — The ball is abandoned
— Conclusion of Saint-Simon's embassy— Incredible vulgarity of the
princess at his farewell audience — Improvement in her conduct —
Affection of Don Luis for her — Abdication of Philip V.
WHILE the three elder daughters of the Due and
Duchesse d'Orleans were making so much stir
in the world, their three younger sisters, Miles, de Mont-
pensier, de Beaujolais, and de Chartres, born respectively
in 1709, 1714, and 1716, were still in the schoolroom or
the nursery. However, in the winter of 1721-22, the
first of these young ladies, notwithstanding that she had
scarcely attained her twelfth year, found herself promoted
to a most exalted position.
After the fall of Alberoni (November 171 9) and the
enforced adhesion of Philip V. to the Quadruple Alliance
(May 1720), the disposition of the Regent and Dubois
towards Spain underwent a change, and they determined
279
280 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
to endeavour to convert the rapprochement to which they
had constrained her into an intimate alliance, and to
renew by marriages the almost broken relations between
the two great branches of the House of Bourbon.
Meanwhile Philip V. had turned his eyes towards the
Court of Vienna, and in May 1720 he made overtures to
the Emperor, with the view of marrying Don Luis,
Prince of the Asturias, to the eldest archduchess, who
would inherit her father's Flemish and Italian dominions,
and his second son, the Infant Don Fernando, to the
second archduchess, heiress of the German and Austrian
States. These propositions, however, were but coldly
received by Charles VI., and the negotiations dragged
slowly on for nearly a year, when the indifference shown
by the Emperor began to cause his Catholic Majesty
serious umbrage. It was then that Dubois, who had not
failed to keep himself informed of these manoeuvres,
decided to profit by Philip's dissatisfaction to detach
him altogether from Austria, by offering him at Versailles
the double marriage which he was seeking at Vienna
that is to say, a marriage between Louis XV. and the
King of Spain's only daughter, the Infanta Ana
Victoria, and another between the Prince of the Asturias
and the Regent's eldest unmarried daughter, Mile, de
Montpensier. These alliances were much to be desired
by the House of Orleans. In the first place, the tender
age of the Infanta — she was only three years old — meant
that years must elapse before the birth of a prince in the
direct line of succession. In the second, since Don Luis
was reported to resemble his father " as closely as one
drop of water resembles another," he would probably,
like Philip V., allow himself to be governed by his wife ;
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 281
and the Due d'Orleans might therefore reckon that, in
the event of the death of Louis XV., his daughter would
be able to prevent her husband from disputing the title
of the Regent or the Due de Chartres to the throne, or
from aiding his younger brothers to do so.
The Marquis de Maulevrier, the French Ambassador at
Madrid, was accordingly instructed to sound the Spanish
Court on the matter, and, at the same time, to inform
the King that the French Government was aware of his
negotiations with Vienna. Philip V. did not hesitate to
admit them, saying that he had believed that they might
conduce to the advantage of his family. He added that
he did not refuse the propositions which had been made
to him ; that he was much touched by them, and that in
a little while he would show the attachment that he bore
the land of his birth.
His Majesty was, indeed, highly pleased at the prospect
of giving an infanta to Louis XV. ; while the Queen,
Elizabeth Farnese, the " Termagant of Spain,"1 was
equally gratified at the idea of seeing the crown matri-
monial of France upon her daughter's head. As for the
proposal that the Prince of the Asturias should marry Mile,
de Montpensier, this, as binding the two countries still
closer together and assuring to the King and Queen the
goodwill of the Due d'Orleans, was scarcely less welcome.
Early in July, Pere Daubenton, Philip V.'s confessor,
who had warmly supported Dubois in this matter,
informed Maulevrier that since the end of March nego-
tiations with the Emperor had entirely ceased, and that
his Catholic Majesty was more and more resolved to live
on terms of close friendship with the Due d'Orleans.
1 Carlylc, Frederick the Great.
282 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
This intelligence was presently confirmed by the King
himself, and, finally, on the 26th, the Prime Minister,
Grimaldo, visited the French Ambassador to demand,
in his master's name, the hand of Mile, de Montpensier
for the Prince of the Asturias, and to propose the marriage
of the Infanta with Louis XV.
The same day, Maulevrier sent off a courier to Paris,
with despatches which were naturally received with the
liveliest satisfaction by the Regent and Dubois, but with
much less pleasure by the eleven-year-old King, who
wept at the idea of taking to wife a child of three. How-
ever, his preceptor, Fleury, the future cardinal, eventually
succeeded in obtaining from him a reluctant consent.
The preliminaries were soon concluded. It was decided
that the Infanta should be sent to France, to be brought
up there until she should reach a marriageable age ; the
marriage of the Prince of the Asturias and Mile, de Mont-
pensier was, however, to take place as soon as the latter
arrived in Spain. Louis XV. promised Mile, de Mont-
pensier a dowry of 500,000 ecus ; the Regent one of 40,000,
partly in specie and partly in jewels ; and Philip V. was
to provide his daughter-in-law with jewels to the value
of 50,000 6cus. The announcement of the latter alliance,
Saint-Simon tells us, produced the utmost consternation
among the cabal opposed to the Regent, which had
always sought on the other side of the Pyrenees for the
means of compassing his overthrow, and had fondly
imagined the enmity between him and Philip V. to be
altogether irreconcilable. " Men, women, people of all
conditions, who belonged to that cabal lost all counten-
ance. It was a pleasure to me, I admit it, to look upon.
They were utterly disconcerted."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 283
On October 23, Saint-Simon, in the character of Am-
bassador Extraordinary, set out for Madrid, to make
the formal demand for the hand of the Infanta. The
duke had been invested by the Regent with this mission
at his own request, greatly to the annoyance of Dubois,
who hated him, and who, Saint-Simon assures us, did
his best to ruin him, by insisting that he should be
accompanied by a suite out of all proportion to that
which the occasion demanded and dressed with un-
paralleled magnificence.
A week later, the Duque de Ossuna arrived from
Madrid on a similar mission, and signalised his arrival
by giving a succession of splendid fetes and displays
of fireworks, which appear to have greatly delighted
the Parisians. On November 13, he formally demanded
of the King the hand of Mile, de Montpensier, and
on the 15th the marriage-contract was signed at the
Tuileries, with great ceremony, after which Louis XV.
proceeded to the Palais-Royal to compliment his cousin.
On the 1 6th, there was a ball at the Opera and a grand
fete at the Palais-Royal, " which was illuminated outside
as well as in, and at which there was a superb collation
of fruits and sweetmeats, and so great a profusion of
liquors that in the morning they threw what remained
out of the window in buckets. The cost amounted to
840,000 livres."1 On the morrow, Mile, de Montpensier
received the Marechal de Villeroi, Louis XV. 's gouverneur,
who came to bid her adieu in the name of his Majesty,
the Ambassadors, and the Provost of the Merchants and
the sheriffs, who presented her, on behalf of the town,
with six baskets covered with white taffeta, containing
1 Buvat.
284 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
tapers, candles, and dried fruits. The baskets were carried
by six archers, who received from the princess twenty
louis for their trouble. A like present was offered to the
Duque de Ossuna, who gave the archers twelve louis.
These ceremonies concluded, Mile, de Montpensier
entered her carriage, with her father and brother, her
gouvernante the Comtesse de Cheverny, the Duchesse de
Ventadour, and the Princesse de Soubise, who had been
appointed gouvernante to the Infanta, and set out for
Spain. She was followed by a most imposing suite,
which was to serve the double purpose of accompanying
her to the Spanish frontier and the Infanta from Bayonne
to Paris. The escort consisted of one hundred and fifty
gendarmes, whom the Prince de Rohan-Soubise, selected
to receive the Infanta, had equipped superbly at his own
expense, and a detachment of eight Gardes du Corps. The
Regent and the Due de Chartres left her at Bourg-la-
Reine and returned to Paris, and the princess continued
her journey to Arpajon, where she was to pass the night,
and where some impudent thieves profited by the care-
lessness of the escort to carry off several trunks from the
waggons and nearly a dozen pieces of silver plate.
Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Mile, de Montpensier, the
young princess who thus suddenly found herself thrust
into such prominence, was born on December n, 1709,
and had therefore not yet completed her twelfth year.
Much as her elder sisters had suffered from the deplorable
indifference of their parents during their early years,
she had suffered still more; indeed, her education was
utterly neglected. Before she was seven years old, she
was withdrawn from the Benedictine convent of Saint-
Paul, near Beauvais, where she might at least have
Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans (Mi. i.e. de Montpensier),
Princess of the Asturias, afterwards Queen of Spain
From the painting by Juan Rank, in the Museum of the Prado
c «
■
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 285
learned something, and thenceforth appears to have
received scarcely any instruction at all, scholastic, moral,
or religious ; not even ordinary good manners ; and,
since she lacked the intelligence which might have
counterbalanced to some degree the effects of this
criminal neglect, she had developed into one of the most
ignorant, disagreeable, and worst-behaved little girls
possible to conceive. Here is the portrait which her
grandmother has left us of her :
" I cannot say that Mile, de Montpensier is ugly ; she
has fine eyes, a delicate white skin, a well-formed nose,
although a trifle thin, and a very small mouth. With all
that, she is the most disagreeable person that I have
ever seen in my life. In all her actions, whether she is
speaking, eating, or drinking, she is insupportable. She
did not shed a tear on leaving us, and hardly bade us
farewell."
Such was the princess whom the chances of politics
were about to throw into the midst of the most austere
and punctilious Court in Europe.
It had been arranged that Mile, de Montpensier's jour-
ney should occupy a month, such being the time which it
was calculated the Infanta would require to reach the
frontier. But the Spaniards travelled in such leisurely
fashion that the time allotted the French cortege had to
be considerably extended, and the princess was able
to spend three days at both Poitiers and Bordeaux, at
which latter city she met with a magnificent reception.
At Bayonne, she visited Maria Anna of Neuburg, the
widow of Charles II. of Spain, who received her with
great kindness, made her sit in an arm-chair similar to her
own, and gave her several costly presents : a very valuable
286 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
diamond, a watch, a snuff-box encrusted with diamonds,
and a commode filled with Chinese porcelain. Finally,
on January 9, 1722, she reached the northern bank of
the Bidassoa, facing the lie des Faisans, at the same
time as the Infanta, who was in charge of the Marques
de Santa-Cruz, major-domo of the Queen's Household,
and her camerara mayor, the Duquessa de Montellano,
appeared on the farther shore.
At midday on the morrow, the exchange of princesses
was carried out with great ceremony.
A
In the middle of the lie des Faisans, the northern por-
tion of which was French territory, and the southern
Spanish, a wooden pavilion, handsomely furnished, had
been erected, consisting of two apartments, one on the
side of France, the other on that of Spain, separated by
a salon, in which the exchange was to take place. A
bridge of boats connected the two banks with the island.
The river was covered with boats, gay with flags and
crowded with people.
The Prince de Rohan gave his hand to Mile, de Mont-
pensier as she alighted from her carriage, and conducted
her to her apartment. At the same moment, the little
Infanta, escorted by the Marques de Santa-Cruz, entered
hers. After the princesses had rested awhile, they entered
the salon, and took their places on opposite sides of a
table placed in the middle of the room. The Prince de
Rohan was on Mile, de Montpensier's right ; the Duchesse
de Ventadour and the Princesse de Soubise on her left.
The Marques de Santa-Cruz and the Duquesa de Mon-
tellano occupied similar positions next the Infanta.
The various documents connected with the exchange
having been examined and approved on the previous
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 287
evening, it was not judged necessary to read them in
their entirety. They were therefore merely summarized,
and then presented and signed. The Prince de Rohan
made a complimentary speech, thanking the Spaniards,
in the name of Louis XV., for the care which they had
taken of the precious person of the Infanta ; to which
the Marques de Santa-Cruz replied. The princesses em-
braced and were reconducted to their apartments, and,
after presents had been distributed, they left the island
and resumed their respective journeys, Mile, de Mont-
pensier being now accompanied only by Spaniards, with
the exception of her gouvernante Madame de Cheverny,
who, however, was to leave her at Lerma, where their
Catholic Majesties and her fiance were awaiting her.
The Infanta had occupied thirty-five days to traverse
the distance between Lerma and the Bidassoa, but, in
obedience to the repeated orders of Philip V., who was
impatient to behold his future daughter-in-law, the
Marques de Santa-Cruz used such expedition that it
was now accomplished in ten ; and on January 19 the
French princess arrived at Cogollos, four leagues from
Lerma.
The King immediately sent the Duque del Arco, his
grand equerry, to compliment the princess in his name.
He himself and the Prince of the Asturias followed in the
duke's suite, in an ordinary carriage. On reaching
Cogollos, Del Arco, having warned Mile, de Montpensier's
attendants not to betray the incognito of the illustrious
travellers, addressed to the young lady a long harangue,
in order to enable the King and the prince to study her
at their leisure. Then he demanded permission to present
to her Highness two gentlemen of his suite, who were
288 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
extremely anxious to pay their respects to her ; and
Philip V. and his son stepped forward to salute her,
when one of the princess's ladies " spoiled the mystery,"
by uttering an exclamation of astonishment. Made-
moiselle de Montpensier thereupon " threw herself upon
the hands of the newcomers to kiss them, and was
immediately embraced by them." The King and Don
Luis then entered the princess's carriage, and the cortege
set out for Lerma, where, after the princess had been
presented to Elizabeth Farnese, the marriage was cele-
brated.
It was productive of an incident which proved too
much for even the gravity of the solemn Spanish Court.
The Cardinal Borgia, whose duty it was to pronounce the
nuptial benediction, happened to be quite ignorant of the
ceremonial, and was, in consequence, terribly alarmed
when informed that the marriage was to take place
forthwith. Saint-Simon, who entered the chapel some
little time before the arrival of the Court, found his
Eminence near the altar, diligently studying his lesson
between two of his chaplains, who held the book open in
front of him. " The worthy prelate," he writes, " did
not know how to read ; he tried, however, and read aloud,
but incorrectly. The chaplains corrected him ; he
scolded them ; recommenced ; was again corrected ;
again grew angry, and to such a degree that he turned
round upon them and shook them by their surplices.
I laughed as much as I pleased ; for he perceived nothing,
so occupied and entangled was he with his lesson."
In the midst of this little comedy, the King and Queen,
with the bridal pair and all the Court, arrived at the
door of the chapel, where, according to Spanish custom,
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 289
the service began. " Let them wait," exclaimed the
angry cardinal, when informed of their Majesties' ar-
rival ; " I am not ready." And wait they accordingly
did, while his Eminence continued his lesson, " redder
than his hat and still furious. At last, he went to the
door, at which a ceremony took place which lasted some
time. Had I not been obliged to remain at my post,
curiosity would have prompted me to follow him. That
I lost some amusement is certain, for I saw the King and
Queen laughing and looking at their prie-Dieu, and all
the Court laughing also. . . . The poor cardinal caused
more and more amusement while continuing the cere-
mony, during which he neither knew where he was nor
what he was doing, being interrupted and corrected
every moment by his chaplains, and fuming so that
neither the King nor the Queen could contain themselves.
It was the same with everybody else who witnessed the
scene."
In the evening, there was a grand ball, at the conclusion
of which their Majesties and the whole Court conducted
the young couple to their chamber and saw them into
bed.
This public coucher of royal persons, though practised
in almost every European Court, and continued in France
even after the Restoration,1 was entirely contrary to
Spanish custom, a fact which Saint-Simon attributes to
" the gravity and modesty of the Spaniards." But, as,
owing to the tender age of the princess, it had been
decided that she should not live with her husband for at
least two years, and, from the political point of view,
1 See the author's A Princess of Adventure (London, Methuen ; New
York, Scribner, 191 1), p. 60.
U
2go UNRULY DAUGHTERS
the Ambassador was not without uneasiness as to the
solidity of " a marriage which should not be followed
by, at any rate, a presumed consummation," he had
demanded of the King, notwithstanding that he had re-
ceived no instructions from his Court on the matter, a
ceremony similar to that of which Philip V. had himself
been a witness at the marriage of the Due and Duch-
esse de Bourgogne in 1697. 1 Their Catholic Majesties,
he tells us, permitted him to speak without saying a
word, and then looked at one another with question-
ing eyes. Thereupon Saint-Simon addressed to them a
second and more eloquent harangue, and, after con-
sulting together in a low voice, they eventually gave a
reluctant consent.
The ceremony was carried out under the supervision
of Saint-Simon himself, who declares that everything
passed off exactly as he desired, that is to say, the whole
crowd of courtiers was admitted to see the two chil-
dren who had just been married lying in a state bed,
and to bear witness that the curtains had been closed
upon them in the presence of all.2 Immediately after
the departure of the Court, the prince rose and was
conducted to his own apartments. Lemontey assures
us that, when he was ordered to retire, he began to weep
bitterly.3 The same night, the Chevalier de Peze, an
officer in the cavalry regiment of Saint-Simon, was
despatched to Versailles, to announce the " consumma-
1 See the author's A Rose of Savoy (London, Methuen ; New York,
Scribner, 1909), p. 199.
2 Saint-Simon assures us that when it was known that there was
to be a public coucher, " there appeared only surprise ; no one was
displeased." But, according to Baudrillart (Philippe V. et la cour de
France), the Spanish nobles were " profoundly shocked."
3 Histoire de la Regence.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 291
tion " of the marriage, for which service he was rewarded
by a gratification of fifteen thousand livres.
On the morrow, the new Princess of the Asturias ad-
dressed to her father the following letter, which we tran-
scribe in the original, in order that the reader may be
able to judge, by its style and orthography, the kind of
instruction which the young lady had received. It covers
four pages of unformed characters :
" Mon chere papa, avant jere le roy la reine et le prince
me vinre voire je netoit pas encore ariver ici le lendemein
gi arriveret je fut marie le meme jour cepandant Hi a eu
aujonrdhuit encore des ceremonie a faire le rot et la reine
me traite fort bien pour le prince vous en aves ace out dire
je suis avec un tres profond respec voire tres heumble et tres
obisante file Louise Elisabeth."1
The Court of Spain, where ignorance was so general
that it might almost be said to be the mode, and learning
regarded with suspicion, was hardly the place in which
one might expect the defects in the young princess's
education to be corrected ; while its dreary, ceremonious
existence must have seemed absolutely intolerable to this
wayward child, fresh from the gaiety and freedom of the
Palais-Royal.
Philip V. was a taciturn, melancholy, austere prince,
a recluse and a devotee by taste and habits, disliking
society and caring for no pleasure save shooting. Thanks
to the pains which had been expended upon his education
in his youth by the celebrated Fenelon, he was well-
read and intelligent, and his sentiments were just and
1 Published by Lemontey, les Filles du Regent, Revue retrospective,
Serie I., torn. i.
2Q2 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
honourable. But his character was feeble in the extreme.
" He was born to be governed," says Lemontey, " and
he was so all his life." He had been governed by his
first wife, Maria Luisa of Savoy, aided by the counsels
of the Princesse des Ursins, and he was governed still
more effectively by his present consort, of whom, indeed,
he had become merely the reflection.
When, on the day of the late Queen's funeral, Alberoni
suggested to Madame des Ursins that they should re-
commend the bereaved monarch to console himself with
Elizabeth Farnese— " a good-natured Lombard girl, fat-
tened on butter and Parmesan cheese," as the Minister
rather coarsely described her — and Madame des Ursins, in
a fatal moment for herself, consented, they assured the
fortune of one of the cleverest and most ambitious women
of her time. Elizabeth was not pretty, in fact, her
features were almost ugly ; but she possessed a beautiful,
if rather opulent figure, shapely white shoulders, hands
and arms, a pleasant voice, and a delicious smile, which
made people forget the plainness of her face. Before she
had been a month in Spain — having contrived, by an
audacious coup de main, to get rid of Madame des Ursins
en route — she dominated the feeble Philip entirely;
though she neglected nothing to please him, and, by
subordinating her own inclinations to his in matters of
slight importance, prevented him from realising the
extent to which his other actions were guided by
her.
Perceiving that, if she would govern Spain, she must
have the King continually under her eye, she encouraged
his uxorious proclivities and his taste for seclusion, with
the result that they passed their time in an eternal
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 293
tete-d-tete, and led a life of almost tragic monotony. The
King and Queen never occupied a separate bedchamber
or a separate bed. No night was ever spent apart, and
from the moment when Philip was roused in the morning
to partake of that weird concoction of " broth, milk,
wine, yolk of egg, sugar, cinnamon and cloves," which
Saint-Simon has described, to that in which they returned
to the nuptial couch — it was a four-poster, scarcely four
feet wide, and, according to the Spanish custom, very
low — he would scarcely allow her out of his sight, except
on the days when the Queen confessed ; and even then,
if her confession happened to last longer than usual, his
Majesty would open the door and call her.
In this way, not only was Elizabeth enabled to sound
her husband thoroughly, to know him by heart, so to
speak, but no public business could be hidden from her.
The King always worked in her presence, never other-
wise ; every document that he received she read and
discussed with him. She was always present at all the
private audiences that he gave, whether to his subjects
or to the foreign Ambassadors. Nothing could possibly
escape her.
Of the customary diversions of a Court there were
next to none, for though the Queen was naturally of a
gay and lively disposition, it was an essential part of her
policy to conform in all things to her husband's tastes.
State balls were of rare occurrence ; though the King
was rather partial to dancing, and sometimes gave an
informal dance in the royal apartments. Theatrical
entertainments occasionally took place, but at long
intervals ; gambling was severely discountenanced. Of
outdoor pursuits, hunting was impossible, as beasts of
294 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
the chase were seldom met with in the plains, and the
ground was so hard and rough and so scored with crevices
as to render the pastime dangerous for both dogs and
horses. The King, however, went shooting almost every day
from April till February, during which month and March
a close time was allowed the game ; but, as he was now
too bulky and too indolent to walk any distance, his shoot-
ing-expeditions resolved themselves into a rather disgust-
ing kind of battue, almost every conceivable quadruped
from stags to pole-cats being driven up to the guns and
ruthlessly slaughtered. The Queen invariably accom-
panied the King, and is said to have been an excellent
shot, even bringing down pigeons — on the wing, we should
perhaps add. At these battues, it was contrary to eti-
quette for any one to discharge his gun until the
royal pair had ceased firing, by which time it often hap-
pened that there was nothing left to shoot, except
wounded animals. Occasionally, however, their Majesties
graciously permitted some highly-favoured noblemen to
fire at the same time as themselves.
During the remaining two months of the year, the
King contented himself with a daily walk and a game
of pall-mall, the Queen following as he played, and
applauding or condoling with him as the occasion
demanded.
It was only natural that some of the younger and
sprightlier members of this dreary Court should have
occasionally sought relief from the ennui of such an
existence in the pleasures of gallantry. But they did so
at their peril ; for Philip, who was unswervingly faithful
to his consort, had no indulgence for such faults, and
disgraced pitilessly those who transgressed the moral
Elizabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain
From an engraving by Syfang
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 295
law.1 The old Marechal de Tesse, who succeeded Maule-
vrier as French Ambassador at the Spanish Court, and
who, having known Philip from his childhood, could
venture to speak to him with considerable freedom, was
indignant on learning that the King had deprived of his
government the Marquis de Caylus, a French nobleman
who had followed him to Spain and rendered him valu-
able service, on an accusation of immorality brought
against him by a monk. " Sire," said he, " the Dauphin,
your father, and the King, your grandfather, who partook
pretty freely of game of this kind, believed, however,
that there were only two sins : the one, to eat meat on a
Friday ; the other, to have intercourse with women.
Still, Sire, if you had done as they, I should pardon you ;
but, for my part, I tell you plainly that there is more sin
in believing what a rascal of a monk asserts than in
going to bed with three women." His Majesty, however,
declined to view the matter in this light.
For a day or two after the arrival of the princess
everything seemed to promise well. Both Philip V. and
his consort gave the girl a most affectionate welcome and
overwhelmed her with magnificent presents. Elizabeth
Farnese, in particular, appeared to be delighted with her
step-son's bride, and on the day of her arrival told Saint-
Simon joyfully that she belonged to them now and that
they would know how to take good care of her. But
this illusion, unhappily, was to be of very short duration.
1 An exception was made in the case of the Marques de Santa-Cruz,
whose credit survived a successful affiliation action brought against him
by a woman of the middle-class. But he was a great favourite with
both the King and Queen, and, besides, his wife had obtained a divorce
on the ground of impotence, so that his culpability was certainly open
to question.
296 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
The long journey from Paris, undertaken during the
most inclement season of the year, had somewhat severely
tried the princess's strength, and she arrived at Lerma
suffering from a swelling of the glands of the neck, which
gave her much pain. At first, she appeared a trifle better,
but when the Court returned to Madrid, she became worse,
and a rash appeared, which greatly alarmed the King,
who believed that she was suffering from smallpox, a
disease of which he entertained a morbid dread. Though
assured by Saint-Simon that his daughter-in-law had
already had both smallpox and measles,1 he refused to
visit her or to allow the Queen or Don Luis to do so, and
insisted on the most exaggerated precautions to guard
against contagion. Convinced at last that she was
merely suffering from an attack of erysipelas, both he
and Elizabeth Farnese went to see her, and endeavoured
to atone for their neglect by lavishing upon the invalid
all kinds of attentions ; the Queen giving her her food
and medicine with her own royal hands. But soon a new
fear seized them. The King ordered Saint-Simon to visit
the princess — which he had hitherto refrained from doing,
aware that it was a gross violation of Spanish etiquette
for a man to see a lady in bed — and to examine her as
closely as she would permit. On his return, he was sent
for by Philip V., whom he found, as usual, with the Queen,
and speedily perceived, from the questions which they
addressed to him, that they suspected that the sins of the
father were being visited upon the child. He had all the
difficulty in the world in persuading them that the Regent,
notwithstanding the irregularity of his life, enjoyed
1 The princess had had smallpox in 1719, and measles in the follow-
ing year.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 297
excellent health ; indeed, although they protested that
the Ambassador's assurances had greatly relieved them,
they remained very uneasy until the girl was pronounced
convalescent.
It would have been well if £lisabeth d'Orleans, whose
health was soon completely re-established, had possessed
as sound a mind as she did a body; for some form of
mental alienation, aggravated, no doubt, by the sufferings
which she had undergone and the irksome restraint to
which she had been subjected during her convalescence,
can alone explain the extraordinary manner in which she
now conducted herself. Although the Queen had shown
her great kindness and attention during her illness, and
although it was but a few steps from her own apartments
to those of her Majesty, she obstinately declined to go
and thank her. She refused to see her doctors ; stormed
at her ladies when they attempted to reason with her,
and when the Queen, who, notwithstanding her daughter-
in-law's sullenness, continued to pay her a daily visit,
ventured on some mild remonstrances, answered her with
positive rudeness.
The Queen, in despair, sent for Saint-Simon and begged
him to intervene. The Ambassador endeavoured to
excuse himself, on the pretext that it was impossible
for him to succeed where her Majesty had failed ; but
the latter insisted, and he was obliged to obey. He paid
the erring damsel two or three visits, without getting
any reply from her beyond " yes " and " no," and not
always even that ; and then, losing patience, " adopted
the expedient of saying to her ladies, in her presence, what
I should have said to her myself." The princess listened
with sullen indifference to this " veritable lesson," and
298 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
uttered never a word ; but, finally, she consented to visit
the Queen. She went, however, en deshabille, and with
such bad grace, that she merely succeeded in aggravating
her offence, which was no doubt her Royal Highness's
intention.
But the climax of her unmannerly behaviour was
reached when the time arrived for the grand State ball
which was to be given in honour of her marriage, and
which her illness had caused to be postponed. The
princess detested dancing, for she danced abominably,
and it kept her up, whereas it was her habit to retire to
bed very early and rise with the lark ; and, though by
this time perfectly recovered, to the amazement of the
Court and the mortification of their Majesties and her
husband, she announced that she did not intend to
appear at it. But let us listen to Saint-Simon's account
of the affair.
" Everything still remained in readiness for the great
ball in the Salon of the Grandees, and they waited only
for the princess, who did not wish to attend. The King
and Queen loved the ball, as I have mentioned elsewhere.
They were looking forward with pleasure to this one, and
the Prince of the Asturias likewise ; and the Court
awaited it with impatience. The conduct of the
princess became known abroad and created the most
grievous impression imaginable. I was privately advised
that the King and Queen were greatly provoked by it,
and, being pressed by the princess's ladies to speak to
her, I went to her apartments and talked with her ladies
about the princess's health, which apparently would no
longer delay the pleasures which awaited her. I brought
the ball on the tapis ; I extolled the arrangement of it,
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 299
the spectacle, the magnificence ; I said that this pleasure
was peculiarly suited to the princess's age ; that the
King and Queen were extremely fond of it, and that they
awaited with impatience the time when she would be
able to go. On a sudden, she began to speak, although I
was not addressing her, and cried out, like children who
are fretting : ' I, to go ! I shall not go.' * Well, Madame,'
I answered ; ' you will not go ; you will be very sorry for
it ; you will deprive yourself of a pleasure at which all
the Court is expecting to see you, and you have too many
reasons, and too much desire to please the King and
Queen, to miss any opportunity of doing so.'
" She was seated and was not looking at me. But,
immediately after I had spoken thus, she turned her head
in my direction, and said to me, in the most decided tone
that I have ever heard : ' No, Monsieur, I repeat it :
I shall not go to the ball. The King and Queen will go
there if they wish. They are fond of dancing ; I do not
care for it. They like to rise and to go to bed late ; I
to go to bed early. They will follow their inclinations,
and I shall follow mine.' "
In vain Saint-Simon and her ladies endeavoured to
reason with her ; in vain they represented that for so
young a princess, and one who had only just arrived in
Spain, to refuse to attend a ball which was given in her
honour, which was being looked forward to by the King
and Queen, her husband, and all the Court, and the
preparations for which had entailed so much trouble and
expense, was positively indecent. None of their argu-
ments had the smallest effect upon her ; she was im-
movable as a rock ; and the unfortunate Ambassador
had to go to the King and Queen and report the failure
300 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
of his mission. Philip V. spoke in strong terms about the
capriciousness of his daughter-in-law, and when Saint-
Simon " took the liberty of saying to him that he did not
suppose that he wished to inconvenience himself for the
caprice of a child, which was certainly the result of her
illness, or to deprive his Court and all the public of so
agreeable a fete," answered that it was impossible for the
ball to take place without the princess.
Elizabeth Farnese made signs to the Ambassador to
urge the King to give the ball, and Saint-Simon thereupon
begged him to reconsider his decision, since it was most in-
advisable " to accustom the princess to believe that every-
thing was done for her, and that nothing could be done
without her." But his Majesty would promise nothing.
On the morrow, the Ambassador had another con-
versation with the King and Queen, and reminded them
that he had ventured to represent to their Majesties
that they were spoiling the princess, adding that they
would certainly live to repent of having done so. They,
on their side, complained bitterly of the girl's obstinacy
and capriciousness, of the brevity of the visits which she
paid them and the curtness of her manner towards them,
and of the want of consideration which she showed for
her ladies. ' Upon which," says Saint-Simon, " I asked
them to pardon me if I told them that it was the fault of
their Majesties rather than of a child who knew not what
she was doing, and that, instead of accustoming her, by
their excessive kindness, not to deny herself any caprice,
nothing was more urgent or more important than to
repress them, to make her understand her duty towards
them, and to accustom her to the fear and obedience
which she owed them.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 301
However, his representations did not have much
effect, for when next day he encountered them as
they were starting for the chase, the Queen informed
him that the State ball had been abandoned, and that
orders had been given to remove the decorations which
had been erected in the Salon of the Grandees; and,
" with an air which I might call sheepish, if one may
venture upon this term," made a sign to him to say
nothing more about it.
Before entering their carriage, they announced that,
"to cheer themselves up," they were giving a small
ball that evening in their private apartments, which
would be confined to the members of their respec-
tive Households ; and to this they invited him. He
went, and found that the ball was being held in the
gallery on to which the apartments of the Princess of
the Asturias opened. But, though this arrangement had
evidently been made in the hope that her Royal Highness
would condescend to put in an appearance, if only for a
few moments, nothing was seen of her.
After the affair of the ball, the princess's eccentrici-
ties seemed to increase rather than diminish, and she
" conducted herself in everything in the most strange
manner, gallantry excepted." Towards the end of March,
Saint-Simon, who was little desirous of continuing
his thankless role of Mentor to a child who seemed to
pay not the smallest attention to his long-winded remon-
strances, concluded his mission and set out for France.
On March 21, he had his farewell audience of the
King and Queen, both of whom received him with the
utmost graciousness and expressed great regret at his
departure, as did Don Luis, when he went to take leave
302 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
of him. But in another direction he met with very
different treatment.
" I went, of course," he writes, " to take leave of the
Princess of the Asturias, accompanied by all my suite.
I found her under a dais, standing, her ladies on one side,
the grandees on the other. I made my three reverences,
and then pronounced my compliment, which done, I
waited in silence her reply ; but in vain, for she answered
me never a word. After some moments of silence, I
decided to furnish her with matter for an answer, and
inquired what orders she had to give me for the King, for
the Infanta, for Madame, and for the Due and Duchesse
d'Orleans. By way of reply, she looked at me and
belched so loudly in my face that the noise resounded
through the room. My surprise was such that I was
stupefied. A second belch followed as loud as the first.
" I lost countenance at this and all power of preventing
myself from laughing, and casting my eyes to right and
left, I saw every one with their hands to their mouths
and their shoulders in motion. At last, a third belch,
still louder than the two which had preceded it, threw
all present into confusion, and forced me to take to flight,
followed by all my suite, amidst peals of laughter, all the
louder because they forced the barriers with which
every one had endeavoured to restrain himself. Spanish
gravity was entirely disconcerted ; all was deranged ;
reverences were omitted ; and each person, bursting
with laughter, escaped as he could, the princess all the
while maintaining her countenance. In the adjoining
room we all stopped to laugh at our ease, and afterwards
to express our asfonishment more freely."
Saint-Simon adds that the King and Queen, who were
Don Luis, Prince of the Asturias
(afterwards Luis I., King of Spain)
From an engraving by Picart, after the painting by Viali
1 '
-
-
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 303
soon informed of this adventure, were the first to laugh
at it ; "so as to leave others at liberty to do so, a privilege
which was very largely made use of, without any pressing."
Nor does it appear to have occasioned either surprise or
mortification at the Palais-Royal : indeed, the Regent,
when told of it, laughed heartily.
The departure of Saint-Simon deprived the Princess
of the Asturias of the only person who might have
exercised some influence over her, for the Queen had
grown tired of reasoning with the girl and delegated that
duty to the camerara mayor, the Duquesa de Montellano,
who, finding her remonstrances unheeded, shrugged her
shoulders, and left her wilful little mistress to go her own
sweet way. However, after a while, there would, if we
are to believe the Regent's correspondents at Madrid,
appear to have been a remarkable improvement in the
princess's behaviour; and, at the end of April, Philip V.'s
confessor, Pere Daubenton, wrote to the Regent that
" her Royal Highness was growing every day more
amiable and more gracious," and that " her discretion
was increasing visibly, as well as her figure." And he
adds : " The Spanish admire her intelligence and her
charms, and are so taken with her that they believe that
she will surpass in merit her aunt, the Queen Marie
Louise. This signifies much in this country." This
welcome news was confirmed by the princess's own
dircdeur, Pere de Laubrussel, who, like the Abbe Coli-
beaux at Modena, had been charged by the Regent to
send him regular reports ; indeed, the worthy man
wrote in such eulogistic terms of his penitent, that Dubois
thought it necessary to warn him that it was feared that
his attachment to the princess and his desire to please
304 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
the Regent were leading him to deviate from the strict
truth.
The diplomatists were of the same opinion as the eccle-
siastics. At the beginning of July, Chavigny declared
that " the Spaniards appeared to him to be more satis-
fied every day with the manners of the princess," and
spoke highly of her liberality and affability towards
the poor, with whom she was now able to converse in
their own language.1 And, towards the end of August,
Robin, first secretary of the French Embassy, writes :
" The Princess of the Asturias is still the object of the
affections of the Royal Family and of the admiration
of all the Court. The proofs of her delicate and lofty
mind reveal themselves every moment. . . . She is
gaining hearts."
These eulogies must be accepted with considerable
reserve, and, as we have seen, they certainly were so
received at the Palais-Royal, for, for different reasons,
every one of the writers desired to flatter the Orleans
family. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that, at this
time, the young princess was showing a much more
accommodating disposition, which encouraged the hope
that her eccentricities had been largely due to her recent
illness. This was particularly noticeable in regard to
her husband, for whom in the little intercourse that had
been permitted them she had hitherto shown a marked
indifference.
Don Luis was a tall, slight, delicate-looking lad, with
beautiful fair hair and aquiline features which recalled
1 Despatch of July i, 1722, published by Barthelemy. But Chavigny
adds : " She has still some puerilities, which age, experience, and her
own good-sense will correct."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 305
those of his maternal grandfather, Victor Amadeus II. of
Savoy, now King of Sardinia. He was of an amiable
disposition, honourable, well-meaning, and very deferen-
tial towards his father and stepmother ; he shot well,
was skilful at all games, and danced admirably; but
his education had been much neglected, and he was
excessively shy, awkward, and indolent. Notwithstand-
ing the coldness of his child-wife, he had conceived
for her from the first a warm affection, and his joy
was great when he perceived a change in her demeanour
towards him.
In May 1722, the prince fell ill, and, though his indis-
position does not appear to have been of a very serious
nature, he was obliged to keep his bed for some days.
During this time, the princess, repenting apparently of
her former unkindness, insisted on helping to nurse him,
and refused even to leave the sick-room until he had
recovered. Don Luis, deeply touched by what he con-
sidered a proof of awakening affection, though it was
probably nothing but a new caprice, became from that
moment her adoring slave, anticipating her slightest
wish and humouring her in every conceivable way. The
King and Queen, so far from checking, appear to have
encouraged this premature uxoriousness, which naturally
tended to give the young lady an even more exalted
opinion of her own importance than she already possessed.
CHAPTER XV
Ambitions of Elizabeth. Farnese in regard to her eldest son, Don Carlos
— The Regent determines to offer to the latter the hand of his fifth
daughter. Mile, de Beaujolais — Beauty and amiable character of
the little princess — The affair is satisfactorily concluded — Joy of
the Queen of Spain — Dowry of Mile, de Beaujolais — Her trousseau
— She sets out for Spain — Her reception at Madrid — Mutual affec-
tion of Mile, de Beaujolais and her fiance — The little princess con-
quers all hearts — Jealousy of her elder sister — The Prince and
Princess c: tibe Asturias begin to live together — Their affectionate
relations — Resumption of the eccentricities of the princess — Abdica-
tion of Philip V. in favour of his eldest son.
TOWARDS the end of the summer of 1722, negotia-
tions were concluded for a third alliance between
the two great branches of the House of Bourbon.
Almost from the moment of the birth of her eldest son,
Don Carlos., in 1716, it had been the cherished dream of
Elizabeth Farnese to secure for him a principality in
Italy, either in Tuscany or in Parma, to the succession
in both of which she possessed claims. The interests of
the little prince were not her only object. The health of
Philip V. gave frequent cause for anxiety, and Elizabeth
knew that the situation of a widowed queen in Spain,
compelled to live in some convent on a meagre pension
irregularly paid, was no enviable one. She was resolved
not to be subjected to such a fate, but to prepare for herself
a dignined retreat in her native land, to which, in the
event of her husband's death, she might withdraw and
' find consolation en petit for that which she had lost en
j 1 and." 1
1 Saint-Simon.
306
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 307
The French Government was well aware of Elizabeth's
ambitions, which, it feared, might not improbably lead
her to make overtures to the Court of Vienna for a
marriage between Don Carlos and one of the arch-
duchesses, which must neutralize to a large extent the
matrimonial arrangements recently concluded. The
Regent accordingly determined to forestall such an
alliance, by offering to Don Carlos the hand of his fifth
daughter, Mile, de Beaujolais. By this means, he would
not only secure a double hold on Spain, but gratify his own
family pride, since he could hardly hope for a more
illustrious parti for the little princess.
Philippine Elizabeth, Mile, de Beaujolais, was now seven
years old, having been born on December 18, 1714. She
bade fair to be the pick of the basket, being an ex-
ceedingly pretty, bright and intelligent little girl, and,
in contrast to her sisters, of a sweet-tempered, modest
and affectionate disposition. Madame was devoted to
her, and the child visited the old princess almost every
day. " She is a charming child," she writes, at the end
of March 1718, " pretty, lively, and amusing ; I am
warmly attached to her ; she will not want for intelli-
gence." And a year later : " The little Beaujolais is
prettier and more attractive than ever." Well indeed
was it for this charming child that political exigencies
were about to remove her from the vitiating atmosphere
of the Palais-Royal, and the evil influence of her family,
to a Court in which, whatever its faults, youth and
innocence were rigidly guarded !
In April 1722, the first overtures relative to this
alliance were made by Chavigny to the Spanish Prime
Minister, Grimaldo, and very favourably received by that
3o8 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
personage. Chavigny found still more valuable allies in
Laura Pescatori, formerly the Queen's nurse, who had
followed Elizabeth to Spain and been promoted to the post
of azafata, and in Pere Daubenton, though it is hardly
probable that their Majesties required much pressing,
since the Queen was well aware of the strength which the
pretensions of Don Carlos would derive from the
support of France, and the King was quite content
to be guided by her wishes. It was, however, the aged
confessor who negotiated the affair, and on June 23 we
find him writing to Dubois that " his Catholic Majesty,
after having conferred with the Queen, consented willingly
to this matter, on condition that his Royal Highness
[the Regent] would employ all his forces, conjointly with
Spain, to assure the States of Tuscany and Parma to the
Infant Don Carlos." x
Philippe d'Orleans, though naturally delighted at the
ready acceptance of his proposal, judged it advisable to
keep the affair secret until August, when he received
from the Court of Madrid a formal demand for his
daughter's hand. " His Royal Highness," writes Dubois
to Destouches, on August 12, " received yesterday a
letter by a special courier from the King and Queen of
Spain, in which they demanded Mile, de Beaujolais in
marriage for Don Carlos, their son, which was received,
as you may judge, with much gratitude. They paid this
compliment to his Royal Highness without the knowledge
of their Ministers at Madrid, or of those whom we have at
their Court."2
On the same day, the official announcement was made
1 Baudrillart, Philippe V. et la cour de France.
2 Ibid.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 309
in Paris, and Madame 's joy at the news was such as
actually to overcome for the moment her old hatred of
Dubois, to whom she addressed an effusive letter, ex-
pressing her delight " at seeing her dear Mile, de Beau-
jolais so well established," and congratulating him upon
the success of his diplomacy.
The delight of Elizabeth Farnese was not less when
the Regent's acceptance reached her. " I must be car-
ried away," writes the English Ambassador, Stanhope, to
Carteret, " by that torrent of French power and favour,
which increases every day, and particularly since this last
marriage, upon which the Queen shows a joy inexpres-
sible." x Her Majesty caused the Escurial, where the
Court was then in residence, to be illuminated and a Te
Deum to be sung ; while, at the same time, she wrote to
the Regent : " The portrait of the Princesse de Beau-
j olais which you have sent us has charmed us all : one
would be unable to behold a more charming and more lov-
able child. Her little husband is transported with joy,
and is too happy to possess so charming a princess."
The articles of the marriage-contract of Don Carlos and
Mile, de Beauj olais were drawn up in Paris on November
25, and signed at the Louvre the following day. They
provided that the princess was to proceed at once to Spain,
to be brought up there until she had reached a marriage-
able age. The dowry of the princess was fixed, like that
of her sister, the Princess of the Asturias, at 400,000 ecus
given by the King of France, 40,000 by her father, and
50,000 in jewels by the King of Spain. Louis XV. also
presented her with a number of jewels, including a pair
of diamond earrings; while among the Regent's gifts was
1 Mr. Edward Armstrong, Elizabeth Farnese.
310 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
a cross of pearls and diamonds. The inventory of her
trousseau makes curious reading. Besides a number of
costly gowns of silk, satin, or velvet, and the materials
required for replacing them when she had outgrown them,
and a large selection of hats, bonnets, gloves, shoes,
slippers and stockings, she was provided with " four bed-
quilts, two and a half dozen curling-tongs, twenty-six
tortoise-shell combs, six powder-puffs, six dozen pillow-
cases, twelve dozen handkerchiefs, six dozen night-gowns,
twelve fans, four packets of tooth-picks, and forty-two
thousand pins." *
Thus equipped, on December i Mile, de Beaujolais set
out for Spain, in charge of the Due and Duchesse de
Duras and their daughter, the Duchesse de Fitz- James — it
is worthy of note that the two duchesses had taken the
precaution to demand and obtain from the Regent the
honours of the soupcoupe before starting — and escorted
by her half-brother, the Chevalier d'Orleans, and a
detachment of the Gardes du Corps. The Regent and the
Due de Chartres travelled with her as far as Bourg-la-
Reine, as they had with the Princess of the Asturias,
twelve months before.
In crossing the Gironde, at Blaye, in the teeth of a
violent gale, the little princess was very nearly drowned,
but otherwise her journey was uneventful ; and on
January 26, 1723, she crossed the Bidassoa, on the
southern bank of which the Duque de Ossuna and the
Condesa de Liria, her camerara mayor, were awaiting her.
The Due de Duras having formally delivered the
princess into the charge of the Spanish nobleman and the
usual presents having been exchanged, the French escort
1 Barth61emy.
m
- ■ ■ -.
"**>«..-• '
Philippine Elisabeth d'Orleans (Mlle. de Beaujolais)
From a contemporary print
"
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 311
took leave of her, with the exception of the Chevalier
d'Orleans, who was to accompany his half-sister to
Madrid, and Mile, de Beaujolais continuing her route,
arrived on February 14 at Buytrago, a day's journey from
the capital, whither all the Royal Family had come to
welcome her.
The reception accorded the princess was a most flatter-
ing one, and Don Carlos, an amiable and intelligent little
boy, was delighted with his fiancee, who, on her side,
seemed equally pleased with him. Elizabeth Farnese
hastened to apprise the Palais-Royal of the safe arrival of
the little traveller and of the affection which the two chil-
dren seemed to have so quickly conceived for one another.
" I believe," she writes to the Regent, " that you will
not be displeased to learn of her first interview with her
little husband. They embraced very affectionately and
kissed one another, and it appears to me that he does not
displease her. Thus, since this evening they do not like
to leave one another. She says a hundred pretty things ;
one would not credit the things that she says, unless one
heard them. She has the mind of an angel, and my son
is only too happy to possess her. . . . She has charged
me to tell you that she loves you with all her heart, and
that she is quite content with her husband." And to the
Duchesse d'Orleans she writes : "I find her the most
beautiful and most lovable child in the world. It is the
most pleasing thing imaginable to see her with her little
husband : how they caress one another and how they love
one another already. They have a thousand little secrets
to tell one another, and they cannot part for an instant."1
There can be no doubt that this testimony was perfectly
1 Barth61emy.
312 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
sincere, for almost from the moment of her arrival the
beauty, grace and amiability of this charming child
conquered all hearts, and every one, from the King and
Queen downwards, vied with one another in efforts to
please her and to reconcile her to her new life. Their
task was an easy one, for Mile, de Beaujolais had quitted
France at too early an age to have been admitted to the
pleasures in which the Princess of the Asturias had been
allowed so unwisely to participate. Consequently, the
austerity of the Court of Madrid did not repel her, as it
had her sister, and she was perfectly content with the
childish amusements provided for her ; while the solici-
tude and affection of which she found herself the object
must have been a welcome contrast to the indifference
and neglect to which she had been accustomed at the
Palais-Royal.
But there was one person at the Court who was very
far from sharing the general sentiment in regard to
the newcomer. The Princess of the Asturias had never
had the smallest affection for the little sister whose
character differed so widely from her own ; and, though
she affected to receive her with much affection and wrote
to the Regent to express her joy at her arrival, she was
in reality consumed with jealousy and mortification, and
was soon quite unable to disguise her feelings. " If I may
be permitted to open my mind to your Royal Highness,"
writes the Chevalier d'Orleans to the Regent, " I should
confess to you that I very much fear that she [Mile, de
Beaujolais] is exciting the jealousy of the Princess of the
Asturias, who has not failed to be annoyed by this little
princess coming here, and has even expressed her chagrin
in a bitter manner."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 313
In consequence, though Pere de Laubrussel assured the
Regent that " the two sisters were very united," they
appear to have seen very little of each other — a fact which
the worthy Jesuit, who was evidently determined to say
nothing but good of his penitent, attributes to the reluct-
ance of Mile, de Beaujolais to interrupt her elder sister's
studies, to which, according to him, she was now devoting
herself with the most praiseworthy application.
With her husband the Princess of the Asturias con-
tinued on excellent terms, so much so, indeed, that in
August Philip V. decided that the young couple should
be definitely united. This great event took place at
the Escurial on Saint-Louis's Day (August 18), when
the King and Queen solemnly conducted Don Luis in his
robe de chambre to his wife's bedchamber, and left them
together.
From that time, the prince and princess lived together
as man and wife, and were so devoted that even a brief
separation was sufficient to cause them genuine distress.
Thus, when, at the end of September, Don Luis had to go
to San-Ildefonso, they parted amidst floods of tears,
exclaiming : " Adios, mujer ! adios, marido ! "
But if the Princess of the Asturias had become to all
appearance an affectionate and dutiful wife, in other
respects her behaviour was far from satisfactory, and,
whereas a few months before she had seemed anxious to
remove the bad impression she had at first created, she had
lately begun to conduct herself in a manner which shocked
and scandalized this punctilious Court and threatened to
render her profoundly unpopular.
So little regard had she for the cherished privileges of
the nobility that one day, in the palace gardens, observing
314 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
that certain gentlemen remained covered in her presence,
she inquired if it were raining — an impertinence which
naturally aroused extreme indignation among the
grandees. She had developed a taste for vulgar and
malicious practical jokes, and one of her favourite amuse-
ments was to discharge water from a hose concealed in her
apartments over the people who passed beneath her
windows ; while one day, at a Court ceremony, she
surreptitiously severed the string of the Duquesa de
Altamira's petticoats, with the most embarrassing con-
sequences for the lady in question. Her manners at
table, too, were characterized by " a disgusting sloven-
liness, concerning which their Majesties have testified
their pain and surprise, although they have said nothing
to her about it " ; and, on the pretext of the extreme
heat of the Spanish summer, she scarcely ever wore either
stockings or petticoats, and on the rare occasions on
which she condescended to make a complete toilette did
so in the most negligent fashion.
All this was the more regrettable, since at the beginning
of 1724 an event took place which caused the most
profound sensation throughout Europe, and made her,
nominally at least, the first lady in Spain.
In the last days of 1723, the French Government was
warned by the Abbe de Coulanges, its charge d'affaires at
Madrid — the post of Ambassador was at the moment
vacant, Maulevrier having recently been recalled — that
Philip V. was suffering from religious mania, and intended
to resign his throne. The Due de Bourbon, who, on the
death of the Regent on December 23, had been appointed
to the post of First Minister, was greatly alarmed, and lost
no time in instructing the old Marechal de Tesse to
Philip V., Kino ok Spajn
From a contemporary print
- >. o/
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 315
proceed as Ambassador to Madrid, and use every persuasion
to induce the King to renounce a resolution which would
so greatly enhance the importance of the House of
Orleans, between which and the Condes the bitterest
enmity existed. But he was too late, for on January 10,
1724, before Tesse had even left Paris, Philip V. abdicated
his throne in favour of the Prince of the Asturias, and
announced his intention of " applying himself during the
remainder of his days to the service of God and to soli-
tude."
The abdication of Philip V. was the outcome of no
sudden impulse : he had been contemplating it for some
time past, and had merely waited until his eldest son
should be old enough to assume the responsibilities of
sovereignty. In taking this step, he seems to have been
actuated solely by his religious scruples. He was subject
to constantly recurring attacks of melancholia, in which he
was tormented by agonies of fear that he had offended
his Maker almost beyond hope of forgiveness, and he
craved for the leisure and solitude which he considered
necessary to reconciliation. Few of his contemporaries,
however, were inclined to accept so simple an explanation.
They could not bring themselves to believe that Philip's
high-spirited and ambitious consort would have tamely
concurred in such a renunciation, unless she had seen in it
the probability of obtaining abundant compensation for
the position she was surrendering ; and it was the general
opinion that the underlying motive of the King's abdica-
tion was the desire to facilitate his accession to the throne
of France, in the event of the death of Louis XV. For, if
he were no longer King of Spain, his renunciation of the
Crown of France would no longer be binding upon him.
316 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
It is very improbable that Philip was influenced by any
such calculation, although it is quite conceivable that,
had Louis XV. died during the next few months, he would
have been ready enough to take advantage of the coin-
cidence, since his acceptance of the Crown of Spain and
his renunciation of that of France formed an important
element in the religious mania from which he suffered.
Nor would this peculiar form of political speculation
have been likely to appeal to Elizabeth Farnese, greatly
as she might desire translation to the throne of a country
so much more congenial to her than Spain, and where
dowager-queens were treated with every honour. The
fact is that Elizabeth consented to her husband's abdica-
tion, because she could not prevent it. Her influence
over the King was immense, but it was not proof against
his religious scruples.
CHAPTER XVI
The accession of Luis I. hailed with great satisfaction at Madrid — The
new King reigns only nominally, and Philip V. and Elizabeth, from
their retreat at San-Ildefonso, continue to govern — Docility of Luis
to his father's wishes — His boyish pranks — The young Queen, freed
from all constraint, treats her husband with contempt, and behaves
in an extraordinary manner — She accuses her major-domo, Fou-
cault de Magny, of grossly insulting her — Despatch of the Marechal
de Tesse to the Due de Bourbon — Magny is recalled to France —
Antipathy of Elizabeth Farnese towards her daughter-in-law —
Curious despatches of Tesse — Despair of Luis I. at the outrageous
behaviour of his consort — Episode at San-Ildefonso — The young
Queen, refusing to listen to any remonstrances, is conducted to the
Alcazar and kept in close confinement — After a captivity of nearly
three weeks, she is set at liberty and restored to favour — Illness and
death of Luis I. — Pitiable situation of his widow, the Court of Spain
being unwilling to keep her or France to receive her — It is finally
decided that she shall return to France — Rupture of the marriage
arranged between Louis XV. and the Infanta — Indignation of the
Court of Spain — The widowed Queen and Mile, de Beaujolais are
sent back to France — Sad life of the former — Her death — Constancy
of Don Carlos and Mile, de Beaujolais — Negotiations for their mar-
riage— Attitude of Fleury — Death of the princess.
BORN on August 25, 1707, Luis I. was little more than
sixteen when he ascended the throne. Nevertheless,
this event was hailed with great satisfaction by the
Spaniards, and in particular by the inhabitants of Madrid,
with whom the cold, melancholy Philip and his Italian
wife were extremely unpopular ; whereas the new King,
born and brought up among them and attached both by
habit and inclination to the manners and customs of the
country, was regarded with sympathy and affection ; and
317
318 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
when, in accordance with ancient custom, his accession
was proclaimed in the streets of the capital by the cry of
" Castilla, oid, oid, oid, por Luis primer o, Rey de Castillo.,
Leon y Arragon! " the enthusiasm of the populace knew
no bounds.1
Nothing could have been more formal than Philip's
renunciation of power ; he had taken a solemn oath never
to resume it ; he had even donned the little habit of
St. Francis.2 Of all the Ministers and great officers of the
Royal Household, none save Grimaldo and his chamber-
lain Valouse followed him into retirement. The Queen
retained only Laura Pescatori and five of her waiting-
women. The establishment at San-Ildefonso was limited
to sixty persons, and it was only with difficulty that Philip
was persuaded to accept a small body of guards. His
pension was fixed at 480,000 piastres, with reversion to
the Queen in the event of his death.
But it was merely the appearance, and not the reality,
which Philip had renounced, and it was from San-Ildefonso,
and not from Madrid, that Spain was governed. This may
have been partly due to the counsels of Tesse, who had
visited the ex-monarch before proceeding to Madrid and
begged him to retain control over his son ; but the Queen
and Grimaldo had already taken steps to secure the
subordination of the young King. Before surrendering
his Crown, Philip had confided the Government to a
Cabinet Council composed of seven persons, with Don
Luis de Miraval, President of Castile, at their head, all of
whom were either nonentities or persons who owed
everything to Grimaldo. Every matter discussed by the
1 Baudrillart.
* Mr. Edward Armstrong, Elizabeth Farnese.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 319
Cabinet at Madrid was immediately communicated to
the Court of San-Ildefonso, and no decision was ever
arrived at until its views had been ascertained.
The new King, always a model of filial obedience, never
dreamed of protesting against this tutelage. He had
begun by making lavish grants of pensions and places, but,
on the representations of Philip, he immediately cancelled
them and continued to conform in every respect to his
father's wishes. One day, the young Queen happened to
be particularly anxious that something should be done of
which San-Ildefonso had expressed its disapproval. When
her husband refused, she grew angry, sulked, wept, and
ended by exclaiming : " Are you not the King, and am I
not the Queen ? ' " Yes," was the grave reply. " I am
the King, and you are the Queen ; but the King, my
father, is my master and yours." x
It was well that the young monarch showed such
admirable docility, for he was as yet quite unfitted to take
upon himself the cares of State. Not only was he very
ignorant and extremely lazy, but he was in character a mere
child, and, having been very strictly brought up, con-
ducted himself during his first days of liberty very much
like a colt which, after a long confinement in the stable, is
suddenly transferred to the freedom of the paddock.
" So sudden an elevation at so early an age," observes
Coxe, " gave scope to the thoughtlessness of youthful
levity. He was at first inattentive to business, and so
careless of public respect, that he often sallied forth at
night, in disguise, to scour the streets of the capital, or
to strip the royal gardens of their fruit, that he might, the
following morning, be gratified with the frivolous pleasure
1 Tesse to Morville, June 5, 1724, in Baudrillart.
320 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
of witnessing the vexation of the gardeners." Another
and more objectionable diversion of his Catholic Majesty,
which the reverend historian is apparently too modest to
mention, was his habit of prowling about the corridors
of the palace, in the company of three or four of his pages,
and bursting open the bedroom-doors of his wife's ladies-
in-waiting.
It is satisfactory, however, to learn that " these first
ebullitions of youth rapidly subsided. He respected the
remonstrances of his father, who urged that such ir-
regularities would dishonour his Crown, and diminish
the respect and affection of his people. This docility
afforded a presage that, when he attained the age of
reflection, and his understanding was matured by
experience, he would not disappoint the predilection with
which he was regarded by the nation." x
The conduct of the young Queen inspired far greater
uneasiness. The splendour of her new position had, as
might have been anticipated, proved altogether too much
for the girl's ill-balanced mind ; and now, freed from all
constraint, she proceeded to indulge to the full her
wayward fancies, and behaved in a manner which was
not only eccentric, but at times positively indecent. She
very quickly showed that the affection and deference she
had displayed towards her husband during the last months
of Philip V.'s reign had been a mere passing caprice, and
treated him with the most humiliating coldness and
disdain. When they rode together in the royal coach, she
would deliberately turn her back upon him. At table, she
would sit in stony silence, watching his Majesty eat and
1 History of the Bourbons of Spain. The archdeacon's authority is
a despatch of Stanhope to Carteret, dated April 15, 1724.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 321
drink, without touching a morsel herself, and immediately
the meal was over, hurry away and share the repast of her
ladies-in-waiting. She ate enormously, at all hours, and
would insist upon her ladies doing likewise, waiting upon
them herself, and scolding and slapping them if they
refused to eat. She would go for country -walks with her
dress pulled up to her knees, displaying her bare legs, for,
as we have said, she usually discarded both stockings and
petticoats, and sometimes would not return until long
after darkness had fallen. In short, she appeared never so
happy as when " ridiculing that etiquette which had been
sanctioned by ages, and scandalizing this grave Court and
punctilious nation by her indiscreet, if not licentious,
behaviour." *
Towards the end of April 1724, an incident occurred
which made a great scandal and prejudiced public opinion
more seriously against the young Queen than any of her
previous escapades. It will be remembered that on the
occasion of the ball given by the Duchesse de Berry in
honour of the Duke and Duchess of Lorraine early in
1718, a disturbance had been created by a certain Fou-
cault de Magny, an uninvited guest, who subsequently
spent a few days in the Bastille. Not long afterwards,
Magny, having been compromised in the Cellamare con-
spiracy, was obliged to take refuge in Spain, where he
was well received by Philip V., and rose so rapidly to
favour that, after being governor of the Infants, he was
appointed major-domo to the new Queen. This last
promotion, however, was to prove his undoing.
One fine morning, it happened that her youthful
Majesty, dressed as usual " sans bas ni jupes," had
1 Coxe.
322 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
climbed to the top of a long ladder which had been left
standing in her apartments, when she was seized with
fear and called for help. Magny, who, unluckily for
himself, was in an adjoining room, hearing her cry of
distress, hurried to the spot, sprang up the ladder, and
assisted her to descend. He imagined that he had
rendered her a service ; but, to his horror and indignation,
he learned, a few hours later, that she had complained
that he had endeavoured to outrage her during their
progress down the ladder, and that her resistance alone
had protected her honour.
The absurdity of such a charge was manifest, for all
the Queen's ladies had been gathered at the foot of the
ladder while the unfortunate major-domo was assisting
their mistress to descend ; but the mad-brained girl per-
sisted in it, and, unless some way out of the difficulty
could be found, it would be necessary for M. de Magny's
head to part company with his body.
To prevent this tragic denouement and to hush up so
terrible a scandal, Philip V. and his consort sent for
Tesse, and begged him to get Magny recalled immediately
to France. This the Ambassador promised to do, and
addressed urgent representations on the subject to the
Due de Bourbon, at the same time throwing all the blame
on the young Queen. "As for the imprudence that he
[Magny] has committed with the Queen," he writes, " if
there is any one worthy of blame, it is she, who has claimed
undeserved credit for a thing of which the poor devil was
innocent. She had climbed to the top of a ladder . . .
she thought she was going to fall and cried out for help.
Magny mounted and assisted her to descend, before all
her women ; but, unless he were blind, it must needs be
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 323
that he saw that which certainly he did not seek to see,
and which it is her habit to show very freely. The
Queen accused him of being insolent. In truth, one is not
so with these ladies, except when they wish to compel
" i
us. *
The humiliation of a member of the detested Orleans
family occasioned Monsieur le Due such lively satisfaction
that he was very far from anxious to assist in hushing
up this adventure ; and it was only after considerable
pressure from Elizabeth Farnese that he finally consented
to recall Magny. " I forgot to thank you," writes she to
Tesse, " for what you have done for Magny. If I could
have thought that would have caused so much difficulty
yonder, I should not have opened my mouth, for I
have nothing to do with him. But I have acted merely
out of charity ; to protect the young woman who was
concerned in it, and who is so nearly related to us."
On his arrival in France, Magny found awaiting him a
lettre de cachet forbidding him to approach Paris. He
also learned that his wife had seized upon his property,
and that, after a life of comparative affluence, he was now
threatened with poverty. However, he was a person of
both courage and resource, and the buffetings of Fortune
appear to have affected him but little. Any way, he
lived to a patriarchal age, and died, at his chateau of
Magny, in July 1772, in his ninety-seventh year.
Although Elizabeth Farnese had exerted herself to
hush up this miserable affair, it was certainly not out of
affection for the young Queen, for whom she had now
conceived the most violent dislike, which was no doubt
1 Despatch of April 31, in Lemontey, les Filles du Regent, Revue
retrospective, Serie I. tome 1.
324 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
as much due to jealousy at seeing her in possession of
those honours which had once been reserved for herself
as to any other reason. " The Queen, the wife of Philip,
cannot endure her," writes Tesse to his patron at Ver-
sailles. And again : " The Queen [Elizabeth Farnese]
has said to me : ' We have made a terrible acquisition ;
she will be like her sisters, if she is not worse.' ' x
If we are to take the despatches of Tesse au pied de la
lettre — it is only fair to Elisabeth d'Orleans to observe
that some historians are of opinion that the Ambassador
consistently exaggerated her eccentricities, in order to
please Monsieur le Due — the young lady would certainly
appear to be going the right way to emulate the exploits
of the Duchesse de Berry and the Princess of Modena.
He says that there was almost every evening " une
petite fondation de litanies," between the Queen and three
or four of her maids-of-honour, and that these litanies
were " composed of the worst indecencies and the most
significant expressions." He also says that, in the
condition of our first parents, and with her arms and legs
tied to a stick passed behind her knees, her Majesty
would frequently engage with these same favourites in a
bout of " cock-fighting "—a game which, if harmless
enough in itself, was certainly a most unsuitable diver-
sion for a Queen.
The poor young King was in despair at the conduct of
his wife, and Tesse wrote that he had been told by their
Majesties at San-Ildefonso that Luis had confessed to
them that he would "prefer to be a galley-slave rather
than live with a creature who observed no decorum and
no complaisance towards him, and who thought only of
1 Despatches of February 28 and April 7, 1725, in Barthelemy.
Luis I., King ok Spain
From a painting by an unknown artist
o O (» I <
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 325
eating and of exhibiting herself in a nude condition, to
the great scandal of the humblest of her servants ; that
it was not proper for a Queen of Spain to lead this kind of
life, of which he was unable to correct her ; for, though
he had spoken to her about it three times in private, she
had only laughed at his remonstrances."
At the end of June, the young couple, " who had been
living like dog and cat," went on a visit to the ex-King
and Queen at San-Ildefonso. Philip V., overcoming his
natural timidity in order to obey the formal injunctions
of his confessor, summoned the young Queen to his
cabinet, and spoke to her very strongly indeed, " threaten-
ing to have her shut up in a convent if she did not mend
her ways, and assuring her that his son would approve
these severe measures." x The girl wept copiously and
" appeared touched by repentance " ; but the following
morning, Philip, happening to look out of his window,
perceived his daughter-in-law promenading the gardens
— in which a number of labourers were just then at work
— clad only in a chemise and a dressing-gown, with which
latter garment the wind, which had risen during the
night, was taking curious liberties.
The two Kings therefore decided that, if her Majesty's
behaviour did not show an improvement within forty-
eight hours of her return to Madrid, she should be shut
up in her apartments and kept there for some time, to
give her leisure for repentance.
A day or two later, the royal pair set out for Madrid.
It was an unpleasant journey, for, " as soon as she [the
Queen] entered the carriage with the King, she turned
her back upon him, sulked, and did not say a word the
1 Tesse to the Due de Bourbon, July 2, 1724.
326 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
whole way." On their arrival at the Retiro, where they
were then residing, her Majesty resumed her irregular
habits ; and on July 4 Luis, at the end of his patience,
resolved to put into execution the plan which he and
his father had decided upon.
Accordingly, he sent for Valero and the Duquesa de
Altamira, the Queen's major-domo and earner ar a mayor,
and was closeted with them for more than an hour.
When the Queen was entering her carriage for her daily
drive in the Prado, the duchess presented herself, and
showed her an order from the King, directing her to
accompany her mistress, although she had been for some
time excused this service, on account of her age. She
then took her seat opposite the Queen, while the ladies
in attendance followed in another carriage. As they were
returning, the camerara mayor showed the Queen a second
order, directing her to conduct her Majesty not to the
Retiro, but to the Alcazar. The officer in command of
her escort exhibited an order to the same effect. The
Queen fell into a transport of rage and cried out re-
peatedly : "To the Retiro ! " But her protests were
unheeded, and she was driven to the Alcazar, and carried,
struggling and screaming, to her apartments, where
Valero had got everything in readiness for her reception.
Here she was left, with the Duquesa de Altamira, two
maids-of-honour, and one of her mattres-d 'hotel, under a
strong guard. The same evening, her arrest was officially
announced in a circular letter to the foreign Ministers.1
As envoy of the Due de Bourbon, charged by him to
counteract in every way the influence of the House of
Orleans, Tesse could not but rejoice at a misadventure so
1 Coxe, History of the Bourbons of Spain.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 327
humiliating to the young Queen, and did not fail to
inform his patron of the details, with many malicious
interpretations and sombre prognostications for the future
of the royal menage. But, as Ambassador of France, it
was his duty to appear to interest himself in the fate of a
French princess ; and accordingly on the morrow he
presented himself at the King's lever, and, having de-
manded an audience of his Majesty, inquired what ex-
planation of the affair he was to send his Government.
" It is," said the King, " a mortification which I wished
to inflict on the Queen to correct her conduct. I have
spoken to her several times, and my father has done
likewise ; but it has had no effect upon her." " Sire,"
replied Tesse, " I recognise clearly that they are but
childish follies, natural to persons of her age, wherein
there is nothing criminal, and that it is a punishment
which your Majesty intends to inflict upon her, and which
will have the result I hope for." " Yes," rejoined the
King, " we shall see whether this mortification will
correct her. You may send an account of the matter to
France."
After a week had passed, during which the Queen
remained in very close confinement, permission to take
a walk in the palace gardens being even refused, the
Ambassador felt it to be his duty to remark upon the
prolongation of her captivity, and to suggest that, as her
Majesty was a French princess, a few words of paternal
advice from himself might not be out of place. Luis,
however, begged him to wait, promising to inform him
when he judged that the time had arrived when such
counsel might be usefully tendered.
It was not, indeed, until nearly a fortnight later (July
328 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
23), that the King authorised Tesse to visit his captive
consort, at the same time informing him that he proposed
to set her at liberty that same evening, if the Ambassador
found her in a chastened mood. Tesse lost no time in
repairing to the Alcazar, where he found the Queen
looking none the worse for her detention, and proceeded
to give her a mild lecture, pointing out that the happiness
of her life depended on herself alone. Her Majesty
frankly acknowledged that half the imputations against
her were true, but maintained that the other half were
false, and that, however foolishly she might have acted,
she had been guilty of nothing criminal. She expressed
contrition for her faults, promised amendment, and
entreated her husband's forgiveness.
On leaving her, Tesse returned to the King to report the
result of his visit. Luis, satisfied that his wife was now
penitent, sent the Prince of Cellamare to inquire at what
time the Oueen wished to drive that afternoon, and timed
his own return from the chase so that their carriages
should meet near the Puente Verde. The Queen alighted
and knelt to kiss her husband's hand ; but Luis raised
her up, embraced her tenderly, and brought her in his
own carriage to the Retiro, where he presented her with a
magnificent parure of diamonds, as a pledge of his for-
giveness. The King, indeed, seemed anxious to make
amends for the publicity of her disgrace by giving equal
publicity to her restoration to favour, and there can be
no doubt that he was still genuinely attached to his wife
and most anxious to live with her or amicable terms. But
the girl, resenting the precaution he had taken to prevent
a repetition of her worst irregularities by the dismissal of
the greater number of her maids-of-honour, refused to
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 329
give him the slightest encouragement, and though she
treated him in public with all due deference, her manner
was almost as cold and distant as before.
Possibly, if the young King's life had been spared a little
longer, Elisabeth d'Orleans might have recognised her
mistake and learned to appreciate the good qualities
of her husband. But within a few weeks of her release
from the Alcazar she found herself a widow.
Luis I. had always been of a somewhat delicate con-
stitution, and he had also greatly overtaxed his strength
in his passion for physical exercises. On August 15,
he was seized with repeated attacks of faintness and
compelled to take to his bed, and a few days later smallpox
declared itself. The disease appeared to be following a
normal course, and though the King was suffering a good
deal, his condition did not inspire any great anxiety,
when, on the evening of the 25th, his physicians most
imprudently decided to bleed him. The royal patient at
once experienced an alarming relapse, and by the morning
of the 30th his case was pronounced hopeless.
When informed of his approaching end, the poor lad
showed the most touching resignation. Without a word of
regret for his youth and his throne, he observed to those
about him that he would be that evening in Paradise,
and then proceeded to execute a deed, whereby he re-
turned to his father all that he had received from him, and
authorised him to dispose of his private property as he
thought fit. He concluded by recommending the Queen
very particularly to his care. On the morrow (August 31),
he expired, having completed his seventeenth year a few
days before.
During the King's illness, his father and stepmother did
330 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
not come near him ; but his wife moved to his apartments,
and remained there until the end, although such was
the fear which the disease inspired in her ladies that not
one of them could be prevailed upon to accompany her
mistress. It would appear, however, that the young
Queen's devotion to her sick husband was not voluntary,
and Lemontey assures us that, since she had not had
smallpox,1 and it was quite possible that she was enceinte,
she was compelled to remain by the King's bedside, in
the hope that she might contract the disease in a fatal
form, and thus extricate the Court of Spain from what
might prove a most embarrassing situation. " I can
hardly doubt," he writes, " the odious intention of this
constraint, when I read in the letter of the Duchesse
de Saint-Pierre,2 written on the eve of the King's death,
these too significant words : ' There is nothing which they
have not done to make her [the Queen] take the small-
pox.'" 3
In fact, the girl did contract the disease which had
robbed her of her husband, though not in a dangerous
form. Her convalescence, however, was slow, and it was
not until the first week in November that she was pro-
nounced cured. Tesse, who visited her on the 2nd,
reports that she had grown very much, but that her
person was " more neglected and more slovenly than that
of a waitress in a cabaret ; " adding some coarse reflections
which we forbear to transcribe.
No one, indeed, appeared to have a good word to say
for the unfortunate girl, who had lost in her husband her
1 As a matter of fact, the Queen had had smallpox in 1719.
2 She was a sister of the French Minister, the Marquis de Torcy
and an intimate friend of Elizabeth Farnese.
8 Les Fillesdu Regent, Revue retrospective, Serie I, tome 1.
'
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 331
sole protector, and whose situation was a really pitiable
one. Philip V., who had been persuaded by Elizabeth
Farnese and her partisans to resume the Crown, to the
intense disgust of the majority of the nation, who would
have infinitely preferred the succession of his second son,
Don Fernando, was feverishly anxious to get rid of her.
" In God's name," said he to Tesse, three days after the
death of the young king, " make them understand that
we shall open every door, and furnish her, by means of
certain revenues, with the opportunity of returning to
France ; while his wife, who appeared to entertain a very
poor opinion of the virtue of her daughter-in-law,
predicted that, if she remained in Spain, they would
receive one fine morning news of some terrible scandal.
And their Majesties," writes the Ambassador, " told me
that, since the death of the King, she had indulged in
transports of joy, and conducted herself in a manner so
extraordinary, that decency does not permit me to repeat
the frightful things that they have told me."
The widowed Queen, on her side, would have been only
too willing to shake the dust of her adopted country off
her feet ; but unfortunately the French Government was
as little anxious to receive her as were her Spanish
relatives to keep her, and Tesse received instructions to
do everything possible to prevent her returning to France.
However, after several weeks' correspondence on the
subject, Elizabeth Farnese, who had been studying her
daughter-in-law's marriage-contract, found there a clause
which provided that, in the event of the princess being
left a widow without children, she should have the right,
if she so desired, of returning to France ; and trium-
phantly drew Tesse's attention to it. In the face of this
332 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
discovery, it was, of course, impossible for the French
Government to persist in its objection to the return of the
young Queen. It therefore resolved to confine its efforts
to persuading her to accept a residence as far as possible
from the capital," where," wrote the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, Morville, " her rank would cause too much
embarrassment " ; while Tesse was charged to do every-
thing possible to prolong her stay in Spain."
The departure of the young lady was, in fact, retarded
for many weeks, notwithstanding the anxiety of Philip V.
and his consort to get rid of her. There were differences
between the two Courts respecting the pension which
she was to receive ; concerning the composition of her
Household ; about the conditions of her journey to the
frontier — the Spanish Government desiring to do the
thing as cheaply as possible, and, according to the
expression of Tesse, " to plant her down at Bayonne, like
a packet of dirty linen." And, finally, when all these
matters had been adjusted, a most acrimonious and
unseemly dispute arose between the Dues de Bourbon and
d' Orleans, on the question whether the latter or the French
Government ought to defray the expenses of the carriages
required to convey the Queen and her suite from Bayonne
to Vincennes, where it had been decided that she should
take up her residence.
In consequence, the early spring of 1723 found the
widowed Queen still at Madrid ; and it is possible that
her departure might have been delayed for some time
longer, had not an event occurred which rendered her
stay in Spain no longer possible.
The marriage arranged by the Regent and Dubois
between Louis XV. and the Infanta had always been
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 333
regarded with the strongest disfavour by the Due de
Bourbon, for years must elapse before the " Infanta-
Queen," as the little princess was called, would be able to
bear an heir to the throne, and should his Majesty die
without male issue, the new Due d'Orleans, whom he
cordially hated, would become King. To avert this
calamity, Monsieur le Due would have been quite prepared
to support the claims of Philip V. to the throne, but since
the death of Luis I. and Philip's resumption of the Crown
of Spain, his chances in France had declined so greatly
that it was now quite clear that, in the event of a vacancy,
the succession of the Due d'Orleans would be unques-
tioned. Urged on by his mistress, the beautiful and
ambitious Madame de Prie, who at this moment practi-
cally governed France, he had therefore decided to send
back the Infanta, and to marry Louis XV. with as little
delay as possible to some princess capable of at once
making him a father ; and for weeks past French agents
had been busily prosecuting all over Europe their search
for the future Queen of France.
Early in 1725, a despatch from Philip V. to his Am-
bassador at the Court of Versailles was intercepted by
the agents of Monsieur le Due, which showed that it
was his intention to demand ' ' the public declaration of
the nuptial arrangements " between Louis XV. and the
Infanta ; and almost immediately afterwards the young
King fell so ill that for several days he was believed to be
in serious danger.
This last event precipitated matters, and the French
Government resolved not to wait until the new fiancee was
chosen, but to inform the Court of Madrid at once of the
resolution at which it had arrived. Tesse, who, suspecting
334 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
what was in the wind and being unwilling to be a party to
it, had demanded his recall, was replaced by the Abbe de
Livry, charge d'affaires at Lisbon ; and it was he who
presented to the King of Spain the letter in which Louis
XV. endeavoured to justify the affront which he was
inflicting upon his uncle.
" Trembling from head to foot, the abb6 presented to
the King his master's letter. The Queen was at the end
of the cabinet, occupied with her correspondence. Sud-
denly, she heard the King strike the table violently,
and cry out : ' Ah ! the traitor ! ' She ran to him. . . .
The King handed her the letter, saying : ' Take it,
Madame, read it ! ' The Queen read it, and then, hand-
ing back the letter, she replied with great composure :
' Well ! We must send to receive the Infanta.' "
Such is the account given of this audience by the
President Henault, but, according to Coxe, Elizabeth
Farnese was anything but composed. " The queen,"
he writes, " tearing a portrait of Louis XV. from her
bracelet, trampled it under foot, and exclaimed : ' All the
Bourbons are a race of devils ! ' But, recollecting the
relationship of her husband to that House, she turned
to him and added : ' Except your Majesty.' " To the
English Ambassador, Stanhope, who was immediately
sent for, she expressed her indignation with still greater
freedom. " That one-eyed scoundrel," said she, alluding
to the Due de Bourbon, who, as we have mentioned, had
lost an eye by a shooting accident,1 "has sent back my
daughter, because the King would not create his con-
cubine's husband a grandee of Spain ! "
The nation shared the resentment of its King and
1 See p. 44, note 2, supra.
Thk Infanta Maria Ana Victoria
From the painting by Largilliere, in the Museum oi the Prado
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 335
Queen. When the news was known in Madrid, the
indignation of the populace knew no bounds ; excited
crowds paraded the streets, and the French residents
trembled for their safety. On March 19, the Abbe de
Livry was handed his passports, and requested to leave
Madrid within twenty-four hours and Spain within a
fortnight ; all the French consuls received orders to leave
the country within the same period ; and, finally, a decree
was published for the deportation of every Frenchman
in Spain who did not immediately apply for letters of
naturalisation, though this was subsequently with-
drawn.1
The rupture of the betrothal between Don Carlos and
Mile, de Beaujolais was decided upon by way of reprisals,
and Philip V. even talked of imprisoning the little
princess and his widowed daughter-in-law in some remote
corner of the kingdom, where they should remain as
hostages for the Infanta. But he soon changed his mind,
and on March 23 the two sisters quitted Madrid and set
out for France. The Court, with whom she had been a
universal favourite, saw the departure of Mile, de Beau-
jolais with regret ; while Don Carlos was in despair at the
loss of his betrothed.
At Lerma, the princesses were detained until after
Easter, being treated very much like prisoners of State,
1 This decree had been extorted from Philip V. by the Queen ; but,
on reflection, the King perceived its impracticability, and had recourse
to a whimsical expedient to pacify his imperious consort — one of the
few jokes with which this melancholy monarch has been credited.
Summoning his valets de chambre, he bade them empty his wardrobes
and pack his trunks, as though for a long journey. The Queen, enter-
ing amidst the bustle, inquired the cause of such preparations. " Is it
not decreed," said Philip, "that all the French leave Spain ? I am a
Frenchman, and am therefore preparing for my journey." Elizabeth
burst out laughing, and the order was recalled. — Coxe.
336 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
and then sent on to Burgos, to await news of the journey
of the Infanta. That little lady left Paris on April 5,
under the care of the Duchesse de Tallard. She was
treated with every imaginable honour, and informed
that she was merely going to pay a visit to her family.
The exchange of princesses was effected on the 22nd, at
the foot of the mountain of Saint- Jean-Pied-de-Port.
The Spaniards, according to Mathieu Marais, had sworn
that they would accept no presents, but the sight of the
magnificent gifts intended for them, which included a
silver toilette-set valued at 100,000 ecus, proved too much
for their cupidity, and they took them all ; while the
ladies who had escorted the Infanta had to return empty-
handed to Paris.
The princesses were unable to make their entry into
Bayonne for some days, for the spiteful Due de Bourbon
had neglected to send orders for preparations to be made
for their reception until they had almost reached the
frontier. He had also countermanded the carriages of the
Court, and the Duchesse d'Orleans was obliged to send
her own for the conveyance of her daughters and their
suite to Vincennes, where they arrived at the end of
June.
Few widowed queens have found themselves relegated
more completely to obscurity than Elisabeth d'Orleans.
" Of the incoherent dream of her royalty," observes
Lemontey, " nothing remained to her in France save the
ennui of a dignity without power and the ridicule of a
guard covered with rags."
Her life was a sad one, for she commanded neither
affection nor respect from those about her ; and the one
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 337
desire of her relatives, alarmed lest she should resume
in France the eccentricities which had caused so much
scandal in Spain, was to see as little of her as possible.
For two years she lived at Vincennes, but the pension
promised her by Philip V. was so irregularly paid as to
cause her serious pecuniary difficulties, and in 1727 she
was obliged temporarily to break up her Household and
retire to the Carmelites of the Faubourg Saint-Jacques.
In this pious retreat she remained for more than three
years, when, the continued representations of the French
Government having at length succeeded in securing the
payment of the arrears due to her, she installed herself
in the Luxembourg, where she lived an obscure and
monotonous existence, dominated by servants who were
bribed by Spain to spy upon her actions, presumably in
the hope of discovering something which might furnish
the parsimonious Court of Madrid with some plausible
pretext for discontinuing her pension.
Her contemporaries mention her but seldom, and when
they do, it is generally in reference to some squabble on
a point of etiquette, such as that with her sister, the
Princess of Modena, described elsewhere.1 During the
last years of her life she became exceedingly devout,
passed the greater part of her time in devotional exercises,
and refused to receive any one. She died of dropsy, at the
Luxembourg, on June 16, 1742, and was interred in the
Church of Saint-Sulpice, the simple inscription : " Cy
gtt Elisabeth, reine douariere d'Espagne ,: being, by her
own instructions, engraved upon her tomb.
Her death was hailed with relief by her relatives on
both sides of the Pyrenees ; and the Due de Luynes
1 See p. 351, infra.
z
338 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
relates that when Campo-Florido, the Spanish Ambassa-
dor, came, with great ceremony, to make the official
announcement of this event to the Royal Family, on
account of the absence of Louis XV., " he was unable to
refrain from smiling, and was received also with smiles
by the Queen, the Dauphin and Madame.1
The sister who had accompanied her from Spain had
predeceased her by more than eight years. During this
time more than one matrimonial alliance appears to have
been suggested to her, only to be refused, for Mile, de
Beaujolais still cherished the hope of being one day
reunited to the prince from whom the exigencies of
politics had separated her, but whom she was unable to
forget. The Duchesse d'Orleans, from motives of ambition,
entered into her daughter's views, and when, towards the
end of 1730, diplomatic relations between France and
Spain were resumed, and the Comte de Rothembourg
was despatched as Ambassador to Madrid, she seized the
opportunity to approach Fleury on the subject.
The report, however, which Rothembourg despatched
to his Government of his first audience with their Catholic
Majesties, in which the Queen refused to take any notice
of the Ambassador until Philip entreated her to think
only of their nephew and of the harmony which ought to
exist between them, must have convinced Fleury that she
was still far too hostile to France to entertain such a
proposition. Indeed, shortly afterwards, the two nations
were once more on the verge of war.
When, however, in 1732, Elizabeth Farnese, after so
many years of intrigue, won her first substantial triumph,
1 M&moires, July 15, 1742.
DON CARLOS
K^u dcN^apl&f e(rcU J'uilc .
iillDliililllllUJlillii iilllll
Don Carlos, King of the Two Sicilies (afterwards
Carlos III., King of Spain)
From an engraving by Roy, after the painting by Delle Piane
■_ < C c c
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 339
and Don Carlos took possession of the duchies of Parma
and Piacenza, the hopes of the Duchesse d'Orleans and her
daughter revived.
The Marquis de Bissy, the French resident at Parma,
was instructed to sound the inclinations of that Court in
regard to the project so unhappily frustrated in 1725,
and circumstances seemed to augur well for its eventual
realisation. He received a confidential communication
from the Duke of Parma's chief physician, to the effect
that the prince had not been less faithful to his first love
than she to him ; that he cherished as a precious souvenir
of the princess a ring which she had given him at Madrid,
and might often be seen contemplating it with tears in
his eyes, and that, in short, Mile, de Beaujolais was " the
occupation of his days and the torment of his nights." l
Encouraged by this intelligence, Bissy approached Don
Carlos himself, who informed him that the marriage was
the dearest wish of his heart, and was, moreover, desired
by all the Spaniards who had accompanied him to Parma.
And he urged the Minister to use every endeavour to
conclude the matter with the least possible delay.
Unhappily, the young prince was not yet free to dis-
pose of his hand ; and the aged Minister who directed
the policy of France and in whom the "Termagant of
Spain " had inspired a veritable dread, feared that the
least indication of such negotiations would appear to that
jealous and vindictive princess as an enterprise against
her authority. He therefore professed himself unable to
take any steps to further the union of these true lovers,
until he could feel assured of meeting with no active oppo-
sition on the side of Spain, and recommended to Bissy
1 Lemontey.
340 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
an extreme reserve in regard to confidences of this
nature.
In the following year, the War of the Polish Succession
broke out, which was to bring to Don Carlos the Kingdom
of the Two Sicilies. Mile, de Beaujolais did not live to see
that day. At the end of April 1734, she was attacked by
measles — in those days a malady very much dreaded —
to which she succumbed on the 21st of the following month,
to the great regret of both the Court and the public.
" Everybody is in tears, and I also," writes Mathieu
Marais to his friend, the President Bouhier ; " she was a
charming princess."
Born on December 18, 1714, Philippine Elisabeth
d'Orleans had not yet completed her twentieth year.
CHAPTER XVII
Unfortunate effect of the Regent's death upon the situation of the
Princess of Modena — Her discreet conduct — Arrangement with her
father-in-law, who, however, continues to subject her to all kinds
of petty humiliations — Death of her little son — The prince and
princess make their way to Strasbourg, in the hope of being per-
mitted to enter France ; but are compelled to return to Italy —
Intolerable situation — Interference of the French Government —
New arrangement with the Duke, which the latter again contrives
to evade — Cruel indifference of the Duchesse d'Orleans to her
daughter's unhappy lot — Invasion of the duchy of Modena — The
prince conies to Paris, but his wife, after reaching Lyons, is ordered
to return to Italy — She at length secures authorisation to visit Paris,
on condition that she preserves a strict incognito — Odious behaviour
of the Palais-Royal towards her — Quarrel with the Queen of Spain —
Repeated endeavours of her mother and brother to secure an order
for her departure — Death of Duke Rinaldo and accession of Fran-
cesco d'Este — The Duchess of Modena remains in Paris — Her de-
parture for Italy.
CONTRARY to what might have been anticipated,
the birth of a son to the Prince and Princess of
Modena was far from bringing about a reconciliation
between them and Duke Rinaldo. The old gentleman,
indeed, received the news with comparative indifference,
and, though he offered to pay a visit of felicitation to his
daughter-in-law, it was on conditions so humiliating to
the latter and her husband that Francesco d'Este, be-
lieving that his future was now assured, declined the
honour.
A few weeks afterwards came the death of the Regent,
an event which not only dissipated all the princess's hopes
of being permitted to return to France, but deprived her
34i
342 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
of her only effectual protection against the tyranny of her
father-in-law. Her despair was such that for more than a
week she was absolutely prostrated, and her physicians
considered it advisable to bleed her ; and for some time
afterwards she continued in a state of the most profound
dejection. One day, she inquired of Colibeaux if he were
continuing his reports to France, and, on his answering in
the affirmative, burst into tears and exclaimed : " Cease
writing ; my father is no more ; and I now count for
nothing."
Her situation, indeed, had changed altogether for the
worse. The Due de Bourbon, who had become Prime
Minister on the death of the Regent, was, as we know, the
implacable enemy of the House of Orleans, and his
accession to power meant the loss of her family's political
importance and her own abandonment. This, indeed, was
soon apparent. Aware that there was now little prospect
of the French Government intervening on behalf of his
daughter-in-law, the Duke of Modena became more and
more exacting ; while the prince actually proposed to
his wife to enter a convent, in order to leave him at liberty
to retire to Vienna, where a brilliant position in the
Imperial service had been offered him.
In the face of these adverse circumstances, it must be
admitted that Charlotte d' Orleans conducted herself with
commendable discretion. Knowing that there was now
nothing to hope for on the side of France, she resolved
to endeavour to conciliate her father-in-law, and secure
for herself an establishment in Italy commensurate with
her rank, and where she might be enabled to live in
comfort and tranquillity. Thanks to the intervention of
the Cardinal de Rohan, a kind of treaty was finally signed
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 343
with the Duke, whereby the latter agreed to purchase for
the princess a country-house near Reggio, where she was
to reside in future, with permission to pay five visits a year
to Modena : at Easter, at Christinas, and on the birthdays
of the Duke, her husband and herself. The expense of
these visits was to be borne by the Duke, and she also
secured " the privilege of writing to him without previous
permission," which had been at first refused (April 1724),
Unfortunately, although the attitude of the princess
towards her father-in-law was quite irreproachable, the
Duke continued to subject her to all kinds of petty
humiliations; and in July the princess, in despair,
appealed to the French Government, through the Cardinal
de Rohan, for permission to visit France.
The request was not officially refused, but conditions
were attached to her visit which made its realisation
altogether impossible, such as the permission of the Duke
of Modena, and an undertaking from him to defray all
the expenses of the journey and of her stay in France ;
and the only result of her appeal was to exasperate the
Duke, who proceeded to deprive her of her horses and
carriages, evidently with the intention of preventing her
from visiting Modena, and to reduce her pension by more
than one half.
In these proceedings he was abetted by his eldest son,
who appears to have been hopeful that this continuous
persecution would drive the princess into committing
some act of folly, which would justify them in relegating
her to a convent. His expectation was not gratified, for
Charlotte d'Orleans testified under these trying con-
ditions a really admirable resignation ; while Colibeaux
addressed the most touching appeals on her behalf to
344 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
Versailles, declaring that "it was a spectacle worthy of
compassion to see a princess brought up at the Palais-
Royal, and who had the honour of being aunt of the
greatest King in the world, reduced to a Court in which
everything was lacking."
At length, the Due de Bourbon decided that the
humiliating situation of the princess was calculated to
injure the prestige of France in the eyes of Europe, and at
the beginning of October he addressed a remonstrance to
the Duke of Modena. His intervention, however, does
not appear to have produced much effect.
At the beginning of the following summer, the princess's
little son died. This sad event put an end to the com-
parative harmony which existed between Francesco
d'Este and his father, who once more began intriguing
to get Prince Frederico declared heir to the throne ; and,
at the same time, brought about a reconciliation between
the prince and princess. By September, the old Duke
had contrived to render their situation so intolerable
that they quitted Reggio, and, having assumed the names
of the Comte and Comtesse de Saint-Felix, made their
way to Strasbourg, in the hope of being allowed to enter
France. But, though their friend the Cardinal de Rohan
warmly espoused their cause with the French Government,
the Due de Bourbon refused them permission to cross the
frontier, unless they obtained the consent of the Duke of
Modena and the Duchesse d'Orleans ; and, after spending
some weeks at the little Court of Luneville, the truant
couple returned to Reggio.
On October 6, 1726, the princess, who, at the beginning
of the previous year, had given birth to a daughter,
presented her husband with a son, Ercole Rinaldo, who
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 345
was one day to succeed to the ducal throne of Modena.
This increase in their family, however, was not followed
by any augmentation of their income ; indeed, the Duke,
notwithstanding the stipulations of the contract, had the
meanness to pay his daughter-in-law's pension, which,
besides, was greatly in arrears, in Italian liri, much
inferior in value at this period to the French livre. The
consequence was that the unfortunate pair found them-
selves reduced to the most cruel straits and, in the autumn
of 1728, leaving their children at Reggio, they fled to
Genoa and threw themselves on the protection of Campre-
don, the French resident.
The Court of Versailles, fearful lest, after all, it should
be obliged to accord an asylum to the princess, this
time intervened with firmness, and Fleury, who had
replaced the Due de Bourbon at the head of affairs,
directed Campredon to proceed to Modena and bring
the Duke to reason. Campredon obeyed, but the only
reply that he could at first obtain from the old tyrant
was an assurance that his son and daughter-in-law
might return to Reggio, " provided they did not trouble
his repose." When, however, the envoy assumed a firmer
tone and threatened him with the displeasure of the
French Government, he offered to agree to the financial
concessions demanded of him, on certain conditions,
which included the dismissal of two of the prince's and
one of the princess's favourite attendants, on the ground
that they had incited their master and mistress against
him ; the immediate return of the fugitives to Reggio
and their engagement " to no longer trouble his repose,"
which meant that they were not to present themselves
at Modena, except at his express invitation; and the
346 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
surrender of their little son, with whose education he
proposed to charge himself.
The princess at first flatly refused to accept these
conditions, but eventually a sort of compromise was
arrived at, and at the beginning of September 1729 she
and her husband returned to Reggio. But the old Duke
as usual proceeded to evade his engagements, and the
situation of the unfortunate couple remained as intoler-
able as ever.
We may here observe that, whatever faults the princess
may have committed before her marriage, no breath of
scandal had tarnished her reputation since, and she had
certainly done nothing to deserve the humiliating treat-
ment to which she was subjected. Nor can one blame too
severely the profound indifference shown by the Duchesse
d'Orleans to her daughter's unhappy lot. If the ordinary
sentiments of a mother were not to be expected from the
duchess, one would at least have thought that she would
have been concerned to defend the honour of a person
so nearly related to her. But her only anxiety seems to
have been to prevent the unfortunate princess finding an
asylum in France ; and when, at the beginning of 1730,
the latter addressed to her mother a reproachful, though
perfectly respectful, letter, pointing out how persistently
she had denied her the sympathy to which she was
entitled, and how entirely she had misjudged her motives
in seeking authorisation to come to France, it remained
unanswered.
Towards the end of 1733, events afforded Charlotte
d'Orleans the opportunity of realising the dream she had
so long cherished. The War of the Polish Succession
broke out, and the Duke of Modena, notwithstanding
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 347
that he had hastened to declare himself neutral, saw his
dominions occupied by foreign armies. He retired to
Bologna, to await more tranquil times ; while his eldest son
set out for Paris. The princess followed him, but she did
not dare to venture farther than Lyons, and it was agreed
between her and her husband that she should remain
there until he had succeeded in procuring from the
Government permission for her to join him. But Francesco
d'Este allowed himself to be talked over by the Duchesse
d'Orleans and her son, who wished at all costs to keep
the princess at a distance, and, instead of furthering his
wife's wishes, he wrote advising her to remain where she
was.
The princess, after writing a very sharp letter to her
husband, appealed to Fleury, and received in reply a
formal order to return to Italy and take up her residence
with Campredon at the French Legation at Genoa, which
she did not dare to disobey. However, towards the end
of the following summer, a rumour spread that Duke
Rinaldo and his eldest son, notwithstanding their pro-
fessed neutrality, were making common cause with the
Imperialists ; and the Duke, much alarmed by this report,
as matters were now going very badly with Austria, begged
his daughter-in-law to go and plead his cause at the Court
of France. The princess eagerly consented, and embark-
ing at Leghorn on the galley of her half-brother, the
Chevalier d'Orleans, landed in the last days of September
at Marseilles.
Her fond relatives at the Palais-Royal were terribly
alarmed on learning of her approach, and entreated the
Government to stop her, with the result that, when she
arrived at Aix, she was met by one Boisgnorel, an exempt
348 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
of the Gardes du Corps, bearing an order from the King
couched in the following terms :
" My aunt, having learned that you have arrived at
Marseilles without my permission, and not judging it
opportune, for important considerations, that you should
approach nearer Paris than the town of Lyons, I write you
this letter to tell you that you are not to go farther until
I inform you more particularly of my will." *
At Lyons, the princess remained for more than four
months, when, thanks to the efforts of the Prince of
Modena,2 and on the understanding that she should not
remain in Paris without her husband, that she should
maintain a strict incognito, and should take her departure
at the first request to do so, her mother and brother
withdrew their opposition, and the royal interdict was
raised.
On receiving this joyful news, Charlotte d'Orleans lost
no time in leaving Lyons, and on March 12 she arrived in
Paris, after an absence of nearly fifteen years. But,
though she had reached the end of her desires, she was
not at the end of her trials and humiliations. With the
exception of her kind-hearted cousin, Mile, de la Roche-
sur-Yon, who met her at the last stage before reaching
Paris, no one troubled to come and welcome her, and
1 Archives des Affaires Etrangeres, published by Barthelemy.
2 If we are to believe the Melanges of Boisjourdain, Francesco d'Este
only succeeded in overcoming the opposition of the Due d'Orleans by
resorting to a ruse. Aware that the duke, after a somewhat irregular
youth, had become a devot of the most rigorous type, he intimated to
him that he could not answer for his fidelity to the princess if they
were any longer kept apart, and pretended to make advances to a
certain Mile. Carlon, of the Opera, who, being a party to the deception,
received them with much apparent favour. Whereupon the Due
d'Orleans " consented to the visit of his sister, in order to save his
brother-in-law from sin."
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 349
when she alighted at the Palais-Royal, the reception she
received from her mother and brother was of the most
frigid description. " They embraced her coldly, talked
about indifferent matters, yawned, and at the end of
half-an-hour of ennui they separated, without there having
been any question of offering her either accommodation
or refreshment.1
As her relatives had declined to offer her the hospitality
of the Palais-Royal, the princess went to live with her
husband at the Hotel de Luynes, in the Rue du Colombier,
not far from the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, from
which, however, they shortly afterwards removed to the
Hotel de Lyon, in the Rue des Petits-Champs, which was,
of course, much nearer the Palais-Royal.
The Due d'Orleans is said to have sent his sister 25,000
ecus to defray the cost of her stay in Paris, but in other
respects both he and his mother behaved in the most
odious way towards her, and seemed resolved to spare
her no mortification. They endeavoured to prevent her
from being received by the Queen, on the ground that it
would afford her the means of raising the incognito which
she had promised to maintain ; they persuaded the King
to write to her, forbidding her absolutely to discuss the
political situation in Italy with the Ministers, and begged
Fleury to speak to her in such a manner " as to leave her
no hope of charging herself with any negotiations " ; and,
some days after her arrival, the duke instructed the cure
of Saint-Paul, his confessor and almoner, to inform the
poor people among whom he was accustomed to distribute
the prince's alms that, so long as the Princess of Modena
remained in Paris at the expense of his Royal Highness,
1 Boisjourdain, Mdlanges.
350 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
they must expect nothing more from him. This mean
action naturally served to excite the populace against
the unfortunate lady ; and the fact that she was not lodged
at the Palais-Royal and was compelled to go about in a
modest equipage hired from a livery-stable, since her
brother had refused to lend her any of his own carriages,
created a most unfortunate impression. Her servants
were insulted in the streets, and one evening, when leaving
the Opera, she herself was subjected to the most gross
indignity, the rabble bawling out to her coachman to drive
her back to Modena, where she might accord her father-
in-law the favours which she had once granted to her
father in Paris.1
At the end of May 1735, Francesco d'Este announced
that urgent affairs recalled him to Italy; but, since he
proposed to visit Holland and England first, he expressed
the hope that his wife would be permitted to remain in
France until he could return for her. The Due d'Orleans
immediately wrote to Fleury, begging him to compel his
sister to leave Paris and retire to some town near the
frontier, " until it might please the prince to come and
fetch her." But Charlotte d'Orleans had not wasted her
time since her arrival in Paris. She was still a very
attractive woman," even after fifteen years of marriage " ;2
she knew how to make the most of her charms, and,
moreover, the discretion with which she had conducted
herself had impressed the Ministers very favourably.
Accordingly, notwithstanding the resistance of the Palais-
Royal, Louis XV. gave her permission to remain in Paris,
on condition, however, that she should retire to the
Val-de-Grace and not leave it without express permis-
1 Boisjourdain. a Ibid.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 351
sion. At the request of her husband, this restriction on
her liberty was subsequently withdrawn, though she
was forbidden to visit the theatres or to approach the
Court.
Francesco d'Este returned at the beginning of 1736 ;
but he was in no hurry to leave Paris, and he and his wife
settled down again at the Hotel de Lyon, to the intense
disgust of the Orleans family. In the spring, a violent
quarrel took place between the princess and her sister, the
Queen of Spain, over a question of ceremonial. On Palm
Sunday, both happened to visit the Jesuit Church in the
Rue Saint-Antome, to hear a sermon by Pere Neuville,
a preacher of great celebrity. The Fathers sent a carpet
to the princess's tribune, but her loving sister pretended
that she had no right to one in her presence, and des-
patched an officer of her guards to order her to remove it.
This she refused to do, alleging that she owed this respect
only to the Queen of France. The widow of Luis I. was
furious, and the Due d'Orleans warmly espoused her cause,
and wrote to Fleury suggesting that this was " a fine
opportunity to order the Princess of Modena to retire, if
not to Italy, at least into some provincial town." He
added that his mother was of the same opinion.
Fortunately for the princess, she had the prudence to
obey the orders of Louis XV. to apologize to her sister, or,
at any rate, she sent Francesco d'Este to make her
excuses ; and the matter was allowed to drop. The quarrel
was revived a few weeks later, when her coachman, either
by her orders or on his own initiative, declined to stop
his carriage to permit that of the Queen of Spain to pass.
The Due d'Orleans, unwilling to allow any opportunity of
humiliating his elder sister to escape him, demanded that
352 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
the King should order her to go in person to apologize to
the outraged Queen ; but, on the princess representing
that the affront was an accident, she was permitted to
send a letter of regret instead.
On September 30 of that year, Charlotte d'Orleans
gave birth to a daughter. The approach of this interesting
event had naturally furnished her with an excellent
pretext for postponing her departure ; but no sooner was
her health re-established than the Due d'Orleans renewed
his efforts to secure an order for her to leave Paris.
Fleury, however, who sympathised with the princess,
and secretly sustained her against the malice of her
family, acceded to her request to be permitted to remain
until the return of her husband from Hungary, whither
he was about to proceed to take command of the artillery
of the Imperialist army operating against the Turks.
On October 26, 1737, Duke Rinaldo, whom the con-
clusion of peace between the belligerent Powers in the
previous spring had enabled to return to his capital, died,
and Francesco d'Este became Duke of Modena. The
fact that her husband was now a sovereign prince did not,
however, cause Charlotte d'Orleans to be treated with any
more consideration by the Court of France ; and, thanks
to the opposition of her brother, with whom she was now
engaged in an acrimonious lawsuit over some disputed
family property, the gates of Versailles still remained
closed to her. However, she appears to have preferred
the affronts to which she had to submit in Paris to the
pleasures of domination at Modena, and it was not until
the end of June 1739 that she set out for Italy. For
some time past she had not been on speaking terms with
her relatives at the Palais-Royal, and though Fleury
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 353
begged her, for form's sake, to pay them a farewell visit,
she refused. " I have the honour to tell your Eminence,"
she writes, " that if, after the unworthy manner in which
the Duke of Modena has seen me treated by my family,
he were to perceive that, at the last moment, I had all
the imaginable baseness to visit them again, it would
teach him that I required to be guided by blows from a
cudgel." x
1 Lemontey.
2 A
CHAPTER XVIII
The death of the Regent deprives the Abbess of Chelles of her influence
in ecclesiastical matters — She continues, however, her efforts on
behalf of the Jansenists — She issues a manifesto, which is sup-
pressed by a decree of the Council — Her adventure with the Cardinal
de Bissy — She is forbidden to leave her convent — She resigns her
abbey, and retires to the priory of the Benedictines of la Madeleine
du Trainel — Piety of her last years — Her Reflexions morales sur le
Nouveau Testament — Her death.
THE death of the Regent was a terrible blow to the
Abbess of Chelles. Not only did she lose a kind
and indulgent father, to whom she was warmly attached,
but she saw disappear, at the same moment, the influence
which she had derived from her near relationship to the
head of the State. " The authority which his affection
for me had given me," she wrote, " was annihilated with
him. His Ministers, formerly so submissive to his orders,
so assiduous in paying their court to me, resumed their
natural pride. My family itself abandoned me on a slight
pretext. I arrived at the Val-de-Grace ; what a differ-
ence for a soul as vain as mine ! My rooms, which, in my
father's lifetime, were always full of people, were empty.
The thousands of petitions and memoirs which it used to
please my vanity to receive had changed into the ordinary
demands of the poor. I returned to my abbey, rage in
my heart, and very determined to console myself by
every means that I could find. This unhappy incident
has been the cause of all the faults that I have com-
354
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 355
mitted from the age of twenty-five up to that of
thirty-three."1
Nevertheless, she continued her efforts on behalf of the
Jansenists, more persecuted than ever after Fleury had
replaced the Due de Bourbon as First Minister, and
sheltered many of them at the Val-de-Grace, as she had
previously done at Chelles. The Jesuits summoned to
their aid the Duchesse d'Orleans, an ardent Molinist, and
persuaded her to represent to her daughter the iniquity
of her conduct ; but the abbess bitterly resented the
interference of her mother, and the only result was another
violent quarrel between the two princesses. The Jesuits
thereupon caused a rumour to be propagated that Mile.
d'Orleans had repented of her errors and returned to the
true fold, and " all Paris was persuaded of it."2 The
abbess replied by a species of manifesto, under the title of
Lettrc de S.A .R. Mme. d'Orleans, abbesse de Chelles, a une de
ses amies, " full of errors which the Church has long
condemned, and expressions contrary to the spirit of
submission which the monastic state which she has em-
braced obliges her to observe."3 The Council issued a
decree directing that all copies of this manifesto should be
collected and destroyed by the police, but, at the same
time, in order to spare the feelings of the House of Orleans,
declared its opinion that the condemned letter was not
the work of the princess, on the ground that she was there-
in styled " Royal Highness," whereas her proper appella-
tion was " Most Serene Highness."
Soon after this, Mile. d'Orleans had an adventure with
1 MSS. of Mile. d'Orleans, formerly in the library of M. Leber, pub-
lished by Barthelemy.
- Soulavie, Memoir es du due de Richelieu.
8 Marais.
356 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
the Cardinal de Bissy, Bishop of Meaux, one of the most
bitter persecutors of the Jansenists, which occasioned a
great deal of talk. Soulavie gives the following account
of this affair :
" Madame de Rohan, Abbess of Hyeres,1 used to visit
Madame de Chelles, who, in her turn, went to visit her.
One day, the Cardinal de Bissy, chief of the Molinist
party, came to see Madame de Rohan, and asked her
what was the conduct of her community in relation to
the Bull [Unigenitus]. The latter replied that she had only
one convert Sister who was unwilling to obey the Bull.
Bissy asked that she should be sent for, and Madame de
Rohan sent for Madame d'Orleans, who was not recog-
nised, as she had assumed the dress of a convert.
" Bissy spoke of submission, and the Abbess of Chelles
spoke to him of appeal and reappeal. The cardinal,
becoming angry, threatened to make her do penance ;
and the Sister, in a very assured tone, related to him the
history of his life, and told him that he was only playing
his present role through ambition. Fury seized the
astonished cardinal, who told the convert Sister that she
was unaware that he was a prince of the Church ; but
the Sister, who possessed the gift of eloquence, said so
much that she disconcerted him. Madame de Rohan,
who was listening to this conversation, began to laugh,
and Bissy, observing more closely the countenance of the
convert Sister, recognised Madame d'Orleans. Thereupon
he rose from his chair, and offered her the most humble
apologies ; but the princess turned her back upon him,
and said : ' Profit by this lesson ! ' The cardinal, deeply
1 This is an error. Madame de Rohan was at this time Abbess of
Jouarre.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 357
mortified, had no longer any wish to dine with Madame
de Rohan who had invited him, together with Madame
de Chelles ; and left the convent murmuring."1
Mathieu Marais gives a less piquant version, which,
however, is probably the more correct.
'•' The princess is badly advised. She is a friend of the
Abbess of Jouarre, whom she visited at Jouarre, after
which they came together to Paris, to a convent in the
Faubourg Saint- Antoine. The Cardinal de Bissy, Bishop
of Meaux, went to visit Madame de Jouarre, who belongs
to his diocese. The princess concealed herself, in order
to listen to their conversation, in which the cardinal
reproached the abbess with her intimacy with Madame
de Chelles, who was a mad-brain. Upon that she emerged
from her hiding-place, and had a wrangle with the
cardinal, who took back his words and fled."
And Marais adds: "Subsequently, the princess
received an order from a high quarter to return to her
abbey and not to leave it."
After this disgrace, we hear very little of Mile. d'Or-
leans. In October 1734 she resigned her abbey in favour
of Anne de Clermont-Gessen, one of its former nuns, who
had been for some years superior of the monastery of
Beaurepaire, near Vienne, and retired to the priory of the
Benedictines of la Madeleine du Trainel, transferred since
1644 to the Rue de Charonne in Paris. The prioress, Lucie
d'Artagnan, a niece of the Marechal de Montesquiou,
had been one of her particular friends at the Val-de-
Grace, and owed her promotion to the good offices of the
princess.
Here, in a spacious apartment which the prioress had
1 Memoires du due de Richelieu.
358 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
prepared for her, Adelaide d'Orleans passed the remainder
of her life, which was consecrated to prayer, study, and
works of charity. Her conversion was sincere and
complete, and is attested by both the sceptical Duclos
and the severe Saint-Simon. " Madame de Chelles,"
says the latter, " gradually returned to devotion and
regularity, and, although en ftrincesse, lived a life which
grew more and more edifying, up to the time of her death,
which did not occur until several years later, in the
same convent, without her having quitted it."
It was here that Louis Racine addressed to her these
touching verses beginning :
" Plaisirs, beaute, jeunesse, honneur, gloire, puissance,
Ambitieux espoir que permet la naissance,
Tout au pied de FAgneau fut par elle immoleV'
And it was here that, in all probability, she composed
her Examen de conscience de I'abbesse de Chelles, which,
in the opinion of Lescure,1 is less a self-examination,
with her life and her recollections as its theme, than a
continuation of a very remarkable manuscript entitled :
Reflexions morales sur le Nouveau Testament, d I' usage
de Madame Louise- Adelaide d'Orleans, abbesse de Chelles,
which was found at the time of the Revolution in the
possession of a family in the environs of Chelles, and
passed about the middle of the last century into that of
Leon Techener, who communicated its contents to the
Baron Ernouf, Edward Barthelemy, Lescure, and other
bibliophiles. The first-named published a very interesting
notice upon it in the Bulletin du Bibliophile for the year
1859 ; Barthelemy cites a number of passages in his work
on the daughters of the Regent, and Lescure has made
1 Les Confessions de I'abbesse de Chelles.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 359
extensive use of it in writing his pseudo-autobiography,
les Confessions dc Vabbcssc dc Chclles, mentioned else-
where. All three are of opinion that it is not only a
wonderful revelation of the workings of a human soul,
but a document of quite extraordinary literary merit,
and that the beauty of some of the reflexions will bear
comparison with anything of the kind to be found in
modern literature.
The Abbess of Chelles — for she preserved that title
up to the last — died of smallpox on February 19, 1743,
in her forty-fifth year.
CHAPTER XIX
Louise Diane d'Orleans, Mile, de Chartres, youngest daughter of the
Regent — Her birth — Her marriage with the Prince de Conti — Dis-
pute between the unmarried Princesses of the Blood, on the question
of bearing the train of her mantle — A delicate conversation — Birth
of a son — Death of the princess — " Joj^ous life " of the Duchess of
Modena, which, however, is soon interrupted by the outbreak of
the War of the Austrian Succession — The Duchess secures author-
isation to return to France, where she is now treated with all the
honours due to her rank — Her enviable situation at Versailles —
She marries her eldest daughter to the Due de Penthievre — She
occupies herself with her husband's interests — Francesco d'Este,
disgusted with his treatment by France, throws himself into the
arms of Austria — The Duchess falls into disgrace at Versailles —
She returns to Italy — Her death.
IF we may say of princesses, as of nations, that those
are the happiest who have no history, then Louise
Diane d'Orleans, the youngest of the Regent's daughters,
ought to have been the happiest of all, for few facts of
any interest concerning her are to be found in the memoirs
and correspondence of her contemporaries. It is true
that she was cut off in the flower of her youth — when she
was scarcely twenty years old — but before reaching that
age each of her sisters had, as we have seen, contrived to
make in one way or another a considerable stir in the
world.
This princess, who took the name of Mile, de Chartres,
which had been borne by two of her elder sisters, the
Duchesse de Berry and the Abbess of Chelles, made her
appearance upon the scene on July 7, 1716. Her arrival
does not appear to have been particularly welcome, for
the House of Orleans had already a plethora of daughters.
360
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 361
" At the moment when I concluded my letter to the
Princess of Wales," writes Madame, " they came to
announce to me that Madame d'Orleans was in labour.
It was just eleven o'clock when my carriage was ready,
and at a quarter to one I entered the ante-chamber, and
was told in a low voice : ' Her Royal Highness was safely
brought to bed an hour ago.' But this was said in so
sad a tone that I did not doubt that Madame d'Orleans
had brought into the world a seventh daughter, and that
unfortunately is what has happened."
Mile, de Chartres, if we are to believe her grandmother,
does not appear to have been very attractive in her
infancy. " She is not ugly," writes Madame, " but she
is peevish and sulky; as soon as one looks at her she
begins to cry." However, if she was an unattractive
child, she grew into a very pretty and amiable girl, and
it is sad to reflect that the only two of the Regent's
daughters who were afforded, so to speak, a fair start
in life, should both have died at so early an age.
On January 22, 1732, the young princess was married to
Louis Francois de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, who was a
few months younger than herself. The marriage was the
occasion of an acrimonious dispute between the un-
married Princesses of the Blood, on the question of
which of them was to support the train of the bride's
mantle, a duty which, though supposed to be an honour,
was apparently regarded by them as a menial service.
It was only ended by the Dowager-Princesse de Conti
announcing herself ready to carry the train of her
daughter-in-law's mantle herself, if none of these haughty
damsels were willing to do so. Upon which Mile, de Sens
reluctantly consented to demean herself.
362 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
After the ceremony, we are told, the dowager suggested
to the Duchesse d'Orleans that, having regard to the
youth of the happy pair, it would be inadvisable to permit
them to pass more than a part of the wedding-night
together. To which the Duchess replied that " from the
day of the marriage, she had promised not to interfere
in anything which concerned Mile, de Chartres ; and that
it was her mother-in-law's affair entirely."
On September i, 1734, the Princesse de Conti gave birth
to a son, who in 1755 married his cousin, Marie Fortunee
d'Este, third daughter of the Duke and Duchess of
Modena. Two years after the birth of her little boy, the
young princess died at the magnificent chateau of the
Contis at Issy. Mile, de Clermont, one of the sisters of the
Due de Bourbon, was nominated by the Queen to go to
Issy as her representative, and sprinkle holy water upon
the body of the deceased ; and the Due de Luynes con-
siders it necessary to devote nearly four pages of his
journal to an account of this visit, and to a breach of eti-
quette of which Mile, de Clermont was guilty, and which
appears to have greatly disturbed the worthy nobleman.
The Prince de Conti did not marry again ; in fact, he
entered the Order of Malta, and became in 1745 Grand
Prior of France. He did not, however, abjure feminine
society, and his gallantries were for many years the
talk of Paris. Happily, he distinguished himself also in
another direction, and was one of the ablest soldiers
whom France produced in the eighteenth century. He
served with distinction in the War of the Polish Suc-
cession, and, when scarcely more than a boy, had risen,
by sheer merit, to the rank of lieutenant-general ; and in
that of the Austrian Succession he commanded French
Louisk Diane d'Orleans (Mi. i.e. de Chartres),
Princesse de Conti
From the painting by Pierre Gobert, at Versailles
(Photo by W. A. Manse!! & Co.)
••;<
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 363
armies with conspicuous success in Italy and Germany.
But in the Seven Years' War, when France stood so
sorely in need of an able general, the hatred of Madame
de Pompadour prevented him from being employed in
any military capacity ; and he was condemned to remain
idle at the Court, while the Soubises and Clermonts were
leading the troops which should have been entrusted to
him to defeat and humiliation.
The Prince de Conti died in 1776, in his sixtieth year.
The Duchess of Modena outlived all her sisters. For a
year or two after her return to Italy she appears to have
led a very agreeable existence, and to have transformed
completely the little Court of Modena, which, from being
one of the dullest and most parsimonious, became one
of the gayest and most extravagant in Europe. The
President de Brosses, who visited Modena during the
carnival of 1740, found the duchess " living the most
joyous life possible." She plays biribi all night, sups at
six o'clock in the morning, goes to bed at eight, and gets
up at five o'clock in the afternoon." She had established
an excellent French opera in the town, with a remarkably
fine corps de ballet, of which she was extremely proud ;
while the Duke had made extensive improvements at the
palace, including a hall which was an exact copy of that
of the Tuileries. He was also an enthusiastic collector
of pictures, and his gallery promised to become one of
the finest in Italy. The ducal pair gave the most splendid
fetes, and practised the most prodigal hospitality. On
Shrove Tuesday 1740, after the opera was over, they
entertained the company, the musicians of the orchestra,
and the whole audience, to a supper in the theatre, and
364 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
the Court to another at the Ridotti. Then the Court
returned to the Opera-house, which, in the meantime,
had been converted into a ballroom, while at either end
of the salle apartments had been prepared for faro and
lansquenet ; and dancing and gambling went on until far
into the next day.
The president describes the duchess as " still a rather
pretty woman ; very stout, with a rather high colour,
and a majestic air," and adds that " she is getting more
and more to resemble the late Regent, her father."
But this life of pleasure did not last long. The death
in 1741 of the Emperor Charles VI. was followed by
the War of the Austrian Succession. Francesco d'Este
desired to remain neutral ; but Charles Emmanuel of
Sardinia advanced to the Modenese frontier, called upon
him to decide on which side he would declare himself,
and, while he still hesitated, invaded his dominions.
The duke and duchess, leaving their children at Sassuolo,
where Charles Emmanuel had consented to respect their
liberty, retired to Venice ; and Francesco, having decided
to embrace the cause of the Allies, solicited and obtained
from Philip V. the command of the Spanish troops in
Italy. His wife then demanded permission to come to
Paris, and though, owing to the opposition of the
Orleans family, this request was at first refused, her
old lover Richelieu interested himself on her behalf
and persuaded his friend, the Duchesse de Chateauroux,
Louis XV. 's maitresse en litre, to plead her cause with
the King. The favourite's intervention proved successful,
and the Duchess of Modena not only received the per-
mission solicited, but was accorded, on her arrival, all the
honours due to her rank.
UNRULY DAUGHTERS 365
The princess did not fail to pay assiduous court to
Madame de Chateauroux, and the friendship of that lady
assured her quite an enviable position at Versailles. The
death of the mistress at the end of 1744 affected it but
little, since Charlotte d'Orleans had succeeded in marrying
her eldest daughter to the young Due de Penthievre,
son of the Comte de Toulouse, and had, moreover, con-
ducted herself with admirable discretion, making useful
friends whenever the opportunity presented itself and
giving offence to no one. She occupied herself, too,
unceasingly with her husband's interests, and it was
certainly not due to any lack of effort on her part that
at the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle the Duke had to be
content with the restoration of his States, without
receiving any indemnity for the losses he had sustained.
When peace again reigned in Italy, the Duchess did
not return thither, infinitely preferring the gaiety and
splendour of Versailles, where she had been allotted a
suite of apartments in the chateau, to residence at a
little Court now so impoverished by the war as to be
unable to offer her any of her former diversions. Had
she done so, she might possibly have kept her husband
faithful to France. As it was, the Duke, deeply chagrined
at seeing his faithful services so poorly recompensed,
decided to accept the very flattering offers he received
from Vienna ; and in 1753 married his daughter Beatrix
to the Archduke Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and
was nominated acting governor-general of Lombardy
until the majority of his son-in-law, upon whom this
dignity had devolved.
Meanwhile, Francesco d'Este, impatient at the long
absence of his consort, had summoned her repeatedly to
366 UNRULY DAUGHTERS
return to him, but, on various pretexts, she declined to
obey. Gradually, however, it became apparent that she
had outworn her welcome at the French Court ; Louis XV.
had never cared for her, and in the summer of 1754 she
had the misfortune to offend the Queen on a point of
etiquette, for which Marie Leczinska was a great stickler.
From that time she appears to have fallen into a kind of
disgrace, and for nearly three years the Due de Luynes,
the Dangeau of those times, does not once mention
her name.
In November 1755, the duchess married her third
daughter to the Comte de la Mar die, afterwards Prince
de Conti. In the spring of the previous year she had lost
her eldest daughter, the Duchesse de Penthievre, who
had died in childbed.
Finally, in 1759, she decided to return to the domestic
hearth, where she found that her husband, having
apparently abandoned all hope of seeing her again, had
found consolation in the society of the Marchesa Simonetti,
a widow of sixty. The duchess, feeling doubtless that she
was responsible for this romance, was reluctant to in-
terrupt it ; and remained as little as possible in Modena,
preferring to travel about in search of distraction. It was,
however, during one of her brief sojourns at her husband's
Court that she was seized with a sudden illness, which ter-
minated fatally on January 19, 1761. Towards the end of
her life she is said to have become very devout.
Francesco d'Este, who, in the following year, contracted
a morganatic marriage with the Marchesa Simonetti,
survived his consort nearly twenty years. He died at
Varese on February 23, 17S0.
INDEX
Alberoni, Cardinal, 214, 216, 292
Albret, Due d', 157
Albret, Duchesse d\ 127
Alencon, Due d', 89
Altamira, Duquesa de, 314, 326
Amboise, Marquise de Clermont,
d', 105
Ana Victoria (Infanta of Spam),
280 et sqq., 302, 332-3
Anjou, Due d', 44
Antin, Marquis d', 88
Arco, Duque del, 287
Argenson, Marquis d', 176, 214,
219
Argenson, Madame d' (mistress of
the Regent), 12, 243
Armagnae, Louis de Lorraine,
Comte d', 3
Armenonville, d' (Siene), 115-16
Armenonville, Madame d', 116
Armentieres, Marquis d', 105
Armstrong, Mr. Edward {cited),
309, 318
Arpajon, Madame d', 1 12-13
Artagnan, Lucie d', 357
Aumont, Due d', no
Auvergne, Madame d\ 13, 127-8
Auvergne, Mile, d', 157
Bacqueville, Madame de, 233,
239 et sqq.
Barthelemy, M. Edouard (cited),
28, 90, 144, 151. i76-7. 196,
215, 219, 274, 304, 310-11, 348,
355. 358
Baudrillart, Pere [cited), 308,
318-19
Bauregard, 131
Beauvau, Madame de, 13C-7
Beauvilliers, Due de, 50
Berry, Charles, Due de, 84, 87,
162 ; intrigues which precede
his marriage with Mademoiselle,
34 et sqq. ; early life, 43-4 ;
his ungovernable temper as a
boy, 44-5 ; his appearance and
disposition, 45-6 ; his marriage
to Mademoiselle, 46 et seqq. ;
his affection for his young wife,
58-9, 91 ; his estrangement
from the Due and Duchesse de
Burgoyne, 63, 70 ; his grief at
Monseigneur' s death, 68 ; his
altered position, 71, and the
rumours concerning the rela-
tions between the Duchesse de
Berry and her father, 73 et sqq.;
his liaison with his wife's
waiting-woman, 92-3 ; his ill-
ness and death, 94 et sqq.
Berry, Marie Louise Elizabeth
Duchesse de (Mademoiselle),
her birth, 9, 29 ; her early life,
30 et sqq. ; her father's singu-
lar affection for, 31, 274; sups
with the King, 31-2 ; her
mother's ambitions for, 34
et sqq. ; matrimonial schemes
for, 34 et sqq. ; her marriage
to the Due de Berry, 46 et sqq. ;
her personal appearance, 56-7 ;
Madame's portrait of, 56-7 ;
her character, 57 et sqq. ; her
intimacy with the Duchesse de
Burgogne, 59, 60 ; her gluttony
and intemperance,'6c— 1, 63, 135;
her treacherous conduct towards
the Duchesse de Bourgogne, 61
et sqq., 69 et sqq. ; her Household
organised, 63 ; reprimanded by
the King, 64, 78 et sqq.; and
367
568
INDEX
Monseigneuy's death, 68 el sqq. ;
her annoyance at Monseigneur's
will, 72—3 ; atrocious rumours
regarding Due d'Orleans and,
73 et sqq., 129 et sqq.; birth of
a daughter to, 76-7 ; her treat-
ment of her mother, 77 et
sqq., 107 ; and the Duchesse
de Bourgogne's death, 84 ;
Madame's remonstrances with,
85-6 ; precautions to which
she has to submit during
pregnancy, 87-S ; cruel dis-
appointment which she inflicts
upon the Marechal de Bezons,
88 ; birth and death of her
son, 89 ; enjoys the favour
of Louis XIV., 90-1, 103 et
sqq., 109 ; her relations with
her husband, 91 et sqq. ; her
amours, 94-5, 220 ; and the
Due de Berry's last illness, 97 ;
her exaggerated pretence of
grief at his death, 10 1-2 ; birth
and death of another daughter,
102 ; Louis XIV. 's generosity
towards, 102-3 ; obtains the
Luxembourg as a residence,
106-7 ; Madame despairs of,
108 ; her exorbitant preten-
sions, 109 et sqq., 166-7 '• ner
quarrel with the Prince de
Conti, 111-12 ; her adventure
in the Luxembourg Gardens,
112 et sqq. ; disliked by the
Parisians, 114; insults the
civic dignitaries of Paris,
1 1 4-1 5; obtains possession of
La Muette, n 5-1 6 ; her liaison
with the Chevalier de Rion,
117 et sqq. ; her evil genius,
Madame de Mouchy, 118 et sqq.,
240 ; submits to the tyranny
of Rion, 121-2, 173 et sqq. ;
takes an apartment in the
Carmelite convent in the Fau-
bourg Saint- Jacques, 124 et
sqq. ; assists at the orgies of
the Regent, 128 ; visited by
Peter the Great, 134 ; her
quarrel with Mesdames de Cler-
mont et de Beauvau, 136-7 ;
gives a magnificent ball in
honour of the Duke and
Duchess of Lorraine, 158 et
sqq. ; reconciliation between
her and Madame, 161 ; altera-
tion in her conduct towards
her mother, 162 ; " greatly
edifies " the Carmelites, 162 ;
magnificently entertained by
the Due de Bourbon at Chan-
tilly, 163 et sqq. ; her un-
gracious behaviour, 165 ; re-
sumes her efforts to usurp the
honours of a queen, 166-7 '•
becomes enceinte, 167 ; her
efforts to conceal her condition,
168-9 J gives birth to a
daughter, and is in serious
danger, 169 ; refused the
Sacraments, 169 et sqq. ; re-
covers, 172 ; her secret mar-
riage with Rion, 173 et sqq. ;
consideration of the question
at what date this event took
place, 175 et sqq. ; leaves Paris
for Meudon, 180 ; wishes to
announce her marriage, 181 ;
has the double tertian fever,
1 Si ; unable to prevent Rion's
departure for the army, 183 ;
painful scenes with her father,
183 ; gives a supper-party on
the terrace at Meudon, 184 ;
falls ill, 184 ; removes to La
Muette, 184 ; her cruel suffer-
ings, 185 ; believed to be con-
valescent, 186; has an alarming
relapse, 186; her last days, 186
etsqq. / her death, 191 ; chansons
upon, 192 ; her obsequies, 193 ;
her debts, 195 ; her ring-case
stolen by Madame de Mouchy,
195 et sqq.
B6senval (cited), 225, 230
Bezons, Marechal de, 88
Bissy, Cardinal de, 356-7
Bissy, Marquis de, 339
Bled, M. Victor du (cited), 276
Blois, Mile. de. See Duchesse
d'Orleans
Boisjourdain (cited), 34S et sqq.
Bonnivet, Marquis de, 116, 119,
174
Bordes, Madame des, 145-6
Borgia, Cardinal, 288-9
Bosquetti, Contessa, 256
Boudin, 65
Bouhier, President, 340
Bouillon, Cardinal de, 8
Bouillon, Chevalier de, 108
INDEX
369
Bourbon-Conde, Due de, 33
Bourbon-Conde, Duchesse de
(Madame la Duchesse), 19, 20,
33 et sqq., 46, 48 et sqq. ; 66,
73-4, 92, 128, 165, 210
Bourbon-Cond6, Louis Henry, Due
de, Prince de Conde {Monsieur
le Due), 44, 46, 101, 114, 163
et sqq., 204-5, 210, 314, 322-3,
332 etsqq., 342 et sqq.
Bourbon, Mile. de. See Conti
(Louise Elisabeth de Bourbon-
Conde), Princesse de
Bourbon-Conti, Marie Anne, Du-
chesse de, 165
Bourgogne, Due de, 31, 34, 37,
44, 46, 59 et sqq., 66, 69 et sqq.,
83-4, 87, 90, ioi, 290
Bourgogne, Duchesse de, 31, 34,
37 et sqq., 46, 49, 59 et sqq., 66,
69 et sqq., 76, 83-4, 90, 101,
104-5, 290
Brancas, Comtc de, 126
Brancas, Comtesse de, 105
Brancas, Duchesse de, 155
Bretagne, Due de, 31, 83-4, 87
Breteuil (actor), no
Breteuil, Baron de, 160
Broglie, 126
Brosses, President de, 363
Buvat {cited), 107, 113, 116, 127,
172, 186-7, !92, 195. 210, 226,
229, 230, 369, 277
Canillac, Marquis de, 126
Carlos, Don, 259, 306 et sqq.
Carlyle, Thomas, 281
Carteret, John (Earl Granville),
309, 321
Castries, Abbe de, 188, 193
Castries, Madame de, 24-5
Castries, M. de, 24-5
Cauchereau (singer), 142-3, 164
Caylus, Madame de {cited), 19,
24, 66
Caylus, Marquis de, 295
Chamilly, Archbishop of Tours,
Francois de, 278
Charency, M. de, 12
Charles VI., Emperor, 280, 364
Charles II., King of Spain, 285
2 B
Charolais, Mile, de, 210 et sqq.,
265-6
Charolais, Comte de, 206
Chartres, Ducde. See Philippe II.,
Due d 'Orleans
Chartres, Due de (son of the
Regent), 51,93-4, 155, 188, 192,
228, 281, 284-310, 349 et sqq.
Chateauroux, Duchesse de, 364-5
Chateauthiers, Madame de, 7, 155
Chavigny, Comte de, 246, 254-5,
257 et sqq., 304, 307-8
Chelles, Abbey of, 52 et sqq., 138
et sqq., 145 et sqq., 203, 268
et sqq.
Cheverny, Comtesse de, 284
Chevreuse, Due de, 82
Chirac, Dr., 97, 189 et sqq.
Choin, Mile., 36
Clavereau (actor), no
Clermont, Madame de, 136-7
Clermont, Mile, de, 362
Clermont-Gessin, Anne de, 357
Coetenfao, Madame de, 105
Colibeaux, Abbe, 240, 249 et sqq.,
257, 261, 266-7, 3°3. 342> 344
Comedie-Francaise, the, no et
sqq., 141, 205, 208
Conti, Louis Armand de Bour-
bon, Prince de, 3, 22, 111-12,
176, 200, 204
Conti, Louis Francois de Bour-
bon, Prince de, 361 et sqq.
Conti, Mile, de, 90
Conti, Princesse de (Louise de
Bourbon), 19, 23, 154
Conti, Princesse de (Louise Elisa-
beth de Bourbon-Conde), 36
et sqq., 43, 62, 90
Coulanges, Abbe de, 314
Cceur de Balleroy, Marquise de la,
176
Coxe, William {cited), 319, 334-5
Craon, Madame de, 158
D
Dangeau, Marquis de {cited), 58,
81-2, 98 et sqq., 103-4, I33«
141, 144, 149, 153, 159, 160,
162, 166, 172, 181, 183 et sqq.,
188-9, 199, 201, 227, 234, 237,
248
370
INDEX
Daubenton, Pere (confessor to
Philip V. of Spain), 281, 303,
308
Desgranges, 234-5
Desmares, Charlotte (mistress of
the Regent), 12
Destouches, 308
Devaize, Mile, de la, 47
Dombes, Prince de, 141, 144-5,
150, 205
Dubois, Abbe (afterwards Cardi-
nal), 4, n, 14, i7i 2I4> 216, 221,
223, 277 et sqq., 308
Duchevron, 216
Duclos (cited), 21, 121, 143, 169,
217, 274
Dulibois, Colonel, 225
Durand, no
Duras, Due de, 310
Duras, Duchesse de, 310
Effiat, Marquis d', 126
Eley, Monseigneur d', 229
Elizabeth Farnese (Queen of
Spain), 281, 288-9, 292 et sqq.
P 3°3 et sqq 312, 323-4, 331, 338
Lmike, Mile, (mistress of the
, Regent), 214
Epinay, Madame d', 154
Etampes, Duchesse d', 136-7
Farges, 126
Fenelon (Archbishop of Cambrai)
291
Fleury, Cardinal, 345, 349 et sqq^
355
Florence, Mile., 12
Fretteville, Madame de, 54 nq
271 °y'
Funck-Brentano, M. (cited) 12-
130 ' ~J'
Gace, Madame de, 127
Garus, Dr., 189 et sqq.
Gesvres, Duchesse de, 127
Grimaldo (Prime Minister of
Spain), 282, 307, 318
H
Hautefort, Marquis d', 135
Henault, President, 334
Henri IV., King of France, 15-16
53
Huxelles, Madame d' (cited), 52
James II., King of England, 8-9
Journal de la Regence (cited), 114,
Ii6, 134
La Chaise, no
La Fare, Marquis de, 126
La Grange-Chancel, 129
La Haye (lover of the Duchesse
de Berry), 94, 98, 107, 116, 174
La Muette, Chateau of, 115 et sqq.,
I34-5,^(>2, 18^ et sqq., ig^et sqq'.
Languet, Abbe, 169, 172
Lassay, Marquis de, 165
Laubrussel, Pere de, 303, 313
Launay, Mile, de, 218
Lauzun, Due de, 117, 121-2
Le Blanc, 173 et sqq., 215, 219
Ledoux, Pere, 152, 270-1, 275-6
Lemontey (cited), 222, 235, 240,
244. 254, 256, 290, 292, 323!
_ 330. 336, 353
Lescure (cited), 11, 54, 209, 358
Le Tellier, Pere, 102
Levis, Madame de, 82, 88
Levisani, Marchesa, 252, 255, 257
Liria, Condesa de, 310
Livry, Abbe de, 334-5
Lorraine, Chevalier de, 3, 4
Lorraine, Leopold I., Duke of
159, 321
Lorraine, Charlotte Elisabeth d 'Or-
leans, Duchess of, 159, 161, 321
INDEX
37i
Louis XIV., 1 et sqq., 19, 58, 194,
216, 272 ; and his daughter's
marriage, 3 et sqq., 21 ; and
family quarrels, 23, 33 et sqq.,
48; honours Mademoiselle, 31-2;
and the marriage of the Due
de Berry and Mademoiselle,
36 et sqq. ; reprimands the Du-
chesse de Berry, 64, 78, 81 et
sqq. ; and Monseigneur's illness
and death, 65 et sqq. ; and
Court etiquette, 71 ; and the
Duchesse de Berry's first preg-
nancy, 76, 77 ; favours he ac-
cords to Duchesse de Berry by,
91, 102, 104-5, 109 ; and the
Due de Berry's death, 95 et sqq.;
his death, 106, 140
Louis de France (Monseigneur,
son of Louis XIV.), 6, 34, 36
et sqq., 46, 61-2 et sqq., 115,
166
Louis de France (son of Louis
XV.), 338
Louis XV., 40, 109, 114, 189, 227
et sqq., 247, 280 et sqq., 309, 315,
332 et sqq., 328 et sqq., 364,
366
Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans, Queen
of Spain, her birth, 10, 29, 52 ;
bears the train of Mile, de
Valois's mantle, 228 ; negotia-
tions for her marriage with the
Infant Don Luis, Prince of the
Asturias, 259, 279 et sqq. ; her
dowry, 282 ; her betrothal fetes,
283 ; sets out for Spain, 284 ;
her unpleasing character, 284-5 ;
Madame 's portrait of, 285 ; her
journey to the frontier, 285-6 ;
exchanged for the Infanta on
the lie des Faisans, 286-7 » re~
ceived by the King and Don
Luis at Cogollos, 287-8 ; her
marriage and its pretended
consummation, 288 et sqq. ;
her letter to the Regent, 291 ;
affectionately welcomed by
Philip V. and Elizabeth Farnese,
295 ; falls ill, 296 ; her ex-
traordinary behaviour, 297-8 ;
refuses to attend the State
ball arranged in her honour,
298 et sqq. ; her incredible
vulgarity at Saint -Simon's
farewell audience, 302 ; tem-
porary improvement in her
conduct, 303-4 ; affection of
Don Luis for, 305 ; jealous of
her younger sister, Mile, de
Beaujolais, 312-13 ; consum-
mation of her marriage, 313 ;
lives on affectionate terms with
her husband, 313 ; resumes
her eccentricities, 313-14 ; in-
dulges in vulgar and malicious
practical jokes, 314 ; discards
both stockings and petticoats,
314 ; becomes Queen of Spain,
314 ; treats her husband with
contempt, 320 ; scandalises the
Court by her eccentric be-
haviour, 320-1 ; accuses her
major-domo, FoucaultdeMagny,
of grossly insulting her, 321
et sqq. ; antipathy of Elizabeth
Farnese towards, 323-4 ; curi-
ous observations of the Marechal
de Tesse concerning, 324 ; de-
spair of Luis I. at the conduct
of, 324-5 ; laughs at his remon-
strances, 325 ; severely repri-
manded by Philip V., 325 ;
her adventure at San Ilde-
fonso, 325 ; turns her back
upon her husband, 325 ; con-
tinues her irregularities, 326 ;
is conducted to the Alcazar and
kept in close confinement, 326
et sqq. ; visited by the Marechal
de Tesse, 327 ; released and
restored to favour, 328 ; death
of her husband, 329 ; her con-
duct during his last illness,
330 ; falls ill of smallpox, but
recovers, 330 ; her pitiable
situation, 331 ; her return to
France decided upon, 332 ;
sets out for France, 335 ; her
journey, 335-6 ; takes up her
residence at Vincennes, 336 ;
in pecuniary difficulties, 337 ;
removes to the Carmelites of
the Faubourg Saint-Jacques,
337 ; goes to live at the Lux-
embourg, 337 ; her last years
and death, 337-8 ; her quarrel
with the Princess of Modena,
351-2
Luis I., King of Spain, 259, 280
et sqq., 312 et sqq., 317 et sqq.
Luynes, Due de [cited), 337-8, 362
372
INDEX
M
Machiavelli, Marchese Rangoni,
222-3
Magny, Foucault de, 160-1, 321
et sqq.
Maine, Due du, 19, 23, 25, 106,
I4I« !53-4- !63. 214
Maine, Duchesse de, 214, 218
Maintenon, Madame de, 7, 22,
26, 36, 38-9, 41-2, 64, 66, 80,
82, 90, 104-5, 272
Marais, Mathieu {cited), 127, 277-
8, 336, 34°. 353. 357
Margrais, Madame, 195
Maria Anna of Neuburg (Queen
of Spain), 285
Maria Theresa of Austria (Queen
of Spain), 107
Marie Leczinska (Queen of Louis
XV.), 333, 366
Marini, 214, 216
Marselot, Madame, 266
Mary (of Modena, Queen of Eng-
land), 8, 9, 50
Maselot, M., 259
Massillon, Jean Baptiste, 176-7
Maulevrier, Marquis de, 281-2,
295
Mdmoires de Maurepas {cited), 12,
173
Mingard, 56
Miraval, Don Luis de (President
of Castile), 318
Modena, Charlotte Aglae d 'Or-
leans (Mile, de Valois), He-
reditary Princess, and after-
wards Duchess, of Modena ; her
birth, 10, 29 ; sent to the
Abbey of Chelles, 48, 51 et sqq. ;
her deceitful disposition, 51,
207 ; withdrawn from Chelles,
141, 203 ; present at the con-
secration of Mile. d'Orleans as
Abbess of Chelles, 155 et sqq. ;
makes her appearance in
Society, 203 ; matrimonial pro-
jects concerning, 204 ; refuses
to marry the Prince de Dombes,
205 ; harshly treated by her
mother in consequence, 205-6 ;
sent to her grandmother at
Saint-Cloud, 206 ; Madame's
portrait of, 206-7 ; her vio-
lent passion for the Due de
Richelieu, 208, 210 et sqq. ; her
jealousy of Mile, de Charolais,
212, 214 ; warns Richelieu of
the discovery of his treasonable
dealings with Spain, 215-16 ;
and the arrest of the duke, 217 ;
visits him in prison, 218-19 .'
exasperation of Madame at the
" frightful coquetry " of, 219-
20 ; failure of the negotiations
for her marriage with the
Prince of Piedmont, 220 et
sqq. ; demanded in marriage
by Francesco d'Este, Heredi-
tary Prince of Modena, 222-3 ."
consents to espouse this prince
in consideration of the release
of Richelieu, 224 ; visited se-
cretly by her liberated gallant,
225 ; her aversion to the
marriage arranged for her,
226; her dowry, 228; her be-
trothal ceremony, 22S ; her
marriage, 228-9 ; falls ill of
measles, which she has pur-
posely contracted, 230-1 ; her
despair at leaving France, 231-
2 ; sets out for Italy, 233 ; her
retinue, 233 ; her premedi-
tated delays, 234 ; indulges in
nightly gambling-orgies, 235 ;
her strained relations with the
Duchesse de Villars, 236; ridicu-
lous passion of the Conte di
Salvatico for, 237-8 ; incurs
his implacable enmity by re-
fusing to listen to him, 238 ;
her reception at Lyons, 238 ;
dispenses large sums in alms,
239 ; visits the Ghetto at
Avignon, 239 ; and her un-
worthy favourite, Madame de
Bacqueville, 239 et sqq. ; arrives
at Antibes, 242 ; embarks for
Italy, 243 ; informed of the
recall of Madame de Bacque-
ville, 243 ; arrives at Genoa,
245 ; unpleasantness over the
payment of her dowry, 246 ;
received by the Duke of Modena
and his two sons at Reggio,
247 ; unfavourably impressed
by her husband, 247 ; arrives
at Modena, 248 ; persecuted
by Salvatico, 249 ; seeks to
instil a little animation into
the Court, 250-1 ; reprimanded
INDEX
373
by the Duke, 250 ; falls seri-
ously ill of smallpox, but re-
covers, 250-1 ; her marriage not
yet consummated, 252 ; singu-
lar relations with her husband,
253 et sqq. ; severity of the Duke
of Modena towards, 255 ; goes
on a pilgrimage to Loretto, 256 ;
persuades her husband to ily
with her to France, 257 ; her let-
ter to her father, 258 ; refused
by the Regent permission to en-
ter France, 259 et sqq. ; her de-
spair, 261 ; returns to Modena,
262 ; her mortifying reception,
262 ; Salvatico resumes his
persecution of, 262-3 '' goes on
a visit to Lucca, 264 ; again
refused permission to come to
France, 265 ; takes up her
residence with her husband
near Reggio, 265 ; her anguish
on learning of the reported
marriage of the Due de Riche-
lieu, 266 ; becomes more recon-
ciled to her lot, 267 ; gives
birth to a son, 267 ; unfortu-
nate effect of the Regent's
death upon her position, 341-2 ;
her discreet conduct, 342 ;
tyranny of the Duke of Modena
towards, 343-4 ; loses her
little son, 344 ; reconciled to
her husband, 344 ; flies with
him to Strasbourg, 344 ;
obliged to return to Italy, 344 ;
her intolerable situation, 345 ;
takes refuge with the French
resident at Genoa, 345 ; cruel
indifference of her mother to-
wards, 346 ; comes to France,
but is ordered to return, 347 ;
secures authorisation to visit
Paris, 348 ; her reception at
the Palais-Royal, 349 ; odious
behaviour of her relatives to-
wards, 349-50 ; insulted by
the populace, 350 ; quarrels
with her sister, the Queen of
Spain, 351-2 ; efforts of her
relatives to drive her from Paris,
351—2 ; becomes Duchess of
Modena, 352 ; returns to Italy,
353 ; " living the most joyous
fife possible," 363-4 ; com-
pelled, by the outbreak of war,
2 b 2
to retire to Venice, 364 ; se-
cures authorisation to return
to France, 364 ; her enviable
position at Versailles, 365 ;
marries her eldest daughter to
the Due de Penthievre, 365 ;
occupies herself with her hus-
band's interests, 365 ; but
refuses to rejoin him, 366 ; falls
into disgrace at Court, 366 ;
returns to Italy, 366 ; her
death, 366
Modena, Francesco d'Este, He-
reditary Prince, and afterwards
Duke, of, 222 et sqq., 228 et sqq.,
237, 247 et sqq., 252 et sqq., 341
et sqq.
Modena, Rinaldo d' Este, Duke of,
229, 240, 242, 247 et sqq., 257,
260 et sqq., 352
Montelano, Duquesa de, 286
Montespan, Madame de, 3, 19, 24
Montesquiou, Marechal de, 357
Morancourt, La, no
Mouchy, Madame de, 1 12-13, II8
et sqq., 136, 168 et sqq., 178 et
sqq., 188, 196 et sqq., 240
Mouchy, M. de, 197 et sqq.
N
Nesle, Madame de, 127, 210
Neuville, Pere, 351
Nevers, Duchesse de, 24
Noailles, Cardinal de (Archbishop
of Paris), 149, 153. i55~6, l69
et sqq., 179, 224-5, 270
Noce, Comte de, 14
Nolent, Mile de, 25
O
Orleans, Anne Marie Louise d',
Mile, de Montpensier (la Grande
Mademoiselle), 175
Orleans, Charlotte Aglae. See
Modena
Orleans, Chevalier d' (natural son
of the Regent), 243, 310 et sqq.,
347
374
INDEX
Orleans, Elisabeth Charlotte,
Duchesse d' (mother of the
Regent), 58, 64, 94, 106, 131-2,
137. 153, 158, 176, 302, 338 ;
her disapproval of the Regent's
marriage to Mile, de Blois, 2
et sqq. ; depicts the character
of the Regent, 10 et sqq., 14—15,
22 ; her dislike of the Abbe
Dubois, 11 ; on the Regent's
personal appearance, 14 ; her
dislike of her daughter-in-law,
20—1, 23, 26 et sqq. ; her fond-
ness for the Due de Berry, 43
et sqq. ; offers to take charge of
her younger grandchildren, 51—
2 ; her description of the
Duchesse de Berry, 57 ; her
grief at Monseigneur's death,
67 ; reprimands the Duchesse
de Berry, 78 et sqq., S4 et sqq.,
108; on the Due de Berry's affec-
tion for his wife, 91 ; and the
duke's amours, 92-3 ; and the
duke's death, 95-6, 99 ; her
anecdote concerning Dr. Chirac,
97 ; visits Duchesse de Berry,
1 01 ; on the widowhood of the
duchess, 103 ; on Madame de
Mouchy, 119; Duchesse de
Berry's gluttony described
by, 135, 181 ; objects to Mile. ,
d'Orleans becoming a nun,
140, 142, 145 et sqq. ; and the
proposed marriage between this
princess and the Prince de
Dombes ; her account of her con-
secration at Chelles, 154 et sqq. ;
is reconciled to the Duchesse de
Berry, 161-2 ; her funeral
oration, 177 ; and the Duchesse
de Berry's marriage to Rion,
182 ; visits the Duchesse de
Berry during her last illness,
183, 185 ; and the Duchesse
de Berry's death, 191 et sqq. ;
and Madame de Mouchy's
heartless behaviour, 199, 201 ;
and Mile, de Valois's personal
appearance and character, 204
et sqq. ; on the Due de Riche-
lieu's attraction for women,
208 ; and Richelieu's treason,
216 ; and Mile, de Valois's
liaison with Richelieu, 219-
20 ; and matrimonial projects
concerning Mile, de Valois,
221-2, 226, 228, 230 et sqq. ;
and Salvatico's infatuation for
Mile, de Valois, 237 ; and Mile.
de Valois's protracted wedding
journey, 241-2 ; her portrait of
Mile, de Montpensier, 285 ; of
Mile, de Beaujolais, 307; her
delight at the proposed marriage
of Mile, de Beaujolais, 309 ; on
the birth of Louise Diane
d'Orleans, 361
Orleans, Francoise Marie de Bour-
bon, Mile, de Blois, Duchesse d'
(wife of the Regent), 57, 60,
106, 132, 136, 166, 168, 233,
279. 3°2, 311. 336; her be-
trothal and marriage, 2 et sqq. ;
her children, 9 ; circumstances
of her birth, 19 ; her personal
appearance, 20 ; her conversa-
tional powers, 20 ; her extra-
ordinary indolence, 20, 21 ; her
" almost Satanic " pride, 21 ;
her relations with her husband,
21, 22 ; her affection for her
elder brother, the Due du
Maine, 23 ; her Court, 23 et sqq.;
antipathy between her and
Madame, 25 et sqq. ; her deplor-
able indifference to her duties
as a mother, 22, 28 et sqq., 103 ;
her ambitions for her chil-
dren, 31 e< sqq. ; her spite, 48 ;
sends Miles, de Chartres and de
Valois to the Abbey of Chelles,
51 et sqq. ; insolence of the
Duchesse de Berry towards,
69, 78 et sqq., 107 ; and the
Due de Berry's death, 97, 99 ;
visited by Peter the Great, 133 ;
desireSj.to marry Mile. d'Orleans
to the Prince de Dombes, 141 ;
endeavours to compel her
daughter to consent, 144, 145;
indignant at Mile. d'Orleans
supplanting Madame de Villars
as Abbess of Chelles, 154 ;
quarrels violently with her,
154 ; does not attend her con-
secration, 155 ; treated with
more consideration by the
Duchesse de Berry, 162 ; and
the Duchesse de Berry's
marriage to Rion. 182 ; and
the Duchesse de Berry's last
INDEX
375
illness, 185 et sqq. ; and the
death of the duchess, 192 ;
seeks in vain to persuade Mile.
de Valois to marry the Prince de
Dombes, 205 ; conceives the
most intense dislike for her
daughter, 205 ; endeavours to
promote the marriage of Mile.
de Beaujolais, 338 ; her cruel
indifference to the unhappy
lot of the Princess of Modena,
J46 ; endeavours to prevent
her obtaining authorisation to
come to Paris, 347 ; her frigid
reception of her daughter on
her arrival, 349 ; remonstrates
with the Abbess of Chelles on
her heterodox views, 355 ; and
her youngest daughter's mar-
riage, 362
Orleans, Louise Adelaide d' (Mile,
de Chartres), Abbess of Chelles,
her birth, 10, 29 ; sent to the
Abbey of Chelles, 48, 51-2 ;
attends the betrothal ceremony
of Mademoiselle, 49 ; her early
years, 50, 51-2 ; her life at
Chelles, 139; announces her in-
tention of taking the veil, 139 ;
removed from Chelles to the
Abbey of Montmartre, 139; re-
ported to have renounced her
religious aspirations, 139-40 ;
project of her mother to marry
her to the Prince de Dombes,
140 ; makes her appearance in
society, 140-1 ; her portrait
by Madame, 14 1-2 ; and the
singer Cauchereau, 142 ; and
M. de Saint-Maixent, 142-3 ;
declines to marry the Prince de
Dombes, 144 ; harshly treated
by her mother, 145 ; refused
permission to become a nun,
145 ; goes on a visit to the
Abbey of Chelles, 145-6 ; and
announces her intention of
remaining there, 146-7 ; futile
efforts of the Regent to per-
suade her to renounce her
resolution, 147 ; takes the
habit, 147-8 ; declines to allow
herself to be nominated Abbess
of Montmartre, 148 ; pro-
nounces her vows, 149 ; dis-
satisfied with the subordinate
position which she occupies,
151 ; intrigues against the
Abbess of Chelles, Madame de
Villars, 152 ; and obliges her
to resign her post, 153 ; retires
temporarily to the Val-de-
Grace, 153 ; has a violent scene
with her mother, 153-4 > nomin-
ated Abbess of Chelles, 154 ; her
consecration, 155 et sqq.; exe-
cutes improvements at the con-
vent, 268 et sqq. ; constitutes
herself the official protectress of
the persecuted Jansenists, 270—
1 ; refuses to renounce her het-
erodox views, 271 ; defies the
Regent, 271 ; seeks to conciliate
him, 271-2 ; transforms her
abbey from a monastic retreat
into a kind of country-house,
272 ; and leads with her nuns
a life of pleasure, 272-3 ;
calumnies against, 273, 274 ;
Saint-Simon's portrait of, 274 ;
passes on a sudden from dissi-
pation to austerity, 275 ; visits
her tomb, 275 ; chansons at her
expense, 275-6 ; leaves Chelles
and becomes temporary superior
of the Val-de-Gra.ce, 276-7 ;
brief return to worldhness,
followed by increased austerity,
277 ; becomes more fervidly
Jansenist than ever, 277-8 ;
seeks to convert the Regent,
278 ; reprimands him for his
scandalous abuse of his ecclesi-
astical patronage, 278 ; de-
prived of her influence by her
father's death, 354 ; continues
her efforts on behalf of the
Jansenists, 355 ; issues a mani-
festo, which is suppressed by a
decree of the Council, 355 ; her
adventure with the Cardinal
de Bissy, 356-7 ; forbidden to
leave the Val-de-Grace, 357 ;
resigns her abbey and retires to
the priory of the Benedictines
de la Madeleine du Trainel, 357 ;
piety of her last years, 358 ;
her Reflexions morales sur le
Nouveau Testament, 358-9 ; her
death, 359
Orleans, Louise Diane d' (Mile,
de Chartres), Princesse de Conti,
37&
INDEX
her birth, 10, 299, 361 ; her
appearance and disposition,
361 ; marries the Prince de
Conti, 361 ; gives birth to a
son, 362 ; her death, 362
Orleans, Louise Elisabeth, Mile,
de Montpensier. See Louise
Elisabeth, Queen of Spain
Orleans, Philippe I., Due d' {Mon-
sieur), 3 et sqq., 12
Orleans, Philippe II., Due d'
Orleans (the Regent), 97-8,
104, 249, 251, 260 ; gets his
ears boxed in public by Madame,
1-2 ; his marriage with Mile,
de Blois, 2 et sqq. ; his children,
9-10 ; his birth, 10 ; his
character, 11; his precocious
gallantries, 11-12 ; no destroyer
of domestic felicity, 12 ; his
treatment of his mistresses,
13-14 ; and of his *' roues," 14 ;
his mother's opinion of, 14-15 ;
remarks of Voltaire concerning!
15 ; Saint-Simon's portrait of,
15 et sqq.; his relations with
his wife, 21-2, 27 ; spoils his
daughters, 30 ; saves the life of
his eldest daughter, 30-1 ; his
singular affection for her, 31,
69 ; in very bad odour with
Louis XIV., 17, 36, 69; asks
the King's consent to Made-
moiselle's marriage Avith the
Due de Berry, 40-1 ; sends
Miles, de Chartres and de
Valois to the Abbey of Chelles,
52 ; visits them there, 52 ;
abominable rumours concern-
ing his relations with the
Duchesse de Berry, 73 et sqq.,
92, 100-1, 128 et sqq. ; his
incredible weakness in the
affair of the diamond necklace,
80 ; becomes Regent, 106 ; and
the extravagant demands of the
Duchesse de Berry, 107, 109 et
sqq. ; indignant at the public
reign of the duchesse's amant en
titre, the Chevalier de Rion, 125 ;
but tamely submits to it, 125 ;
his orgies at the Palais-Royal!
127-8 ; remonstrates with the
Duchesse de Berry, 137, 167 ;
his futile opposition to the
determination of Mile, d 'Orleans
to become a nun, 145 et sqq. ;
consents to her becoming
Abbess of Chelles, 153-4 :
attends her consecration, 155 ;
his conduct during the interest-
ing event at the Luxembourg,
168 et sqq.; refuses to consent
to the declaration of the Duch-
esse de Berry's marriage with
the Chevalier de Rion, 180-1 ;
visits her but twice in three
weeks, 181 ; his conversation
with Saint-Simon, 182 ; orders
Rion to join his regiment, 182 ;
painful scenes between the
Duchesse de Berry and, 183 ;
sups with her at Meudon, 184 ;
and the duchess's last illness,
186 et sqq.; and her death,
1 9 1-2 ; and the officers of her
Household, 194 ; and her debts,
195 : and Madame de Mouchy's
theft of the Duchess's ring-case,
197 et sqq. ; and Mile, de Valois,
204 ; indignant at her intrigue
with the Due de Richelieu, 213 ;
deprived of a mistress by
Richelieu, 213 ; and Riche-
lieu's treasonable dealings with
Spain, 216 et sqq.; pretends
that he is resolved to bring the
duke to trial, 217-18 ; anxious
to marry Mile, de Valois to
some foreign prince, 220 ; and
the proposed alliance between
her and the Prince of Pied-
mont, 220-1 ; and the Prince
of Modena's proposal for her
hand, 222-3; accords her the
liberty of Richelieu, in return
for her consent to this marriage,
223-4 I his contribution to her
dowry, 228 ; takes her to say
farewell to Madame, 231-2 ;
accompanies her on the first
stage of her journey, 233 ;
remonstrates with her on her
continual delays, 236 ; recalls
her favourite, Madame de Bac-
queville, 240 et sqq.; singular
letters of the Abbe Colibeaux
to, 253 et sqq. ; sends Chavigny
to investigate the matrimonial
difficulties of the Princess of
Modena, 254-5 ; his letters to
INDEX
377
him, 258, 261 ; refuses her and j
her husband permission to come
to France, 259 et sqq., 264 ;
remonstrates with the Duke of
Modena on his treatment of the
prince and princess, 265 ; en-
deavours to persuade the Abbess
of Chelles to renounce her
Jansenist views, 271 ; exiles
her almoner, P6re Ledoux, 271 ;
a frequent visitor at Chelles,
272, 273 ; calumnies concerning
the Abbess and, 274 ; visits her
at the Val-de-Grace, 277 ; repri-
manded by her for his abuse of
his ecclesiastical patronage,
278 ; his death, 279, 314, 340,
354 ; his Spanish policy, 277,
280 ; negotiates the marriage
of Louis XV. to the Infanta
Aila Victoria and of Mile, de
Montpensier to the Prince of
the Asturias, 280 et sqq. ; his
contribution to Mile, de Mont-
pensier's dowry, 282 ; accom-
panies her on the first stage of
her journey to Spain, 285 ; her
letter to, 291 ; laughs heartily
on hearing of her incredible
vulgarity, 303 ; negotiates the
marriage of Mile, de Beaujolais
to Don Carlos, 307 et sqq. ; letter
of Elizabeth Farnese to, 311 ;
resemblance of the Duchess of
Modena to, 364
Orleans, Philippine Elisabeth d'
(Mile, de Beaujolais), her birth,
10, 279 ; her beauty and
amiable character, 307 ; nego-
tiations for her marriage to the
Infant Don Carlos, 259, 307 et
sqq. ; her dowry, 310 ; her trous-
seau, 310; sets outfor Spain, 310;
her reception at Madrid, 311 ;
mutual affection of her and her
fiance, 311 ; letters of Eliza-
beth Farnese concerning, 311 ;
conquers all hearts, 312 ; ex-
cites the jealousy of her elder
sister, the Princess of the As-
turias, 313 ; rupture of the mar-
riage arranged between her
and Don Carlos, 335 ; is sent
back to France, 335 ; her
journey, 335-6 ; remains faith-
ful to Don Carlos, 338 ; is
" the occupation of his days and
the torment of his nights,"
339 ; her death, 340
Parabdre, Madame de, 12, 126
et sqq.
Penthievre, Due de, 365
Penthievre, Duchesse de, 365-6
Pescatori, Laura, 308, 318
Peter the Great, 133-4
Peze, M. de, 290
Phalaris, Madame de, 13
Philibert, Abb6, 259, 261, 263-4
Philip V., King of Spain, 17, 34,
214, 279 et sqq., 287 et sqq., 329
et sqq., 338, 364
Piche, Madame, 215, 252-3, 256,
266
Piedmont, Prince of, 220-1
Polignac, Comtesse de, 118, 127,
210
Pompadour, Marquise de, 88-9,
97. 363
Pons, Madame de, 105, 117-18
Prie, Marquise de, 333
R
Racine, 272, 358
Rangoni, Marchesa, 256
Ratzamhausen, Madame de, 155
Razilly, Marquis de, 44, 82
Richelieu, Due de, 127, 208 et sqq.,
214 et sqq., 223 et sqq., 251,
265-6, 364
Riglet, Pere, 123
Rion, Chevalier de (lover and
afterwards husband of the
Duchesse de Berry), 108, 117
et sqq., 162 et sqq., 168 et sqq.,
192, 200 et sqq., 227
Rochefoucauid-Roye, Chevalier
de la, 82, 88, 107, in, 116,
174
Rochefoucauld-Roye, Madame de
la, 1 12-13
Roche-sur-Yon, Mile, de la, 154,
193, 348
378
INDEX
Rohan, Cardinal de, 228, 265, 342
Rohan, Chevalier de, 216
Rohan, Madame de (Abbess of
Jouarre), 356-7
Rohan-Soubise, Prince de, 286-7
Rolland (cited), 96, 99-101
Rothembourg, Comte de, 338
Rue, Pere de la, 99
Rulhiere (cited), 210
Sabran, Madame de (mistress of
the Regent), 12, 229
Sabran, Marquis de, 229
Saint- Jacques, Faubourg, the
Carmelite convent of, 124 et
sqq., 162, 169, 198
Saint - Maixent, Chevalier de,
143
Sainte-Maure, Comte de, 82,
88
Saint-Pierre, Due de, 24, 133
Saint-Pierre, Duchesse de, 24,
33°
Saint-Simon, Due de (cited), 8,
15 et sqq., 20, 22, 24, 34, 37, 40,
43. 45. 57 et sqq., 67, 69, 74
et sqq., 86, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100,
108, 111-12, 117-18, 123, 130,
147, 150-1, 164, 168, 170 et sqq.,
180, 182 et sqq., 187 et sqq., 198
et sqq., 202, 221, 230, 275, 278,
283, 288 et sqq., 293, 296 et sqq.,
3°6, 358
Saint-Simon, Duchesse de, 45, 47,
50, 60, 64, 69, 70, 75-6, 137,
147, 168, 197 et sqq.
Saint-Simon, Mile, de, 193
Saint- Viance, M. de, 137
Salvatico, Conte di, 223, 228, 237-
8, 240 et sqq., 246, 248 et sqq.,
255, 262 et sqq., 267
Salvert, M. de, 94
Santa -Cruz, Marques de, 286-7,
295
Saumery, M. de, 160
Sebastien, Pere, 269
Sens, Mile, de, 361
Sforza, Duchess, 24, 28
Simiane, Chevalier de, 126
Simiane, Madame de, 233, 236
Simonetti, Marchesa, 366
Soubise, Princesse de, 284, 286
Soulavie, Abbe de (cited), 127, 209,
210, 213, 215, 218, 266-7,
355-6
Souris, La (mistress of the Re-
gent), 213
Stanhope, Lord, 309, 321, 334
Tallard, Duchesse de, 336
Tencin, Madame de, 13
Terrat, M., 149
Tesse, Marechal de, 295, 314-15,
324, 326 et sqq.
Thianges, Duchesse de, 24
Toulouse, Comte de, 19, 23, 25,
I36. l63. 365
Tresme, Due de, no
Trevoux, Pere de, 102, 271
Trudon, M., 114
U
Ursins, Princesse des, 292
Valero, 326
Valhere, Louise de la, 3, 124
Vaudreuil, Madame de, 89
Vauxcelles, Abbe de, 120
Vendome, Louis Due de, 18
Vendome, Philippe de (Grand
Prior of France), 18
Ventadour, Duchesse de, 284,
286
Victor Amadeus II. of Savoy
(King of Sardinia), 220,
308
Vienne, Mile, de (favourite of the
Duchesse de Berry), 79, 81-2,
118
Vieuville, Madame de la, 47, 97,
117
Villars, Agnes de, 54, 151 et sqq.,
268, 270
INDEX
379
Villars, Duchesse de, 230, 233,
236, 240, 242 et sqq., 246-7
Villars, Marechal de, 52, 153
Villeroy, Marechal de, 109, 233,
283
Vivonne, Due de, 24
Voisin, Mile., 50
Voltaire, 15, 129 ct sqq.
Vrilliere, Due de la, 200
W
Wales, Princess of, 361
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