Produced by David Widger
Written by Herself
Being the Historic Memoirs of the Court of Louis XIV.
The Prince de Mont-Beliard.—He Agrees to the Propositions Made Him.—The
King's Note.—Diplomacy of the Chancellor of England.—Letter from the
Marquis de Montespan.—The Duchy in the Air.—The Domain of Navarre,
Belonging to the Prince de Bouillon, Promised to the Marquise.
There was but a small company this year at the Waters of Bourbonne,—tobegin with, at any rate; for afterwards there appeared to be manyarrivals, to see me, probably, and Mademoiselle de Nantes.
The Chancellor Hyde was already installed there, and his establishmentwas one of the most agreeable and convenient; he was kind enough toexchange it for mine. A few days afterwards he informed me of thearrival of the Prince de Mont-Beliard, of Wurtemberg, who was anxious topay his respects to me, as though to the King's daughter. In effect,this royal prince came and paid me a visit; I thought him greatly changedfor such a short lapse of years.
We had seen each other—as, I believe, I have already told—at the timeof the King's first journey in Flanders. He recalled all thecircumstances to me, and was amiable enough to tell me that, instead ofwaning, my beauty had increased.
"It is you, Prince, who embellish everything," I answered him. "I beginto grow like a dilapidated house; I am only here to repair myself."
Less than a year before, M. de Mont-Billiard had lost that amiableprincess, his wife; he had a lively sense of this loss, and never spokeof it without tears in his eyes.
"You know, madame," he told me, "my states are, at present, not entirelyadministered, but occupied throughout by the officers of the King ofFrance. Those persons who have my interests at heart, as well as thosewho delight at my fears, seem persuaded that this provisional occupationwill shortly become permanent. I dare not question you on this subject,knowing how much discretion is required of you; but I confess that Ishould pass quieter and more tranquil nights if you could reassure me upto a certain point."
"Prince," I replied to him, "the King is never harsh except with those ofwhom he has had reason to complain. M. le Duc de Neubourg, and certainother of the Rhine princes, have been thick-witted enough to be disloyalto him; he has punished them for it, as Caesar did, and as all greatprinces after him will do. But you have never shown him either coldness,or aversion, or indifference. He has commanded the Marechal deLuxembourg to enter your territory to prevent the Prince of Orange fromreaching there before us, and your authority has been put, not under thedomination, but under the protection, of the King of France, who isdesirous of being able to pass from there into the Brisgau."
Madame de Thianges, Madame de Nevers, and myself did all that lay in ourpower to distract or relieve the sorrows of the Prince; but the loss ofMademoiselle de Chatillon, his charming spouse, was much more presentwith him than that of his states; the bitterness which he drew from itwas out of the retch of all consolation possible. The Marquise deThianges procured the Chancellor of England to approach the Prince, andfind out from him, to a certain extent, whether he would consent toexchange the County of Mont-Beliard for some magnificent estates inFrance, to which some millions in money would be added