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AUTHOR: 
 
 FORNERON, HENRI, 
 1834-1886 
 
 TITLE : 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 DUCHESS OF... 
 
 PLACE: 
 
 LONDON 
 
 DA TE : 
 
 1891 
 
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 Forneron, Henri, i^:U-~4HS6. 
 
 LoH!-^' ilr K».'ruua!U% iluchesN of Portsnioutl'i, l(Mr^-IT:i4: 
 _MK'iiTv ill fht' ro!ii1 of Charles n. Compiled from state pafKH'-s 
 nrt'^'rviM.! m tiu' archives of the French foiTigii oflice, by 
 11. Fornenin. With portraits, facsiuiih^ letter, etc.^ and a pref^^ 
 ju-e by Mi's. <«. M. Crawford. M\ ed. I^uidon, S. Sonneri^ 
 
 xxxt. 34<l p. iiHi. i'a«'?«i!ii. «l inirt due!, frofsfj L'2j"*. 
 
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LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 §ut^tss of Portsmouth. 
 
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 i\hi,\(jl aiAa:. 
 
 gurbess of po i m u'fr, 
 
 SOCIETY IN THE COURT OF CHARLES II. 
 
 COMPILED FROM STATE PAPERS PRESERVED IN 
 
 THE ARCHIVES OF THE FRENCH FOREIGN 
 
 OFFICE BY H FORNERON 
 
 rai'ti) portraits, jFacsfmiU ILcttcr, etc., anti a 
 
 PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD. 
 
 THIRD 
 
 EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 SWAN SONNENSCHEIN, LOWREY & CO., 
 
 PATERNOSTER SQUARE. 
 
 1888. 
 
Butler 6^ Tanner, 
 
 The Schvood Printing Works, 
 
 Frome, and London. 
 
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 'J"n- tr\i!i*^lntioii r^f i:i^- trur >i'. t) uI the origin 
 ul pciibiuii ui liic uucai f.iiiiUy oi iviCiinKtiiii. 
 
 drJicated to the laUlrS Ui ill'.* 
 
 IS rcspcLii uiiy 
 
 h(-ai;t\' 
 
 Priiiir--,- l.^-Miic. who will see in it lia 
 of tiu-ir tia'^"^!-\' of CriAvn anh Constitution. 
 ^v]len coi^^i-t'-ntly ap|Hi(al It is aUo uanh,-ai<:il 
 to Mr. lloiiiw Lahouchnrc, wia.) ha:. ^aKuvii 
 such hue trust in tajnmion sausc. ni hi^ war 
 ac^ainst tinie-hunuured abuses — arrogant ^^iants 
 that ()u*'ht to be slain, and the t\ rcunu- of 
 folHes which put on the mask of "ancestral 
 wisdom." The Translator owes the id.ea of 
 translatino' tliis truthful (no ijun meruit) little 
 book, to a ([uestion vainl\- pu^t by Mr. La- 
 bouchere in the Hou-e of Commons, and 
 
 i:i 
 
 
 1()421 1) 
 
 N 
 
IV 
 
 DEDICATIOy. 
 
 Iiopes that a perusal of Louise de Keroualle's 
 progress at Whitehall may embolden him to 
 again ask why the Duke of Richmond is a 
 great pensioner of England. 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 PRE!" ■CE BY Mrs. G. " CiaV^'^'JD. 
 
 — «S^ 
 
 On the stormy 3rd of September, 1658, the 
 soul of that master- man Cromwell, which had 
 so often undergone gloomy eclipses, lay in 
 deep darkness. The throes of death were on 
 the Protector, and black presentiments took 
 hold of his mind. One of the causes of his 
 anguish was leavinor behind him an unfin- 
 ished work. This, to a man of his genius and 
 disposition, was like leaving in hard times an 
 infant child to buffet alone with the troubles 
 of life. Limp and c^ritless, Richard Cromwell 
 was no meet guardian for such a ward as the 
 young Commonwealth of England ; and which 
 of the Major-Generals could better assume the 
 office ? In the broken phrases the Protector 
 uttered, he showed a foreboding of the deca- 
 dence into which his nation was to fall, and of 
 the moral crisis through which, like a drunken 
 Bacchante, she w^as to reel and stagger with 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAIVFORD. 
 
 a merry monarch at her head, and a crew of 
 greedy and sensual nobles — arrant knaves and 
 rascals for the most part— at his heels. 
 
 Cromwell, it being no use to take thought 
 for the morrow and the days after, did what it 
 was best under the circumstances to do. He 
 ended by leaving the whole matter for his dis- 
 quietude to God. Oppressed with the feeling 
 that he was a '' miserable worm " and *' a poor, 
 foolish creature," he took his stand on the 
 Covenant of Grace, and in his quaint Puritan 
 speech, supplicated on behalf of the people 
 he had led, for higher guidance. He was an 
 affectionate kinsman, and his heart habitually 
 went out to his children. But on that stormy 
 bcpLember day, which brought back memories 
 of his greatest victories, and placed him face 
 to face with death, he was so absorbed in 
 patriotic anxiousness that, said one who 
 V * :hed beside him, '' He forgot to entreat 
 ujd for his own family." 
 
 *' However, Lord," cried the dying hero, 
 " Thou do dispose of me, do good for Thy 
 people. Give them consistency of judgment, 
 and go to deliver them with the work of refor- 
 
 mation. 
 
 )) 
 
 -3 
 
 PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD. vii 
 
 ** With the work of reformation ! " Think 
 of that, all honest Britons, whether Tory or 
 Primrose Leaijuer, for this book is not intended 
 to point a moral for the teaching of the dis- 
 honest, they being unteachable. 
 
 If God's mill grinds fine, the grinding pro- 
 cess is — when men and women do not keep up 
 a good supply of grist — so slow as to be im- 
 perceptible, unless we look to the work it does 
 in the lono^ course of crenerations. Cromwell's 
 prayer was answered, but in a way that neither 
 he himself nor those around him could have 
 looked forward to. The tale this volume fur- 
 nishes, of a French harlot's progress at White- 
 hall, and of the solid anchorage (;^ 19,000 a 
 year for ever!) which a supine nation allowed 
 to her offspring, would not on the first blush 
 seem to justify this view. What would any old 
 Ironside have thought of the power of a good 
 man's prayer, were Harvey, at the time of the 
 Rye- House Plot convictions and executions, 
 to have told him what he overheard Cromwell 
 utter when the shadow of death was upon him } 
 It would not have occurred to him that the 
 slow grinding mill was grinding at all. Nor 
 was it, in a general way in England, where the 
 
 I 
 
viii PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD. 
 
 PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD. 
 
 IX 
 
 supply of grist was too miserably stinted for the 
 millstones not to grind each other out, if they 
 did long and strong spells of work. Here and 
 tiicrc, mere was a soul in touch with iicaven. 
 I' ; persecution was the lot of such. One 
 of them, tile tmker Bunyan, escaped from a 
 jail-bird's noisome sufferings by a flight • into 
 1 h anil md. i ie dreamed day-dreams, in which 
 the vulgar facts of life — the heart-wringings 
 I .u sprang from inability to protect his dear 
 blind little child — the slips, the falls, and the 
 hindrances to moral growth, were transmuted 
 iiiiu t.. : circumstances of an epic poem. We 
 find in lii- Dr- -n counterparts of Louise de 
 Keroualle and her Court of \\ hitehall rivals, 
 ill ^ladam I ' ble, Mrs. Lechery, Mrs. Bats- 
 eyes, and Mrs Filth. Fashion travelled slowly 
 in those tmies — but it travelled. The titled 
 demi-reps who formed the corldge of the Merry 
 Monarch had, we may rest assured, their copy- 
 ists ill I -" low Iving social strata which the 
 Li:. ' r was only able to observe. 
 
 Anionci;- tiic nhenoniena of nrrvnuq diseases 
 
 i'kiu are none more curious than susceptibility to 
 **sugg^^-t*nn " and anesthesia or transfer of \-tal 
 f i\e from one member of the body to another. 
 
 In the one case a human being can be directed 
 by the expressed — or, what is more noteworthy, 
 the verbally unuttered — will of a strong-minded 
 person in full health. Hypnotic patients of 
 lAjctor Charcot have afforded instances of this 
 strange susceptibility. In the lives of nations 
 we often see collective maladies similar to those 
 which trouble individuals. England, after 
 Cromwell's death, was like a machine going at 
 full speed, when it loses the fly-wheel. She fell 
 into a state of nervous unbalancement and then 
 moral inertia. There were times when, acting 
 under — as it is shown by the author of " Louise 
 de Keroualle," — the ''suggestions" of a French 
 faction, secretly organized in London to work 
 her ruin, she was as one demented. This 
 faction, was managed dexterously by French 
 ambassadors, and through Louise de Keroualle 
 it held the Crown. Indeed, all the disposing 
 and directing powers of the nation were exer- 
 cised according to orders or suggestions from 
 Versailles. England had no more volit^ - of her 
 own than an hypnotic patient of Doctor Charcot. 
 Her condition was closely watched and reported 
 on by, the agents of Louis to that iiiuiiarch, and 
 worked upon for the furtherance of a great 
 
 ' « 
 
PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD. 
 
 political scheme, which was a feasible one. This 
 plan of policy broke down chiefly because the 
 legitimate offspring of the Grand Monarch had 
 all bad constiLuiions, and died early. In con- 
 sequence, the French crown passed, at the begin- 
 ning of the eighteenth century, to a child of no 
 natural political ability and of vicious instincts, 
 who was placed under the tutelage of a volup- 
 tuary. England had under Charles become so 
 deranged in mind as to justify a French diplo- 
 matist writing to his King that if a thing was 
 irrational and absurd, it was the more certain for 
 that reason to succeed amongf the English. Yet 
 there was no lack of cleverness, and fine talents 
 cropped up in literature and science. But these 
 various gifts and capacities did not make for the 
 general weal. The aristocracy were profligate 
 and knavish, and, according to their degree, 
 their leading men as much the pensioners of 
 Louis as their monarch. In their oro-ies 
 they kept their eyes well fixed on the main 
 chances of their class. Their wits were success- 
 fully employed in throwing off the military 
 burdens with which their broad estates were 
 charged, and shifting them to the shoulders of 
 Ml- rcantile lacklands. So far as the middle and 
 
 PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD. 
 
 XI 
 
 lower middle class went, there was a clear case #: 
 of anesthesia, as shown in the transfer of re- 
 forming power and self-governing will to New 
 England. 
 
 When Louise de Keroualle was above the 
 crowned Queen at Whitehall, that New Eng- 
 land territory was the sparsely colonized fringe 
 of the wildest and biggest wilderness in the 
 world. Its colonists were *' the people," ^to 
 whom by early associations and Puritan breed- 
 ing Cromwell belonged and gave his last 
 thoughts. God's mill was then grinding fast 
 and fine among them, because the supply of 
 grist was plentiful. But New England was 
 out of the sight and mind of old England, 
 which was supine and inert, when she was 
 not either carousing, attacked with nervous 
 convulsions, or a prey to wild panics, got up by 
 aeents of the Prince of Oranore and limbs of 
 the French faction. These scares are known 
 to us as the Papist and the Rye- House Plots. 
 Hitherto their causes have remained in semi- 
 obscurity. In " Louise de Keroualle " they are 
 brought into a light, full and clear to fierceness. 
 
 It has been a subject of anxiety to the 
 translator, whether he should tone down what 
 
xii PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD. 
 
 PREFACE BY MRS. G, M. CRAWFORD. xiii 
 
 might appear to many well-meaning persons 
 the too crisp scandals of the Court of Vrhite- 
 hal! which fill so large a place in the letters 
 01 1 rench ambassadors to their king and his 
 secretary for foreign affairs, iiappily he has 
 been induced not to Bowdlerize. This book is 
 for the information of men and women who like 
 to see the facts of history divested of con- 
 ventional forms, and allowed to speak for them- 
 selves, in their own way. So the letter and the 
 spirit are adhered to of the documents to which 
 we owe this new vista oa the wildly dissipated 
 court of Charles II. Nothing is watered; nor 
 would morality be served by a watering process. 
 There are great lessons to be deduced from the 
 piquant gossip in which this volume abounds. 
 They would miss their mark were the trans- 
 latnr to have toned them down. M. Forneron's 
 book came out in Paris a few years ago, when 
 the Duke oi Richmond was in the enjoyment 
 of an h-reditary annuity of ^19,000 a year. 
 THp in t edition of the Financial Reform 
 A ;inac states that his pension has been 
 commuted by a sum of nearly half a million 
 sterling. h is to be supposed that this 
 arrangement was hastened forward and quietly 
 
 N 
 
 got through because the publication of " Louise 
 de Keroualle" was expected in England, and a 
 foretaste of it given in the House of Commons 
 in a question put by Mr. Labouchere. Nobody 
 who has any share in bringing this book before 
 the English public harbours any sort of grudge 
 against the ducal family of Richmond. At the 
 same time, it is hard to conceive anything 
 more monstrous than the commutation of the 
 pension originally granted to Louise de 
 Keroualle. Its enormity must come home to 
 all who read in this volume the story of her 
 aims and efforts. We have to go back three 
 thousand years, to the Valley of Sorek, to find 
 a wanton who w^as a match for her in cold- 
 blooded astuteness. There is a good deal to 
 be forgiven to a Magdalen who loves much, 
 evon though she has loved often. But the 
 woman who plans betrayal while bewitching 
 with her caresses, deserves outlawry. This was 
 what Louise de Keroualle did. 
 
 However, there was a sound spot in her. 
 Though gorged with English money (and 
 indeed Irish money too), and always expectant 
 of, and hungering for more, her allegiance to 
 her own king was never shaken. She was born. 
 
 ^ 
 
xiv PREFACE BY MRS, G. M. CRAWFORD. 
 
 lived, and died a Frenchwoman. Under all 
 circumstances, and in every case, she was a 
 leal and intelligent agent of Louis the Four- 
 teenth in London ; and she won every wage 
 he paid her, by consciously trying to bring 
 England into subjection to France. She all 
 but succeeded. Unfortunately for her and 
 the K ng of France, the means they took de- 
 feated their object. Charles's vices being over- 
 stimulated and overdone, he died before his 
 time, and then a new chapter of history was 
 opened. Had he lived a few years more, the 
 work of reformation on which Cromwell set his 
 heart, and which after his time went on so well 
 across the Atlantic, must have been nipped in 
 the bud. It is in general idle to speculate 
 upon '* what might have been." But it is easy 
 to say what, under given circumstances, could 
 not have been. Thus, if Louise de Keroualle 
 had remained effective queen at Whitehall 
 r r i f*ew years more, that Greater Britain, 
 wherein the Irish Celt has full play for his 
 tumultuous activities and the Anglo-Saxon all 
 the personal liberty he wants, must have fallen 
 into the limbo of the could-not-have-beens. 
 ii was a part of the French scheme to ed^e 
 
 \ 
 
 PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD. xv 
 
 England out of North America. Seeing that 
 France held Canada and the Mississippi Valley, 
 was herself a great naval power, the greatest 
 existing military power, and had her hand on 
 iiolland, the design was essentially practicable. 
 Its success must have relegated the Boston 
 Harbour tea fight to the could-not-have-beens ; 
 and we know that out of that event arose, not 
 only a fresh order of things in the New World, 
 but in the Old World too. It was the people 
 with whom Cromwell was in his last hour in 
 heart and thought, who settled around Boston 
 Harbour. The changes to which the tea fray 
 led in Europe brought about the suppression — 
 and without commutation ! — of the ducal fief of 
 Aubigny in France, which was granted to Louise 
 de Keroualle and her heirs, for her secret ser- 
 vices in England.' But the perpetual wages 
 which the Merry Monarch granted her out of 
 
 y 
 
 1 I am told, but have as yet been unable to obtain 
 documentary evidence, that the late Duke, in the reign of 
 Charles X., put in, as disestablished lord of Aubigny, a claim 
 for a slice of the ;^ 10,000,000 sterling indemnity voted to 
 the emigres of the French aristocracy by ** la Chambre in- 
 trouvable." 
 
XVI PREFACE BY MRS. G. M. CRAWFORD 
 
 his lackland subjects' pockets, for the means 
 she took to render these services to her own 
 king, continue to gild the ducal coronet of 
 Richmond. 
 
 I ..' h it were otherwise, for the sake of the 
 Headers who like to see, in novels and at the 
 close of the play, vice well whipped and vir- 
 tue triumphant. But history evolves itself in- 
 dependently of our likings or dislikings ; and 
 mH that historians should do is to record, tn 
 seek for missing links, to connect them, when 
 found, with the rest of the chain, and to leave 
 their narrative to point its own moral. 
 
 
 \ 
 
 /• 
 
 C n V ^ IT N T - . 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV, 
 
 Indebtedness of France to Louise de Keroualle. — 
 French ingratitude for services rendered by her at 
 the Court of Whitehall— Pedigree of Louise.— 
 Her early life. — Adventures at the French court. 
 — Libels and lampoons. — Ambitious policy of 
 Louis the Fourteenth.— England the main ob- 
 stacle to its accomplishment.— Charles H. his 
 disposition and vices.— Henrietta Maria, her 
 intrigues and secret marriage.— Catherine of 
 Braganza, her ugliness and incapacity to become 
 a useful tool of France.— Her bridal humiliations. 
 —Her displeasure at Lady Castlemaine's supre- 
 macy at Whitehall.— The beautiful Lady Castle- 
 maine.— Her truculence and triumph over the 
 Queen. — Presents sent her by the King of France. 
 —Inconstancy of Charles II.— The lovely and 
 vacuous Miss Stuart.— Nelly Gwynn, her thea- 
 trical career, jests, and frolics.— Arhngton and 
 Buckingham, their foreign intrigues.— Sir Sam- 
 uel Morland, his life and adventures.— French 
 noblemen at Whitehall.— French diplomatists, 
 diplomatic wires and wire pullers. — Manoeuvres 
 to hold Charles.— The Italian astrologer, his 
 erroneous forecasts of the Newmarket races and 
 
 iiis recall to France 
 
 • . . • . 
 
 PAGB 
 
 XVll 
 
 I 
 
IVlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MADAME hENRIETTE, 
 
 Buckingham's suspicions of Henriette, Duchess of 
 Orleans and Princess of England. — Influence of 
 the Duchess with Charles II. — Her intervention 
 in lie French intrigues at Whitehall advised by 
 Colbert. — The Countess of Shrewsbury's relations 
 with Buckingham and complicity in Killegrew's 
 murder. — Charles's greed for French gold. — He 
 proposes a secret league to Louis XIV. — Its un- 
 English purport. — Holland to be sacrificed. — 
 Hitch on the French side about Hamburg. — Hen- 
 riette's dexterity. — Her visit to England decided 
 upon. — Choice by her of Louise de Keroualle to 
 attend her there. — Meeting of Charles and Hen- 
 riette. — Betrayal of England by her King. — Louis, 
 at Dunkirk, watches the progress of negocia- 
 tions at Dover. — Henriette returns to France. — 
 Her sudden death, and suspicion that she was 
 poisoned. — Louise de Keroualle sent to London 
 to console and manageCharles. — His susceptibility 
 to her charms. — Lady Castlemaine's jealousy. — 
 The Royal bastards. — Louise's adroitness. — 
 Public suspicions of her and the Cabal. — Her 
 close game and aft'ected coyness. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ACCESSION OF LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Louise pursues her close game. — She remains coy. — 
 Uneasiness thereat of the French Embassy. — 
 Fury of the Ducl.ess of Cleveland. — The King's 
 
 PAGE 
 
 47 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 fancy for Louise. — Her soft graces and refine- 
 ment. — Lady Arlington's plot to break down her 
 supposed scruples. — Euston Hall. — The King 
 goes to Euston from Newmarket. — Louise fetched 
 to meet him. — Mock marriage of Charles and the 
 French beauty at Euston Hall. — France, through 
 her ambassador, congratulates the pseudo bride, 
 and turns her new position to diplomatic account 
 — Charles declares war on Holland. — Louis con- 
 quers Flanders. — Attempts to make Charles 
 declare himself a Catholic. — The Duke of York. 
 — Intrigues to bring him to propose for the 
 Duchess of Guise ...... 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE RIVALS. 
 
 The Dangers which beset Louise. — The Queen's 
 bad health. — The French favourite aims at the 
 Crown. — Catherine's Doctors and their prognos- 
 tics. — A Royal divorce mooted. — The King's new 
 amours. — Their cost to the nation. — The Duchess 
 of Cleveland's four sons. — The three rival beauties. 
 — English taste for boisterous fun. — The Queen's 
 jollifications. — Her Majesty's adventure at Saftron 
 Walden fair. — Actresses under Charles II. — Mary 
 Davies. — Louise holding ground against Court 
 and people. — Her tact. — Refuses to urge the 
 Conversion of Charles. — Her match-making 
 scheme for the Duke of York. Flis uxorious- 
 ness. — He stands out for a pretty wife. — A 
 princess of Wurtemburg offered. — Louise gets 
 her set aside. — The Duke of York marries 
 Mary Beatrice of Este. — Louise enters the 
 
 XIX 
 
 PACE 
 
 64 
 
x\ 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 U': 
 
 peerage as Baroness of Peterfield, Countess 
 of Fariiham, Duchess of Pendennis, and 
 Duchess of Portsmouth. She aspires to a French 
 Duchy.— Obstacles to her ambition.— Charle 1 1 
 sohcits for her the Ducal fief of Aubigny which 
 she desires.- 1:. Royal Stuart associations.— 
 French nobles at Whitehall.— Duras created Earl 
 of Feversham.— The Frenchmen of Buckingham's 
 set.— Saint Evremond.— The Marquis de Sessac. 
 —His gambling gains.— Buckingham a secret 
 service agent of France.— His plan to buy M l/s 
 for Louis.— De Ruvigny's mission, his honour- 
 able life.— His Protestantism and relationship to 
 the Russells.— His secret mission to London.— 
 Is instructed to purchase King and Parliament. 
 —France stretches her Frontiers. —Louis feels 
 England slipping from him.— Alarm given to 
 France by the Comte D'Estrades.— Tide of 
 public hatred turning against Roman Catholicism 
 and France.— Charles is given a bribe of eight 
 millions of francs.— Buckingham curries popular 
 favour, reforms his life and goes to church.— 
 Peace with Holland . . " 
 
 PAGE 
 
 79 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST CHECK, 
 
 Plain Speech the rule at the polished Court of Ver- 
 sailles.— Prudish niceness unknown there.— The 
 sins of Charles and Louise find them out — 
 Ruvigny's letters about Charles.-Louise seeks 
 a cure at Tunbridge Wells.-Derision of the 
 Marchioness of Worcester.-The Household 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXI 
 
 \ 
 
 guard escorts Louise from the Wells to Windsor, 
 — The King's doctor treats her. — Henriette her 
 sister comes to England and marries Lord Pem- 
 broke. — Louise still solicits a Frenrh Duchy. — 
 Nell Gwynn derides her for her oft vaunted high 
 connections. — Versailles finds matter for amuse- 
 ment in her progress at Whitehall. — Madame de 
 Sevigne's jests. — Her sketch ui a en Gwynn. — 
 Queen Catherine's card table. — Hierarchy of the 
 King's Seraglio, — Louise's son created Duke of 
 Richmond. — Maternal tricks to secure him pre- 
 cedence over the King's other progeny,— Their 
 success, — The Dukes of Grafton and St. Albans. — 
 A Scotch Countess named governess to Louise's 
 son. — Pensions and emoluments granted to the 
 Duchesses of the Seraglio and to their heirs. — 
 The fair favourites fleece the exchequer,— The 
 French favourite's passion for gaming. — Her 
 sumptuous lodgings a cause of envy. — The con- 
 tempt in which the English held her.— Advent 
 of the Duchess Mazarin .... 
 
 I'AGB 
 
 107 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIN, 
 
 Close of a great era.- The Congress of Nimeguen. 
 — Danby gained for Louis by Louise.— French 
 subsidy of two millions of francs for Charles. 
 — Parliament prorogued for fifteen months.— 
 Charles's old passion for the Duchess Mazarin 
 revived.— Her story, domestic misery, fanatical 
 husband, imprisonments in convents, flight to 
 Italy, subsequent adventures and Roman style of 
 
; 
 
 XX n 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 beauty.— Triumphant reception at Whitehall. — 
 She is welcomed by English rivals of Louise. — 
 Struggle bcin,. , the three Duchesses. — The 
 Duchess of Cleveland retires to France. — Louise's 
 new cares.— Her jealousy and altered looks. — 
 Pecuniary troubles. — The Duchess of York's 
 friendship for the Duchess Mazarin.— Monetary 
 straits of the latter. — De Ruvigny unable to 
 manage Ciiarles and the Seraglio. — He is super- 
 seded by Courtin 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 Courtin's career.— His honourable name. —His rela- 
 tions in London with the Duchess Mazarin.— 
 Asks her husband to increase her allowance, and 
 advises Louis XIV. to make him do so.— Liaison 
 of the Duchess witli the Abbe St. Real.— The 
 Duchess of Portsmouth tries the Bath waters, 
 and halts at Windsor on her way back to 
 London.— Her dinner to the Comte and Com- 
 tesse de Ruvigny, and dejected manner.— Lou- 
 vois.— Laughter at her lachrymosity.— Courtin 
 hides her decline in Royal favour from the other 
 ambassadors.— He advises her to conceal mortifi- 
 cation.— Passes his evenings at the Duchess 
 Mazarin's.— The Countess of Sussex.— Beauteous 
 and well-bred Mrs. Middleton.-A moonli-ht 
 walk m St. James's Park.-A fete given to The 
 Court belles at the French Embassy.— Card 
 parties at Madame Mazarin's. — Her library, 
 bright wit, companions, and care to preserve 
 
 PAGE 
 
 123 
 
 N 
 
 I 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 appearances. — Courtin on Englishwomen's feet, 
 and their smart shoes, stockings, arKJ carters. — 
 His gossip about Charles TT and hi^ i 'ourt. — 
 Thfi- romping games 01 Lady Sussex a •id the 
 Duchess M rni — John Churchill. — Louis the 
 Fourteenth declines to give hiiu a ivgiment. — 
 ii^ aiLichment to Miss Jennings, and refu-^al to 
 marry an ugly heiress. — Is discredited m I ance 
 for havmg plundered the Duchess of Cleveland. 
 — Further decline of the Duchess of Portsmouth's 
 influence.— Suppers at Nell Gwynn's. — Charles's 
 nocturnal visits to the Duchess Mazarin— His 
 day visits to the Duchess of Portsmouth. — Haste 
 of Louis XIV. to work whatever power remains 
 to Louise.— II: forces the I 'n nee of Orange to 
 raise the siege of Maestricht. — Sullen hatred of 
 the English people to France. — Charles's auto- 
 graph receipts for French bribes. — The opposi- 
 tion in the Commons. — Courtin told to ascertain 
 what members are purchasable.— Importuned 
 for bribes by Lord Berkshire.— Knavery of that 
 nobleman, — English lords and commoners will- 
 ing to pocket French money, but afraid to keep 
 to their bargains with France.— 'J^' Duke and 
 Duchess of Lauderdale, — The canny prudence 
 of the Duchess, and her fear of compromising 
 her husband. — Presents of French wines to in- 
 corruptible Englishmen.— Their liking for cham- 
 pagne.— A dinner at the Duchess of Ports- 
 mouth's.— Courtin patches up a peace between 
 the ladies of the Seraglio, — Lady Hervey and 
 Nell Gvvynn at the Duchess of Mazarin's.— Nell 
 bids for the post of agent to King Louis,— She 
 
 XXIU 
 
 PAG 8 
 
 I % 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 1 I 
 
 E 
 
 \ 
 
U/ 
 
 x\iv 
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 shows her petticoats to the company.— Lady 
 Hervey's mental gifts and vices.— Parallel be- 
 tween the belles of Versailles and the beauties of 
 Whitehall.— Th e Duchess of Mazarin's style of 
 living.— Chiffinch.— War between Parliament and 
 Palace.— Union of all the ladies deemed neces- 
 sary by the French party.— Outcry against the 
 French intrigues at Court.— Louis takes Valen- 
 ciennes, St. Omer, and Cambray.— French bribes 
 paid to Charles in 1677.— Welsh flannel worn by 
 the King.— The Duchess of Portsmouth regains 
 her looks at Bath. — Lord Ibrickan.— Courtin 
 retires from diplomacy.- Barrillon succeeds him 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 BARRILLON, 
 
 Barrillon's qualifications for his mission to London.— 
 His professional unscrupulousness.— His friend- 
 ship with Madame de Sevigne.-He enters into 
 close relations with corrupt English politicians 
 —Meets with a check.— The Prince of Orange 
 visits London.— He wins the Princess Mary.-- 
 Their marriage.— National joy. -Dangerous ill- 
 ness of the Duchess of Portsmouth. — Her 
 struggles with new rivals. - Disgrace of the 
 Duchess of Cleveland.-The King's passion 
 abates for the Duchess Mazarin.-Loufse regains 
 mfluence.-The Marquise de Courcelles -Her 
 set on Charles. - Her adventures. — Romping 
 games at the Duchess of York's.-Cabal there 
 against the Duchess of Portsmouth.— I'he Duke 
 of York's duplicity.-Louise plays into Barrillon's 
 
 i'AGS 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXV 
 
 139 
 
 \: 
 
 4 
 {.-, 
 t 
 
 is i 
 f I 
 
 X 
 
 i *. 
 
 hand. — She persuades Charles that he is devoted 
 to him. — Her courtiers. — Sunderland. — The 
 Countess of Sunderland's animosity to the French 
 jade. — Louise as an Exchequer horse-leech. — 
 Her traffic in Royal pardons. — Her profits in 
 the sale of convicts to West India planters. — A 
 London mercer's bill for finery supplied her. — 
 Male attire the fashion for ladies. — The lump sums 
 and annuities paid to the King's concubines, and 
 to purveyors to his Seraglio. — Barrillon's account 
 books. — The political men in his pay. — Austere 
 Puritans corrupted. — Sir John Baber, Poole, 
 Littleton. — Fifteen thousand guineas for Mon- 
 tagu.— His sudden pretended change of front. — 
 Denounces Danby as having, when talking 
 loudest against France, been its agent — Double 
 games of Montagu, Danby, and . Barrillon.— 
 
 Barrillon's mission to keep England divided. 
 
 Danby deserts France.— He concludes a treaty 
 with Holland and makes up the breach between 
 King and Commons.— Energetic campaign of 
 Louis in Flanders.— Ghent, Ypres, and Mons 
 fall into his hands. — Holland crippled. Anti- 
 Catholic frenzy of England.— Shaftesbury profits 
 by the fury of the nation, to ruin Danby and 
 humiliate Charles.— The Popish Plot.— Cole- 
 man's knavery and trial. — Oates' perjuries. 
 
 Terror of Charles and his ladies. — The Duchess 
 
 of Portsmouth wants to retire to France. The 
 
 Duke of York leaves England.— Strafford tried 
 
 and executed.— Shaftesbury's preponderance. 
 
 He discards the Prince of Orange to set up 
 Monmouth as heir to the Crown. — The King's 
 
 rAOK 
 
 i 
 
 r 
 
 t 
 
fe 
 
 Si 
 r I 
 
 ^ 
 
 XXVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 embarrassment. — He sends for Barrillon, ex- 
 presses fear of a republic, and conjures Louis 
 to make England dependent on him. —Mon- 
 mouth's fabulous m.aternal pedigree. — English 
 taste luf iumantic improbability. — Louis stops 
 the subsidies to Charles. — No serious services, no 
 more money. — Louis advances 500,000 francs to 
 prevent Parliament meeting. — The Duchess of 
 Portsmouth pleada at the French Embassy for 
 Charles to be kept supplied. — His secret meetings 
 with Barrillon revealed by Lady Sunderland. — 
 Louise's dexterity. — She courts Monmouth, and 
 is lampooned. — Charles attacked with fever. — 
 Political effects of his illness. — Monmouth sent 
 from London. — France secretly stirs up a quarrel 
 between Charles and the Country Party.— Mon- 
 mouth comes back. — His intimacy with Nell 
 Gwynn.— Nell sets up to head the Protestant 
 party.— Parliament demands the banishment of 
 Louise de Keroualle.— Her trial and execution 
 agitated for.— Parliament prorogued . 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY. 
 
 English hatred to France grows hotter.— It threatens 
 the Duchess of Portsmouth.— The King finds a 
 new and noble mistress.— Politic game of the 
 Duchess.— She tries to keep friends and avoid 
 exasperating foes.— Allies herself with Sunder- 
 land.— They play Monmouth against the Prince 
 of Orange and the Duke of York.— Louise de- 
 clares for the Prince of Omnge.— The seemin^ 
 
 PAGE 
 
 193 
 
 If 
 
 \% 
 
 / 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXVIl 
 
 PAGE 
 
 sincerity of this declaration ruffles Barrillon. — 
 He ceases to deem her services important. — Her 
 further campaign of corruption. — Lady Hervey's 
 rapacity. — French bribes for Xonconformist 
 ministers. — Lords and members ot the House of 
 Commons proposed for bribery by Barrillon. — 
 Barrillon's political indifference. — His plan of 
 setting all English parties by the ears. — His . 
 relations with Sidney. — His relations with Presby- 
 terians and popular preachers. — Nell Gwynn's 
 eldest son dies. — The Duchess of Portsmouth 
 rears the daughter of Mary Davis.— The Duchess 
 suffers the King to show attention to the Queen. 
 — Parliament meets.— Bill to exclude, the Duke 
 of York. — Barrillon's secret efforts against the 
 Prince of Orange. — Montagu, Herbert, Sidney, 
 Hampden, Baber, and Lady Hervey, usefullest 
 allies of Barrillon. — France finds it cheaper to 
 bribe the Opposition than the King. — Louise de 
 Keroualle urges Charles to prorogue indefinitely. 
 — Her ignorance of Barrillon's relations with 
 ixe -^iL'b'^ans and Nonconformists. — Her astonish- 
 litni iit jeing thwarted by Barrillon. — He prefers 
 bribery to intrigue. — Her consummate address. — 
 She makes for the Duke of York's friendship. — 
 She gets a percentage on Irish taxes. — Webs of 
 intrigue woven round Charles. — His utter sub- 
 jection to Louis. — Parliament indefinitely pro- 
 rogued. — Louise recovers mental serenity. — Her 
 portrait by Gascar. — Count Koenigsmarck prose- 
 cuted for murder. — Louis intervenes to stop 
 prosecution. — The Koenigsmarck scandal. — The 
 heiress of the Earl of Northumberland.— The 
 
 4 
 
 l.^'\ 
 
i 
 
 I # 
 
 XX VI 11 
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXIX 
 
 or 
 
 irl-wife and widow of Lord Ogle.— Her abduc- 
 iion and marriage with Thynne. — Thynne's 
 assassination.— Her third marriage at fifteen with 
 the Duke of Somerset.— Apparent accomph'sh- 
 ment of Louis the Fourteenth's scheme.— Louise 
 de Keroualle becomes the direct link between 
 him and Charles.— She keeps England in subjec- 
 tion to France.— She longs to revisit Versailles 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 RETURN TO TRANCE. 
 Cliarles goes to Newmarket and Louise visits France. 
 —She draws her pension in advance.— The 
 letters of recommendation that she takes to 
 Louis XIV.— By his command she is received as 
 a sovereign.— Her visit to the Capucines in 
 the Rue St. Honore.— The Duke of York's 
 French investments.— The Duchess of Ports- 
 mouth triumphs in France.— Her success there 
 dazzles the English.— She returns to London.— 
 Her undisputed power there.-She takes offence 
 at the Dutch minister.—He humbles himself 
 before her.— The Queen deferential towards her. 
 —The Duchess Mazarin accepts Louise de 
 Keroualle's supremacy.- Gallants and courtiers 
 of the Duchess Mazarin— Her nephew, Prince 
 Eugene, of Savoy. -She captivates him.— Her 
 daughters.— One of them elopes from a convent. 
 The fugitive's adventures and marriage.— The 
 gloom and sadness of the Duchess Mazarin.— 
 She kills care in drink and gambling.— Her 
 antique vices.— How she lived at Newmarket.— 
 
 Her court of ladies 
 
 PAGB 
 
 234 
 
 253 
 
 •r 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 Louise de Keroualle's love affair with the Grand Prior 
 of France. — Love makes her imprudent. — 
 Charles takes umbrage, but puts up with his 
 rival. — Louise receives fresh tokens of regard 
 from Louis. — Charles jealous but unnerved. — Bar- 
 rillon comes to his aid. — The Grand Prior has to 
 leave England. — Louise fears her new lover's 
 indiscreet tongue. — Louis orders him to keep 
 silence. — The Grand Prior recalled to Versailles. 
 — Charles's French annuity of ;£6o,ooo. — 
 Rochester and Louise alone know of it. —They 
 both direct the whole Royal family. — Louise is 
 consulted about the proposed match of Princess 
 Anne and Prince George of Demark. — She sends 
 her miniature to the King of Denmark. — She 
 receives ambassadors in state. — She settles inter- 
 national broils. — She represents France at the 
 marriage of the Princess Anne.— Indignation of 
 the old Ironsides. — Charles in their eyes *' the 
 Man of Sin."— Marks of God's displeasure at his 
 profligacy.— The Rye House Plot.— Executions 
 of Sidney and Lord Grey.— Charles pities Lord 
 Grey's children. — Louise hardens his heart 
 against them. — She obtains their father's confis- 
 cated estate for herself and Rochester.— Sub- 
 jection to her of Rochester and Godolphin.— 
 Barrillon chafes at her yoke. — Louis goes on 
 supporting her.— Charles's distress.— He grants 
 her fresh privileges.— Her French Duchy to 
 revert to her son.— Her scandalous luxury.— 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1 
 
 / 
 
 /- 
 
XXX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXI 
 
 Her sumptuous rooms at Whitehall. — A sugges- 
 tive haberdasher's bill. — The spoils Louise's 
 sister took to France. — Voluptuousness of the 
 Court. — The Breton favourite is the Government 
 of England. — Louis on the point of complete 
 success. — The death of Charles IL — Confusion 
 of the courtiers. — Louise alone shows presence 
 of mind. — She comes out as a good Catholic. — 
 James IL promises her his friendship. — His 
 base motives. — The young Duke of Richmond 
 ceases to be Grand Equerry. — Louise aims at 
 securing ;^i 9,000 a year. — James grants her 
 ^3,000 a year. — ^^2,000 a year granted to the 
 Duke of Richmond. — Louise claims ^30,000 a 
 year out of the Irish taxes. — She misses this 
 mark. — What she can take to France. — James 
 visits her. — She leaves England .... 
 
 PAGE 
 
 264 
 
 of Richmond becomes an Orangist. — He cuts his 
 French connections. — Louis transfers his pen- 
 sion to Louise. — Her portraits. — Tier pecuniary 
 troubles. — Her creditors. — French orders of 
 Council to stay their executions. — Louise's appe- 
 tite for French public money. — Her claims on 
 the French Crown. — Impoverishment of the 
 French Exchequer. — Louise's begging petitions to 
 the Regent. — Their success. — Death of Louise's 
 sister and son. — Louise devotes herself to piety 
 and charity. — Her death and burial— Her ne- 
 glected tomb. — Her French duchy and chateau. 
 — Her descendants. — England pays for the 
 services rendered to ungrateful France 
 
 Letters of the Duchess of Portsmouth 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 292 
 
 309 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 IN RETIREMENT, 
 
 Those whom the Duchess of Portsmouth survived. — 
 Her sister's private marriage. — The Duke of 
 Richmond. — He openly enters the Catholic 
 Church. — His subsequent relapse into Protes- 
 tantism. — His debauchery. — Louise visits Eng- 
 land. — Courtin prevents Louis XIV. from exiling 
 her. — Her obligatory relations with England. — 
 Her niece marries Judge Jeffrey's son.— Louise 
 is suspected in France of being a spy of England. 
 She and her son pay court to William III — 
 Her English annuity suspended. — Her furniture 
 destroyed in the fire at Whitehall.— The Duke 
 
 \ 
 
^if^MMPffT^ 
 
 U 
 
 TTcp PT7 KEROUALLE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 
 
 Louise de Keroualle was the pretty Breton 
 who became, at the court of Charles II., the 
 pivot on which the ambitious and wide-reaching 
 poh'cy of Louis XIV. turned. To her, more than 
 to any statesman, France is indebted for French 
 Flanders, the Franche Comte, her twice secular 
 pnsspqsion of Alsace, her old ownership of the 
 valley of the Mississippi and Canada, and her 
 lately revived claim on Madagascar. One 
 owes the sacrifice of everything save honour to 
 one's country; but Louise abandoned fair fame, 
 and — although her posterity stiiT fatten on her 
 ill-gotten gains at the expense of the country 
 on wiiicii she saddled them — her memory rots 
 ill England. Englishmen go on paying the 
 
 B 
 
 1 
 
 / 
 
LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 tribute she extracted from them, without look- 
 ing into its origin. But can they ever pardon 
 her for having during fifteen years held Great 
 Britain in her delicate little hand, and manipu- 
 lated its king and statesmen as dexterously as 
 she might have done her fan ? She made that 
 country a tool of Louis XIV.'s policy, and en- 
 abled him, by the fineness of her diplomatic art, 
 to consolidate the geographical unity of France. 
 The French nation has forcrotten this Ao-nes 
 Sorel, who undertook to seduce, get round, and 
 hold a monarch whom she never loved, and 
 who, when she undertook to make his conquest, 
 was prematurely old from profligacy. She is so 
 utterly fallen into oblivion, that her countrymen 
 do not know how to write her name.^ The 
 same forgetfulness extends to the name of her 
 family estate. Even Louise de Perrencour de 
 Keroualle's descendants suffer the /^^^r^tr^, 2 ^j^^^ 
 
 1 The English call her Querouailles, and the French 
 genealogists Keroual. Colbert de Croissy wrote her name 
 Queroul ; in the charter of donation to her of the lands of 
 Aubigny, it is Keroel. I write Keroualle, after old family 
 papers in the Archives Nationaks, J. 152 ; 6. (Author's 
 Note.) 
 
 2 Burke : Dictionary of the Peerage, under the heading 
 of "Richmond." gives as the root of the ducal house o^f 
 
 -i 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV, 3 
 
 Golden Book of the English nobility, to state 
 that they are descended from the daughter 
 of a certain Guillaume de Penencourt. Yet 
 these Perrencours were not a family to be 
 denied, even by such high-placed descendants 
 as the Dukes of Richmond. The follow^ing is 
 a sketch of their ancestry. 
 
 Francois de Penhoet married Jeanne, Lady 
 of Keroualle de Penancoet, on loth May, 1330. 
 The Penhoets w^ere one of the great families 
 of the bishopric of Leon, of wdiom it was 
 said, '' The Penhoets for antiquity, the Ker- 
 mans for riches, and the De Kergournadecs 
 for chivalry." The children of this marriage, 
 took the maternal name, with its coat of arms. 
 One of their descendants, Guillamue de Penan- 
 cour, married, in 1645, Mane de Ploeuc de 
 Timeur, daughter of Marie de Rieux ; and 
 one of their children was Louise, Duchess of 
 Pendennis and Portsmouth, in England, and 
 of Aubigny, in France.^ 
 
 Richmond, " Louise Renee de Perrencourt " ; under the 
 heading of " Aubigny " {foreign titles), he puts " Louise 
 Renee de Penencourt de Quenouaille, Duchess of Ports- 
 moiith in England, daughter of Guillaume de Penencourt." 
 ^ Bibliotheque Natio?taIe, Cabinet des Titres, No. 50,417. 
 (Author's Note.\ 
 
LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 1 1 does not count for much in our time to be 
 ci \}'- Mieux, or to have a forefather so renowned 
 for bravery in the r4th century, as the fair 
 Louise was for her cold-bfooded gallantries in 
 the 17th century; but these facts of race and 
 blazon explain the circumstances of her youth, 
 and enable us to understand how she was able 
 to become a maid of honour to Henrietta of 
 England, Duchess of Orleans. They also set 
 at naught the ridiculous stories of the adven- 
 tures in which, according to some lampoonists 
 and pamphleteers, her early years were spent. 
 
 The most widely known of the libellous 
 fictions published in England against her, is 
 The Secret History of the Duchess of Ports^ 
 mouth. An English edition and two French 
 ones, as well as a large number of manuscript 
 copies,^ of this factum were circulated. Accord- 
 ing to it, lAIademoiselle de Keroualle fled from 
 the house of an aunt living in Paris, disguised as 
 a page, and accompanied the Due de Beaufort 
 
 1 I have in my possession one of these manuscripts ; but 
 I have not been able to find at the Bibliothlque Rationale 
 either the English edition of 1690 of The Secret History of 
 the Duchess of Portsmouth, the French editions of 1690 or 
 the Memoires Secrets de la Duchesse de Forts?nouth\y 
 Jacques Lacombe, 2 vols., i2mo; Paris, 1805. {Author's Note.) 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 5 
 
 in the expedition to Candia, which lasted from 
 5th June until loth October, 1669. Now 
 during that time she was under the eyes of 
 the whole Court, serving as maid of honour 
 to Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans. The 
 calumny must have originated in the part 
 taken by Louise's brother Sebastien in the 
 unfortunate Beaufort expedition. He died on 
 his return from Candia, a few days after he 
 landed in Provence.^ The mourning into 
 which his family were thrown was distorted 
 by the libeller into a burlesque fiction. Most 
 of the episodes of Louise's life were malig- 
 nantly twisted in the same way. The so- 
 called biographer knew enough about her 
 early life to give an air of truth to his cruel 
 inventions.^ 
 
 It was in the year in which Sebastien died 
 in the Due de Beaufort's service that Louise 
 
 * Of the three children, only the daughters, Louise and 
 Henriette, survived. 
 
 2 There were many other publications of this kind : 
 Memoirs of the Court of England, by the Countess Dunois, 
 1 708 ; The Secret History of the Reigns of King Charles II. 
 and James 11. , s.l. 1 690. There is a French translation 
 of the latter, Cologne, 1690, and also a refutation. The 
 Blatajit Beast MuzzPd, s.l., 1691. {Author's Note.) 
 
Mmamsmmmmmi^^ 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 7 
 
 made tiie acquaintance of the Comte de 
 Saiilt. 
 
 This grentleman was son of the 1 ' :c de 
 Lesdigiiieres, and was chief victor in the 
 famous jousi., which were held in 1662, under 
 the windows of Tuileries, and gave their 
 name t. ihc i'iace de Carrousel. Father 
 Anselmo tells us that he passed for being ui 
 love witii a maid of honour of Henrietta of 
 England,' or Madame Henriette, as she was 
 called 111 i- ranee. Thirteen years later a haughty 
 English nobleman insultingly reminded Louise 
 - K-Toualle^f this early attachment. 
 
 i i 'wever uu.ocent may have been the flirta- 
 tions, in a dissipated court, of a girl of rank 
 who was poor, and impatient to find a husband, 
 It IS certain that the fair fame of the Bretoimc 
 was tarnished. Madame de Sevigne and Lou- 
 vois speak slightingly and pitilessly of her 
 relations with De Sault. Saint Simon ' charges 
 her parents with having aimed at throwina her 
 in the kmg's way, in the hope that he might 
 
 ^ Pere Anselme. 
 
 ' ^f- ^/^^'^'^ Etranghes, Angkterre, tome cxiv., fol 
 119, du 6 Aout, 1674. 
 
 ^ Hacheite : Ecrits inedlts de Saint Simon, t. iv., p. 485. 
 
 i i • 
 
 i 
 
 cast her his pocket-handkerchief, and to further 
 this mode of obtaining a settlement for her, got 
 her into the household of his sister-in-law, who 
 was then suspected of being his iiiibiress. Un- 
 r rtunately for Mademoiselle de Keroualle, 
 Louise de la Valliere was also a niaid ui 
 honour to that prmcess ; and the king fell in 
 love with her soft eyes, which only spoke of 
 t-nler, devoted love. \i this Louise had little 
 cleverness, *' she was gentle, good iiaiiir K an 1 
 obliging, and made herself liked at court." 
 Withoiit believing the calumnious pamphlets, it 
 may be supposed that, whether owing to impru- 
 (i( ill talk or to ambitious avowals, Louise passed 
 for a piring to the situation ui king's favounie. 
 
 J > lore Louis XT\^ tried what ini^lit be 
 effected through women, in preserving the 
 alliance, or at least the neutrality, of England, 
 he had had recourse to means which were 
 not sanctioned by diplomatic usage. 
 
 The great French statesmen ^v]^o preceded 
 him never risked an important foreign enter- 
 prise without first securing an ally. Richelieu 
 entered into an understanding with uustavus 
 Adoln! 
 
 lus 
 
 ^ ^ ^ "v 
 
 w 
 
 lazarin witli Cromwell. Union 
 Britain was all the mure necessary 
 
 i 
 
 '^ 
 
8 
 
 LOOJSE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 durinor the youth of Louis XIV., because the 
 frontiers of his kingdom tended to advance 
 into Flanders, a country linlced with England 
 by the proximity of tiieir coasts and by 'trade 
 relations, which had gone on for several hun- 
 dred years. 
 
 h would be unjust to suppose that the only 
 sentiment which alienated England from France 
 m the . 7th century, was jealousy at seeing 
 the extension of French influence and com"^ 
 merce in Flanders. The Protestant passions 
 ot the people, and the Liberal ideas of the 
 arist,.racy, inevitably placed England in con- 
 H'ct , :h an absolute, and a Catholic king, 
 i^ohtical mterests became intertwined with re- 
 l.g.ous feeling to such a point, that public 
 opm.on m England was led into reversing 
 agamst the Court the foreign policy of Crom 
 well by supporting Spain, the most ardent foe 
 01 the Reformation, against Louis XIV 
 _ Whilst the posterity of Philip IJ. ,vas falling 
 mto decrepitude, and slowly dying out at the 
 Escunal, each of the powers watched for an 
 opportunity to snatch a part of its heritaae 
 Louis wanted to seize on all Flanders He 
 saw that, to be able to strike his blow at an 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV 9 
 
 opportune moment, the agreement of England 
 was necessary. Now, towards the close of 
 Charles II.'s reign, the hatred in which the 
 Enoflish held Louis was not doubtful. There 
 was no reliance to be placed in the unstable- 
 minded British monarch. And yet it was on 
 Charles II. that the entire efforts of French 
 diplomacy were of necessity concentrated. He 
 was the only possible ally. With his con- 
 nivance in the projects of the Court of Ver- 
 sailles, the animosity of England — the nation 
 — would not matter. His complicity was the 
 one condition of success. Without it, every 
 chance must be given up of preponderance in 
 Europe, and of the happy execution of a grand 
 scheme of colonial ao^Qfrandisement. France 
 might, if she held Charles, do as she pleased, 
 not only in Flanders, but, with the aid of the 
 Jesuits, all the world oven The diplomatists 
 of Louis XIV., seeing what frontier extension, 
 and indeed wide-world expansion, was to be 
 obtained, came to the conclusion that all scru- 
 ples should be laid aside. 
 
 But there never was a harder man to hold 
 ihan Charles 11., whose will was singularly 
 unsteady, and whose mind was the most ver- 
 
lO 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 satile, bright, shifty, and frivolous of any prince 
 in Europe. When young-, he was vokiptuous, 
 loquacious, easy to captivate, and charitable 
 towards intriguers of every sort, because he 
 held a low opinion of human nature, and felt 
 that he set an example himself of lax morals 
 and had mire-ward proclivities. He put on 
 with smiling grace a show of elegance, affected 
 sensibility, and made prodigality pass for the 
 outcome of generous impulse. In many respects 
 he was like Henri HI., he being profuse, a con- 
 noisseur of art, easy going with those around 
 him, insincere, without respect for his encrao-e- 
 ments, incurably apt to confound knavery with 
 statecraft, and so fond of lapdogs as to turn 
 his apartments into a disgusting kennel. They 
 bred about on his sofas, and even in his bed. 
 In the bottom of his heart he was a Catholic, 
 at the time when he became head of the An- 
 glican Church. He understood the power of 
 quinine to check ague and other fevers ; dab- 
 bled in alchemy and vivisection, gave a fillip 
 to the study of natural philosophy, was free 
 from prejudices, devoid of principle, and was 
 an amiable epicurean, so entirely without back- 
 bone that he went so far in cowardly meanness 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. ii 
 
 as to deny his own father.^ This degrading 
 denial took place when Charles I. was hemmed 
 in by fanatical Scotch Puritans. - It was given 
 the specious name of "The Prince of Wales's 
 Declaration." In it he *' humbled himself 
 before Almighty God because of the com- 
 placency with which his father had hearkened 
 unto evil counsels, because of his opposition 
 to the Covenant, and likewise because of the 
 blood of the Lord's people which he had shed. 
 The Prince of Wales also confessed his own 
 manifold sins and the sins of his father's house." 
 He was wholly devoid of moral sense, and never 
 rose to a perception of the social use of honour. 
 
 Such was the man whom it was the task of 
 French diplomacy to hold. His mother her- 
 self, it was remembered at Versailles, could exert 
 no durable authority over his vacillating will 
 and versatile spirit. In appearing to yield, he 
 was always ready to slide away. He was only 
 a liar under pressure, but he was as slippery as 
 an eel, and as fond of the mud. 
 
 Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henri IV., had 
 ruled her husband, Charles I. Miss Strickland 
 and some of Vandyke's portraits make her out 
 
 ^ Walker: Historical Discowses^ p. 170. 
 
 WiminrtmiilKt* 
 
wsmmmummmmmitig^ 
 
 12 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIW n 
 
 a beauty. She probably had when young the 
 comeliness of youth ; but after the Restoration 
 she was a little, vulgar-looking, and very com- 
 monplace woman. As a child, she was the 
 most petted member of her family; and the 
 person on whom she doubtless unconsciously 
 modelled herself, was her mother's arroeant and 
 domineering foster-sister, favourite, and general 
 directress, Leonore de Galigai, wife of Concini, 
 Marechal d'Ancre, also a favourite of Marie 
 de Medici, and suspected, with too good reason, 
 of having plotted the assassination of Henri I V.^ 
 Henrietta Maria behaved on the throne like a 
 spoiled child and shrew. She does not seem 
 to have had any plan of conduct or principle of 
 government, beyond doing just as she pleased, 
 and imposing on her husband the notion which 
 happened to be uppermost in her mind. He 
 was uxorious, and obeyed her. The beginning 
 
 ^ The Grand Duke of Florence, father of Marie de 
 Medici, said to liis daughter, when she was setting out as a 
 proxy-married bride for France : " Above all things, make 
 haste to have an heir." He sent with her three gallants 
 whom Henry IV. tolerated. They were Virginio and Paolo 
 Orsini, and Concini, afterwards the Marechal d'Ancre, whose 
 assassination by De Luynes released Louis XHI. from the 
 thraldom in which his mother's favourite held him. 
 
 of his misfortunes was his acquiescence in her 
 order, to go to the House of Commons, and 
 bring her *' by the ears" the five members who 
 stood out against his exorbitant prerogatives. 
 She called them *' those five crop -headed 
 
 rogues. 
 
 >> 
 
 The tragedies in which this queen was in- 
 volved, her terrible reverses of fortune, and 
 the oratorical genius of Bossuet, who preached 
 her funeral sermon, surrounded her, in the 
 eyes of those who did not study her life, with 
 the nimbus of a martyr. Her contemporaries 
 judged her severely, and wasted but small 
 sympathy on her. She was held in slight 
 esteem at the Court of France, when she re- 
 turned to Paris a widow and a proscript. Her 
 apologists, past and present, have tried to ex- 
 plain away the sarcasms of those Englishmen 
 of her time and circle who noticed her fondness 
 for Lord Jermyn and submission to him, her 
 fear of giving him offence, his meddling and 
 overbearing interference in all her concerns, and 
 his masterful tone in speaking to her.^ They 
 
 ^ Sir John Reresby : Memoirs^ p. 4. "Lord Jermyn had 
 the queen greatly in awe of him, and indeed it was obvious 
 that he had uncommon interest in her and her concerns ; 
 
M 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV, 15 
 
 have tried to disprove that she had a daughter, 
 the issue of a secret marriage with him. How- 
 ever, he and she were inseparable, and she 
 braved pubHc opinion in going, accompanied 
 with him, to pay visits of ceremony.^ Colbert 
 de Croissy^ and her nephew Louis XIV. him- 
 self ^ are crushincr witnesses arainst her. The 
 
 but that he . . . had children by her I did not then 
 believe, though the thing was certainly so." Her own son, 
 James II., did not dare in terms to contradict this fact, 
 so evident was it to his contemporaries. In his reply {The 
 Blatant Beast MuzzPd) to the pamphleteers, he replied 
 mildly and in a propitiating tone to those who charged his 
 mother with being the mistress and then the wife of Lord 
 Jermyn, whilst he refuted with passionate virulence all the 
 other attacks on his family. He merely said in reply to 
 the former accusations, " They must pardon me if I don't 
 believe them." 
 
 1 Evelyn: Diary, Aug. 14, 1662. Hamilton, always so 
 well informed, speaks of this union. See the anonymous 
 author of the curious Relation d'Angleterre, which is in 
 Les Cinq Cents de Colbert, tome iv. p. 78 : " Le Comte de St. 
 Jermyn est toujours attache a ses interests." {Translator s 
 Note.) 
 
 2 MS. Affaires Etratigeres, Angleterre, tome xciii., fol. 
 181, du 28 Nov., 1668. 
 
 3 Colber de Croissy was a brother of the great minister 
 Colbert, and for some time ambassador of Louis XIV. to 
 Whitehall. He was sent on other embassies. In nego- 
 tiating with men, he showed great abihiy ; but he did not 
 understand how to utilize women. On his recall from 
 England he was named Secretary for Foreign Affairs. 
 
 former, in writing from London to Versailles 
 just after the formation of the Cabal, says : 
 '' The Duke of Buckingham takes for granted 
 the necessity of an impossible thing, when he 
 speaks of a secret imparted to the queen- 
 dowager of England not coming to Lord St. 
 Albans' (Jermyn's) knowledge. It would be 
 the sheerest self-deception to hope that this 
 might be done." 
 
 In counting, therefore, on Henrietta Maria, 
 the Court of Versailles would have had to 
 reckon on St. Albans. Those who had hoped 
 otherwise were nursing an illusion. The king 
 of France therefore sought to find a wife for 
 Charles soon after the Restoration had been 
 effected. It being useless to try and hold him 
 by means of the queen-dowager, he tried to 
 influence him through a queen-consort. 
 
 Spain being an adversary of France, it was 
 among her most bitter foes that Louis sought 
 a wife for the restored monarch. He chose a 
 Portuguese princess, in doing which he made a 
 blunder. The Portuofuese then, like the Moors, 
 kept their women in ignorance and seclusion. 
 Instead of a princess used to the intrigues and 
 complexities of Court life, and able to domineer 
 
 I 
 
,,.Jfc^ ^, 
 
 w 
 
 i6 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 a rakish husband, Charles II. was mated to a 
 swarthy dwarf of twenty-four, who, when she 
 arrived in England; had never in her Hfe 
 spoken to a man, even during the voyage. 
 Her sedentary habits had made her obese ; 
 and this defect was thrown into relief by her 
 curious mode of dressing. She was of a squat 
 fio-ure and a brown complexion ; her teeth 
 were so badly set as to be a deformity.^ *' There 
 really is nothing in her face to inspire positive 
 disgust," said Charles mournfully, after the first 
 interview.^ He was mightily pleased, when the 
 wedding ceremony was over, that she was too 
 tired after her voyage not to wish to be left 
 entirely alone.^ The Portuguese ladies who 
 came with her were not seductive,^ and wore 
 monstrous hoops, which followed the waddling 
 
 1 According to Lord Dartmouth, '' her fore teeth stood 
 out so as to shorten her upper lip." Evelyn makes the 
 same remark : " Her teeth wrongeth her mouth by sticking 
 out too far." These defects are artistically slurred over by 
 Sir Peter Lely. 
 
 2 Letter of Clarendon, cited by Miss Strickland, viii., 
 p. 304. 
 
 3 The king to Clarendon, May 21, 1662, published from 
 the MS. of the British Museum by Fellowes (Historical 
 Sketches). 
 
 * Evelyn : Diar}\ May 30, 1662. 
 
ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV, 17 
 
 movement of their gait. These farthingales 
 were called by them gardes-infantes. Their 
 headgears were as funny, to English and 
 French eyes, as their skirts ; and the skins of 
 all were of a deep olive. Charles wished for 
 more pleasing objects. fnstead of retaining 
 them in his wife's service, he drew up a list 
 of bedchamber ladies, at the head of which he 
 placed the Countess of Castlemaine. 
 
 Ignorant as the new queen was, she uttered 
 a cry of protest when she heard of this bed- 
 chamber nomination. 
 
 Lady Castlemaine had, as Mrs. Palmer, en- 
 gaged in an amorous intrigue with Charles soon 
 after the Restoration.^ He, the Duke of York, 
 and young sparks in their suites made up to 
 her to infuriate her husband and enjoy the 
 game of making him justly jealous. The Duke 
 of York, to keep his mind from absorbing the 
 heretical Anglican service which he had to 
 attend at the Chapel Royal, used to draw aside 
 the curtains of the royal pew to ogle Mrs. 
 Palmer, who performed her devotions in the 
 one next to it. She appears, however, to have 
 soon dropped the heir presumptive, to become 
 
 1 Pepys : X>/^/7, 13th July, 1660. 
 
 c 
 
i8 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 publicly the king's favourite. At the time of 
 the formation of the Cabal, she was in all the 
 pride of her beauty, which was splendidly 
 attractive. If her nose was slightly turned up,' 
 it o-ave her a sauciness that was piquant. Her 
 figure was tall, and of a rich, harmonious out- 
 line. The eyes and hair were dark, and her 
 skin glowed with health and life. Her lips 
 were cherry red, and her bust, — which, in the 
 fashion of the day, her loose and falling upper 
 o-arments and thin smocks did not hide, — was 
 white as snow. The eyes, if not large, were 
 lively and bright. They spared none of their 
 artillery to conquer, and promised everything 
 to retain the captive. Nor did the lady dis- 
 appoint the hopes she thus excited. There 
 must have been something very taking in her 
 appearance, which enabled her to face the 
 London populace in its den. Lady Castle- 
 maine was fond of going to see the puppets at 
 St. Bartholomew's fair. The common people, 
 hearing that she was there, collected round the 
 show to hoot *' the king's miss." But the sight 
 of her lovely face disarmed them, and she was 
 allowed to go quietly to her carriage, and ride off. 
 1 Relation d'Angkterre. Cinq Cents de Colbert, t. v., p. 478. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV, 19 
 
 Lady Castlemaine did not long hold her 
 ground against Louise de Keroualle, when 
 that charming French beauty entered the arena 
 against her ; but she had an easy triumph over 
 Queen Catherine, who pricked ' her name from 
 the king's list of bedchamber women, and 
 who, when she saw her husband lead the beau- 
 tiful mistress in to her by the hand, was seized 
 with convulsions and got black in the face. 
 This was taken as an affront by Lady Castle- 
 maine, who meant to lie in at Hampton Court, 
 and demanded an apology. Charles thought 
 the queen should humble herself before the 
 favourite, and wrote to say so to the Chancellor 
 Clarendon, who was trying to make peace 
 between the royal couple. The mistress flared 
 up at his daring to meddle in the matter, and 
 put the king on to resent his interference. 
 " Nobody,'* he wrote to Clarendon, '^ shall pre- 
 sume to meddle in the affairs of the Countess 
 of Castlemaine. Whoever dares to do so, will 
 have cause to repent it to the last moment of 
 his life. Nothing will shake the resolution I 
 have taken with regard to her ; and I shall 
 consent to be miserable in this 'world and the 
 ^ See Clarendon, Fellowes, Miss Strickland. 
 
20 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 next, if I yield in my decision, which is, that 
 she continue a bedchamber lady to the queen. 
 I shall, to the last hour of my life, regard any 
 one who opposes me in this as my enemy ; and 
 whosoever shows himself hostile to the Countess 
 will, I swear by my honour, earn my undying 
 
 displeasure." 
 
 The queen remained inflexible for some 
 weeks, and was open in her anger. She then 
 let herself be coaxed round. The citizens of 
 London were treated to the sight of wife and 
 concubine driving through the streets, in grand 
 array, in the same carriage,^ along with young 
 Crofts,^ the son of a former mistress, and the 
 darling of the queen, the queen-dowager, and 
 of Lady Castlemaine. 
 
 After yielding, Catherine made up her mind 
 to struggle no more, and to lead an easy life by 
 siuitting her eyes to her husband's vices. She 
 put up with the companionship of his favourite, 
 and even showed a greater liking for her than 
 for any other lady at court. The English 
 esteemed the queen a good wife, who bore 
 
 1 Pepys : Diary, 7th September, 1662. 
 * Afterwards D«ike of Monmouth. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 21 
 
 herself meekly when her patience was most 
 severely tried. 
 
 Catherine was avenged on her husband by 
 the shrewish temper of her rival. Charles was 
 constantly the object of Lady Castlemaine*s 
 truculent abuse. He often returned from her 
 house overpowered by it. Every one knew 
 she played him false. If he dared show 
 jealousy, he was soon reduced to beg pardon 
 on his knees, and swear that he would never 
 again harbour insulting suspicions about her con- 
 duct.^ When he caught her in John Churchill's 
 arms, he only showed his resentment by saying 
 to the young man that, as he had become 
 her lover to escape from starving, he forgave 
 him.^ 
 
 Lady Castlemaine was ready to accept over- 
 tures from France, and to support the policy 
 of Louis XIV., as Colbert de Croissy soon 
 informed him. 
 
 "The king," wrote in answer Secretary 
 
 1 Pepys : Diary, 7th August, 1667. 
 
 2 MS. Affaires Etrangcres, Atigleterre, tome cxxxvii., fol. 
 400. Relation de la Cour d^Afjgleterre. See also, on this 
 subject, the letter of the ambassador Courtin to the minister 
 Louvois, ibid., tome cxx., C, fol. '206, Nov. 16, 1676. 
 
f 
 
 h 
 
 22 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 23 
 
 Lionne/ '' thinks well of your efforts to obtain 
 the help of the Countess of Castlemaine, and 
 read with interest of her point-blank way of 
 telling you how King Charles ^ had confided to 
 her that Lord Arlington would not hear of an 
 alliance with France. His majesty hopes that 
 you will profit by this good beginning, and he 
 authorizes you, if you judge well, to let her 
 know that you have reported what she said to 
 his majesty, who charges you to offer her his 
 warmest thanks. In this order of ideas, the 
 king has directed your brother, the Treasurer, 
 to send her a handsome present, which you can 
 give her as if from yourself. Ladies are fond 
 of such keepsakes, whatever may be their 
 breeding or disposition; and a nice litde 
 present can in any case do no harm." 
 
 Lionne ^ renewed his instructions a few days 
 later in these terms: ''His majesty attaches 
 great importance to all you can say about Lady 
 
 1 In all the diplomatic French despatches the king is 
 Louis XIV. To every other king the name of the country 
 over which he reigns is added. It is however impossible 
 to cling to this formula in all the extracts from official 
 papers. 
 
 2 MS. Aj^aires Eirangcres, 3 Avril, 1667. 
 ^ April 20, 1669. 
 
 Castlemaine. You can, if you think fit, agree 
 with your brother touching the present the 
 king intends to make this lady. . . . His 
 majesty warmly approves your idea of getting 
 her to put into the King of England's head 
 that the Presbyterians and Nonconformists are 
 ill affected towards monarchy." ^ 
 
 But Madam Castlemaine was not the kind 
 of secret service agent the king of France 
 wanted. Not that she was insensible to nice 
 little presents, or that she was not in constant 
 need of money. Her hatred of every curb to 
 her luxurious caprices, and her prodigality, 
 drew her into expenses which astonished the 
 Court. Whitehall wondered at the fineness 
 of her cambric shifts ; at her smocks and 
 linen petticoats frilled with the richest lace, and 
 at her costly furniture and plate. But an 
 ambassador could not rely on her support, 
 because she gave herself up completely to the 
 passion of the moment, whether it was an 
 amorous one or arose from ardent rivalry with 
 some other lady of the Court. Her quarrels 
 with the beauties of easy virtue who sur- 
 rounded Charles H. were as much (if not more) 
 
 ^ April 23, 1669. 
 
24 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 the object of deep concern to the King of 
 France, as the mihtary evolutions of Turenne 
 an ' Conde. A war with England depended 
 
 ^^- ^ iUiiii ,ur of an actress -r a bedchamber 
 
 w , 
 
 iin, 
 
 I : 
 
 Til- Tr 
 
 
 ■■ ■'- ^' - 'ins ( 
 
 i 
 
 ■' [ \v. 
 
 t 1 1 ■ 
 
 ( )i i '' 
 
 1 1 
 
 aaese 
 
 iie 
 
 the 
 
 i^^-'l^ 11 \'nll W-t'Tr: to 
 
 '- i L w (j:ii( i I >ira<e 
 
 1 
 
 ,-!■ 
 
 1 ' tli:it iiaiiiiL'ii 
 
 e 
 
 "' ^'''- P'''\''^t'-- l'''- '"" til.- ki„,^- ,,r ]-.n,^l,ind, Mv\ 
 in what is known as \\v_ inn..,- circi,- of his 
 ^""'■'•" ^ "--^s ynu havr not," rotiirn-jd M. de 
 ^■""'"f-^''' "ih'-'"L:!it ami^,^ tliat I should kcx-;. 
 you infonned about the squaljld..>s of thes,:- 
 ladies, which are often as much a cause of deej. 
 concern to the Kin.i^ of En-huid as the most 
 serious business, I shall continue to write about 
 them." "I have," wrote Louis XIV, him.elf 
 to M. Colbert de Crois.y,^ - Iieard read with 
 great pleasure the curioLrs details xovx have 
 written to M. de Lionne about tlie' intrigues 
 Ol the Kn-lish Court, and tlu: broils of'^^th,' 
 ladies who are tlie cliief person:i-cs there." 
 
 .^'^' '^^1 - ■■^' I • i 1 V . , i I ; :, n 
 
 - ^^'^-^> :.i Jamicr, nva;. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV, 2$ 
 
 *' I shall take more pains than ever," replied 
 Colbert,^ to ascertain what croes on amono^ the 
 ladies, since you do not think it beneath you 
 to show ail interest in their quarrels, and the 
 kinc>" himself deien:^ 
 those Jit tie affiirs. 
 
 .u W 
 
 :\\ 
 
 iane"e; 
 
 C 
 
 Th -^-.^X 
 
 I. ! . 1 ! i 
 
 L, (-> 
 
 \\ i. a 
 
 to nialvt: a iresli |jiaa>ent to aljiiain Ca^o-ariaau-. 
 He sa\-a "1 have i^ivaai awa\- ali triar I 
 brou-Iit from France, not cxccptini^- the skirts 
 and smocks made up for my willr and I have 
 not mone)' enougli to go on at this rate. Xor 
 do I see the use of going to much expense, in 
 satisfxmii'- the c^recd of the women here for 
 rich keepsakes. The king often sa\-s,'' that the 
 only woman who has reallv a hold on him, 
 is his sister, the Duchess of Orleans. If hand- 
 some gifts are lavished on Madam Castlemaine, 
 his majesty may think that, in spite of his 
 assertions to the contrary, we fancy that she 
 rules him, and take it in bad part. I sliould 
 tlierefore advise giving her only sucJi trifling 
 tokens as a pair of h^rench glo\-es, ribanals, a 
 
 M-, 
 
 ■{/Ki/rcj /:/r{7;/xyres^ i.} J^ai., 1669. 
 - /'a/,, 7 ]-'c\Ticr, I ('}()(). 
 '^ liiJ., 14 l-cvricr, 1069. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 i 
 
20 
 
 Zu (17.^7. DL KLROUALLE, 
 
 >.-5 
 
 ct> 
 
 vjwn, or suinc litUt' of.iCi:t (jf 
 
 ^^ 7r:ivcr matter than bcdiz-niiViiH flir 
 ^Li7a:M Castleni.iine was d.-alt wiiii, at tins 
 juncture, in the cr,nx'S|u_)!KJt.!nc(: of M. CrJ!)('rt 
 "^^ Cnus.y. He wa. struck with the madness 
 ^^ ^'' ^^^^l-^ o^' Hn-Iand's mannrr, liis constant 
 '^;i^^''-^^i'>'^^ and his aversion t(j cIku ahnut 
 IcuroiMjan alLiirs, wiiich usimI to l;e one <_,r ].;, 
 ^^^^■'"^^^■^^^ topics.- -The -luuin which tiie 
 kni-'s lace and manner betray lias h(!(;n sucli, 
 that it was im[)ossii)ie not to feel there was 
 some -reat catise for it. After seeking- un all 
 side^ for a rea^^on, I discovered tliat it s|irane 
 from an amotir with a youn- -irl m Mada 
 Castkenaines hoiisehekJ, whosc^ o-i-nre at.n 
 beaut\- made, when she served Vm.: kin-, the 
 '^^d'^'y-^i'^n that mi-dit l;e expected on a lahnce 
 
 As she tlioueht it iier 
 
 1 
 
 \\aaj IS fond oi 
 
 iian 
 
 1 c. 
 
 dut\- not to Stand out ac^ainst his desire, her 
 mistress was so vexed, tiiat she turned Iter into 
 the street at midnight. But this amour does 
 not [)revent Madam Castlemaine from beini; as 
 powerful as ever." 
 
 This present was sent by tiie minister C(7i)crt, on May 
 S, iG(j'). 
 
 - ( 
 
 ^'-'1, ert de Crois^v a 17 
 
 ^> tevncr, 
 
 ue.9. 
 
 •v 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIl\ 27 
 
 Barbar.. Villier^ IkilI ah"ea(l\' been tie: 'Jciim 
 
 of her f^mcv to be siirrouniUjii b\* the hand- 
 
 )uld \\\\d. Idle mu:-L adu^ 
 
 soniest 7 a niseis sue couiu wwkA. 
 
 lateil L't-autieD wiTC eiad to be in her trahi. ddie 
 
 pPeU 
 e 
 
 .ad\- ^sand\\aidl liumld)- spok 
 
 i" e* 1 
 
 7 nareaia 
 
 ;l^ iiia 
 
 r ( )\]>-f]\ 
 
 > e a u lA . 
 
 AhiJani Ca-tkaieiine 
 
 had alsn anejre,( her maids of himnur rra!u7;s 
 Stuart, knewn cis the lieautiml Miss Stuart, 
 whom hiie (jfien kei>t to sle'jp in her rrMene> 
 at Wdntehall, and shi^htini^l)- spoke (7 as ieu' 
 little Stuartd The kiriL:-, who seldi-m fuh-vl to 
 visit leiricira before she L70t u') in tiir; mundng, 
 saw Mi-s Stuart in the bed beside her. It was 
 
 reater ]jeaut\" and more 
 than were to l)e f(:)und in this you UT- 
 AH hi;r ieatures were ol ])erleCL 
 
 not po::5:^u_;ie to uuite 
 
 1 1 
 
 c! unless 
 
 )e it 
 
 
 s 
 
 was of an tcect carnaeo. ano 
 
 ;d)o\'e the common heieht, \\ e stnl ari- :d7e 
 
 to 
 
 I -* 
 
 .;' e ' K) 
 
 )f the (drecian reeadaritx' ol her \a-aL 
 
 '" e . 
 
 and ot liu. 
 
 OlltiUU, 
 
 s 
 
 oi iier lieiire. wnicli wa'uia 
 
 1 1 
 
 ]y.X\Q beiai faultless. w< 
 
 'ere hei' waist less iiieh 
 and her carriai^e less sthi'' Miss Stuart served 
 
 ^ riaae. July 20, 1 (n>2, 
 
 ^ I7.i>v-, March 2^, 1663; IIA^maoN: JA///t/ov 7c 
 C riVJU'fil. 
 
 ■' RtUitici! d'AiKUfLrrc, AIS. /e'/a Nat., I-\ >:.h C^i^rt, 
 4;h. 
 
 11' 
 
 S2 \ 
 
 lllv u 
 
li 
 
 23 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 :is a nv 
 
 'A r 
 
 
 R( 
 
 Hritannia which is on the 
 
 I^i.^icLud. 1 11- ciigraver, 
 r; roduced h r on the 
 
 h:. 
 
 1 ! 
 
 o ■ ■ 
 
 i t L 1 
 
 t'ff'i--\'. I'n',: fa 
 
 
 
 ti 1 
 
 an 
 
 aiii:.*: 
 
 '^^r, 
 
 calling oa her, begged her a-^ r 
 
 < t 
 
 w 
 
 !o 
 
 IS successors have copied her 
 
 an-1 fnrm. of M'.^; ^tuart are 
 L \aidel\ ivaLaaai of any beauty 
 .^Dhe had," 2 g^id a diploma- 
 tic despatala "a iag so admirabla anpcJ th.t 
 
 arriving In 1 r gland and 
 
 avonr to let 
 him see alnirKt up to laa- knee, so as t... i ^. able 
 f, . .-,-;».^ r.-, a: ........ . , ,- . , , , 
 
 ^^^^-'i -'''^"-- til- i..arfection of la-r aaf and 
 Mi^- Mat wa^ not rapacious. She 
 a'istied waa a jiension of /'700 a year, 
 ^^^ ■ ' - ;■ ira.s granted her, and only asked him 
 t-r ^6000 v.aa;ii of jewels when she was 
 
 ^ The three brothers Rothier were French, and were em- 
 ployed to design medals at the English mint, from 1661. See 
 Redington's Calendar of Treasury Papers, preface, p. 1 6. The 
 tv.u ) jungest, Joseph and Philip, took the direction of the 
 Paris and Brussels mints; John, the eldest, remained alone 
 in England. II. lost his right hand in 1689, and was 
 replaced by his son James. 
 
 2 Relation d' Angleterre, MS. Affaires Etranghes, tome 
 cxxxvii., fol. 400. 
 
 3 Ibid. 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 29 
 
 engaged to be married a) the Duke of Rich- 
 mond, whom slie persuaded that, notwithstand- 
 ing her four years' intimacy uaui liia king and 
 T rii ' a Lastiemaine, she was as virtuous as no 
 nuiLa r what pure English girl.^ She went on 
 receiving the king's visits after her marriage. 
 iitii he only called on her at ra^ht, and un- 
 attended by his gentlemen, a ])y an escort. 
 ''Sometimes iie btole down the nver stairs at 
 Somerset House, and sculled himself in a punt 
 to Richmond House, landing beneath a low 
 wall which he climbed over." The French 
 ambassador was not so unaccustomed to the 
 manners of the Court 01 Imorland as to think 
 tlaat a middle-aged king who acted thus was a 
 disgrace to monarchy. The lovely btuart was 
 destined to be arrayed among the enemies of 
 Louise Keroualle, pitted with smallpox and 
 blind of an eye.^ 
 
 In the Cytherean anarchy which preceded 
 the reign of Louise Karoualle, the woman in 
 whom she was to find her most formidable 
 rival began to fix attention. She was an 
 orange girl of such a finely-wrought physique 
 
 1 Pepys, April, 1667. 
 
 2 She was a widow in 1672, and died in 1702. 
 
%o 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 aiiu t 
 
 
 ii(.-r 
 
 tha: rofessiona! \\o.:, to which sh- was reared, 
 
 '^'}' "^^"'^ '-^niardship (;<-:.:M laa -.;,.,;] her 
 
 ^vai\' ail:! prett}', haa a cainac L;\:nuis, L;race, 
 
 bra:-s, rnaaii ; and, ali^-'t '-n^dnat rn-;] 
 
 t^'^^;;'^^^- ^vas cattina. 1 i-r a ^aiv - ^ 
 
 ^--d^-i^K' leaiinia^,: tiail >:a' C(nu.i w^a^- niaa's 
 
 c^^-^^!^-^ vaui advantage. >:u: laid fIm- naan ihc 
 
 lat ui the Kiaj's T]u;atr-, ia wia^ai s!a- :.^a,i 
 
 ^-'^"^-^^^■■^- '-^ ^^^^-^ ^t^^^;'^-. ^^nd Jr-w ah ira- Id aaa 
 i^^ i-h^: '"Xhu-arirs nf hd-ra," hi v -d^-d j,,. ,>.^._ 
 
 V » 1 1 .~> ;-) I > 
 
 T >1 
 
 O 
 
 ( )::Mr- 
 
 }uaa.4 
 
 5 J 
 
 in wliich sha vai-, ■' I 
 
 .M aa 
 
 ^^ '■■ 
 
 a 
 
 gay 
 
 ■ ' ^ - I V , c 1 i i i. 
 
 a ^"11 
 
 >f 
 
 ..r 
 
 
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 ijaaca. A.inauaa^- m a 
 brainnu-' ^ '^ '^ * ■ 
 \\ ci.'^i a 
 
 Cuart. 
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 ( 1 ' J P i'" ' r 'i ^- - I I ►• i 
 
 bi iii Ui t^iu,a^jLl^] \ I 
 
 \viK)ai bha cah-^- 
 
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 t - > 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 a 
 
 ^ da' n a;i ! i \ 
 
 i I 
 
 ^■^-^ ^'i-i'" aa:^ aiayan, aiiu bile 
 "' '^'' - d In the over-raked 
 
 :-<iia \\\i-^, i t 'was s; I 
 
 I show. i\e 
 
 \ I ^.-^ ■ '• ♦ a I 
 
 ^ ' * ^ » v^ i. » 4 • . , 1 
 
 C t iw. t * 
 
 kin 
 
 a 
 
 ^r i.i ' 
 
 \' 
 
 pany, ^\-a,a.waa 
 to C 
 
 1 ■■ 8' . 
 
 r Charles Id'; Ida: ihe 
 :r -^ diaades II.": aa \ the 
 ^^'h Rowley." Inhercom- 
 
 d soundness had remained 
 1 ii a ill got emas- 
 
 v^ it,^ i w , 
 
 1/ 
 
 E.VGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. -i 
 
 culated from his own vices and pleasurable 
 
 aaa ais. Italian 
 
 ^_-' L i i. L ( 
 
 Vices of a 
 
 'aaiaari:; came to aira.; a.. 
 
 caaaanjia The wiih.* ^n 
 a . ? , -a , " a a ^. .. ." ^ ^ 
 
 »■■ I- -'»..-.. . » i i . i i i 4 '- .' i i i L t i ',. I. L L 1 '.. . r> 
 
 I laLaa. :-a ana «.)a 
 1 a. u )n r(); ra ^aaua 
 oaa (^r aa 
 
 ana \n ai- orreen 
 
 ■Asih' dj\\"\aaa dr^nr 
 
 ^^"■■-^•^^s. 1 i w ia-cparable 
 
 :^ aia oi ^aa^^aada'. , was 
 ^'^'■'■^'i happily-o-ifttjci^ an^ 
 
 1 1 1 i 1 i .• 
 J i 1 1 1 i -> 
 
 I '. --. 
 
 a.icable, aian of the |)ara.,H..h- - 
 
 .Buckinorhaai Wa:. a^ NddL.d 
 wnnian as in gaining ^i ;Ma.a.da,r r 
 
 wa:- laaraad a,.) a. niece \A. k^aoww 
 tr'Uiijled his head 4dK -ai iaa- i 
 
 \'-\. \\\ 
 
 ! I 
 
 (1 
 
 f 
 
 i "^educino: a 
 
 -^•aa=ly. He 
 hi. \)\\i never 
 ^ to wish lui 
 
 'I.. ^''^^^Lu. ^.v.)aau. a..^ anUf.ataka ncj matt^r 
 
 -it • ■:•; , f 
 
 aiCii j j»,iati: to 
 
 a I 
 
 J i i 
 
 ^^--■'^^^^"-- ^"^ ^^- creduloa- naih charlatans, 
 tu ^raal thoughts, ^aiach,,, ui^.olcnt, aad 
 >iave of each whim th^a aHd !iis fancy. 
 
 ^i'a;i^t( :a. who was 
 
 aMit 
 
 i f * 
 
 aa::aa 
 
 entirely on 
 
 (.)ai nt natred lu hi:^ ]i\aih 
 ^'nat.:a ha Saaaa aa threw 
 Lar h ranch side. 
 
 Arlington and Buckingham thouq-ht alike on 
 una poait only. They waa- in ai afraid of the 
 ntnra a' Clarendoia whom aa a Cabal had 
 aaai..a. '-^iraa^aon is j, >■-],] .S iuxury and 
 
 • 
 
I 
 
 «' 
 
 32 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 :U."- wrote I\I. de Croissy. "If he 
 
 WOulli \\:i\y: to !i\'C >a\ 
 
 with Spain, he 
 
 i I ]i a- the mark 
 
 
 i ( ):-^ > 
 
 u: . 
 
 Tin- 
 
 ' 1 > 
 
 i 1 C cl i , i i * , 
 
 Cs J \'','r-~i 
 
 i K. I L 1 L i 
 
 
 I ozenge- 
 
 
 
 So f^ir from beinQ^ a 
 
 »» 5 
 
 scr:')U:^no<-^ i jreipfn to liw natore."^ The M 
 
 ( 
 
 . V L. •. I 
 
 i '- ' ■'■' 
 
 the d'-\ i! u ) M 
 
 I , . a.- . ; < .• 1 L 
 
 a- -a it who :.cr 
 tioj lo-caiLO Ci 
 
 T P^ 't ( r ■ ■ ) V, n • 
 t »"""! •■ a ' -: T^ 1 ' ' '1 
 
 t ; 
 
 
 Lourt ui \ cr~ 
 
 ilil sell his soul to 
 " 3 
 
 ioii^lisli n':)blemcn laul .ui 
 
 !a-> ao.(,::-f-sts at 
 
 la, -a a 
 
 ' a ' 
 
 a aa , accent was one 
 
 
 -ping T.nndnn 
 
 \\ ■ 
 
 
 n"i 
 
 > i« a rM 
 
 1 Aaamgton, 
 
 ua.i c!o--nioathed. Louis 
 XI \, \'.\i~, aot i^a'-iaiai 01 tiuor political rela- 
 taja^, and tiius si-'d'' mT tao'ai ai an autograph 
 
 ion for 
 
 
 ( ',- 
 
 i Ui.:^:::;^ 
 
 ■) 
 
 Idnd; 
 
 
 aa^Mu for Arlington his 
 
 1 Rtlatmi d: Afigleterre. MS. BibL Nat., Fonds Colbert, 478. 
 
 2 Ruvigny a Pomponne. MS. 4^ Etr.^ Angleterre, tome 
 cxvii. fbl. ^ " X V. 4, I .; ^. 
 
 2 I, R'-^i k Colbert de Croi?'=y. Ibid., tome xciii. fol. 
 
 i^j. N ... 7. 166S. 
 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 33 
 
 master, tr^' to make you believe they can soon 
 bring about a close union between me and the 
 
 ;:^ o! aaicdand, provided ^-o:} aha, aa,^^ tioar 
 
 1 V 
 
 i I. I i \ 
 
 O 
 
 longer 
 
 Chancellor 
 
 1 from t'xile. Aidaigtoa does not act 
 
 luVvaiaa^ me la a wa 
 arait:ra.;;aa;<- kA iais niikience. 
 aadxe both one ;.uaa. 
 
 ke nic desire liie 
 
 \ 
 
 na 
 
 in- 
 
 00 a 
 
 1 t i 
 
 to 
 
 aic re- 
 
 aai^ f die said Chanceiita possible, and even 
 
 oiwiiaa!'.', a' 1 -ai^o.^ri iOia. li dicv enrare to 
 t lioLL lie union between me and their kinq-, 
 \(M\ caai ^'ive all da.* ^areties thev ask, daa, i 
 wdl make use ot .an maaas they suggest to 
 block rvor\' road b\' wldcli (dLirtoidon can c^n 
 back. La i see very well thai 1 shall make 
 no real progress so lon^ as I h.avo not gained 
 the Duke and Arlington by forwarding their 
 separate interests. If aach has a strong motive 
 lielping iiic, i;a \ wid both, however ihcy 
 
 i 'J 
 
 !]ai\ detest each other, plot for a common ob- 
 ject. Hints nay be held out to Leyton and 
 Williamson, that they are to receive some 
 gifts from me, I prefer thai ii should be in 
 money. When ihey have received payment 
 of tld^ kind. T shall \\\ a deo^ree have the ad- 
 vantage of them ; and it seems to me, that 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OE LOUIS XIV. 35 
 
 1 r\ ' 1 
 
 I. 
 th 
 
 1 
 
 1.. 
 
 4I, 
 
 ihey are thus in my power, you can 
 dancr^T use plain speech w'tli tli- m 
 :;: i:ii\\ \. ...a ..nis should be offered 10 
 tv-o agents, a^ well as tn the Duke and 1) 
 i Ainii^t n. The affair is so iiiiportant 
 I a:n wiiiing to make any sacrifice of 
 money, provided that payment c»i the crross 
 amount is stayed, until after the blow is struck." 
 Leyton did not stand out for a hio-h price. 
 He was bou^^i lor four hundred pistoles. 
 "R'it,"said Louis in another autograph letter,^ 
 *' do iiui >in.) ,a i...x^ a more is wanted. 
 Seeing how irresolute the Kine of Kneland 
 is, do not neglect to gain Arlington. T would 
 willingly spend on him twenty thousand gold 
 pieces. 1 uu must take care not to frighten 
 the king by letting him feel that I am seeking 
 to draw him into a war with Holland." 
 
 Williamson - remained incorruptible. Ley- 
 ton, on tli^^ contrary, came to France ta^ pay 
 hi^ c-.L u. L .a... "I have treated him 
 (rdgale) tn a ring wortli four hundred pistoles,"^ 
 
 1 MS. Aff. Etr., Angleterre, Le Rot a Colbert, Nov. 24 
 166S. 
 
 - Letter of Nov. 28, 1668. 
 
 ^ Le Roi Lv C Ibert, Dec. 12, 1668. This was an extra 
 present. 
 
 wrote that sovereign, *' and admitted him to 
 converse twice with me." Some months later 
 he was granted a French pension of three 
 hundred jacobus and the promise of a hand- 
 some present. '' We know," remarked the 
 French ambassador m a despatch to Lionne, 
 "what a knave he is.^ Nevertheless, he is 
 active, pushing, and intriguing : and as he has 
 the ear of the king, rubs shoulders with the 
 highest men at Court, and is a leading member 
 of the Merchant Taylors' Company and of the 
 Corporation of the City of London, I believe 
 he can keep us well informed." So his Most 
 Christian Majesty went on granting him au- 
 diences and treating him as a person of rare 
 distinction. 
 
 Louis did not wholly trust to the tw^o great 
 members of the Cabal. He worked many 
 other secret springs with which Charles was 
 surrounded. He had notoriously with him 
 the famous Samuel Morland, and found an 
 agent in every Frenchman settled in London. 
 
 Lionne was instructed by Colbert de Croissy 
 never to mention Morland's name, but to speak 
 
 1 Leitre ihi 27 Mars, 1669, tome xciv., fol. 287. 
 
 2 Lettre du 25 Fev., 1669, ibid,, tome xciv. 
 
36 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ' 
 
 c: him as ''our secret manawr." ^ Morland 
 was a scholar and scientist, who ruined himself 
 m ir\-incr i^> wori: ;n^ ::;\ niions, and Uicii re- 
 sorted [.) iVaudulent expedient lo get out of 
 trouble. Uiie of liis inventions was the parent 
 t f ihe steam engine. He constructed m Iraulic 
 wheels, curious]}/ combined. When secretary 
 b rhurlow, the chief minister ^a Lruiiuvell he 
 got hold of ^late secrets, and with so much art 
 and secresy delivered them to the banished 
 Stuarts, that the Englishmen who shared their 
 exile were astounded when he was one of the 
 first to present himself to Charles II. on his 
 restoration, and to be knighted by him. He 
 was overwhelmed with places and pensions, 
 an<l being unable to ask for more at Whitehall, 
 he intrigued for the King of France. His 
 wife, Susan de Milleville, was French. He 
 sold his pensions and privileges to build a 
 chateau in France, and the chateau to pursue 
 ins scientific and industrial experiments. When 
 a widower, and ruined, he was harassed by 
 creditors. An adventure then befell him more 
 incredible than any that was ever invented by 
 
 1 Lionnea Colbert, 26 Aofii, 1668, tome xciii., fol. 94. 
 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 37 
 
 an author of the romances of his day.^ A man 
 whom in the heyday of prosperity he had 
 saved from hunger came 10 propose to him a 
 marriage which would relieve him from his 
 embarrassments. *' A lady, virtuous, pious, of 
 an amiable disposition, having an estate of 
 ^500 a year, /'4,ooo in gold, and furniture, 
 plate, and jewels," was prepared to take him 
 for her husband. - He married her, and a 
 fortnight later discovered that she had not a 
 shilling, was a coachman's daughter, and would 
 in a few months give the king another subject. 
 Morland brought a suit in the Ecclesiastical 
 Court to set aside the marriage, but lost it. 
 His creditors pursuing him, he did not dare to 
 quit the lodging where he was hiding. On the 
 advice of a Nonconformist minister, he was eoinor 
 to be reconciled to his wife, when he heard 
 that during the suit she lived with Sir Gilbert 
 Gerrard. So he attacked her for adultery, ob- 
 tained a divorce, and married a third time.^ 
 
 1 See Defoe's A/o/l of Flanders and Smollett's Roderick 
 Random. There are letters of Morland, in his Appendix 
 to Pepys' Diary. 
 
 2 A quay in Paris is still called after Morland, in whose 
 fertile brain the idea first originated of raising water to the 
 royal gardens at Marly by means of the great hydraulic 
 wheel on the Seine. 
 
 
n 
 
 38 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Real life was reflected in the plays and 
 novels which show that in Tiigland, under 
 the reign of Charles II., depravitv was uni- 
 versal. It is only just to condemn the profli- 
 gacy of the Court, but It would be ridiculous 
 to ignore it. Indeed, lu understand the history 
 of European politics in the second half <A the 
 seventeenth centur\, ic is necessarx lo discard 
 all prudery, and to unveil the private lives of 
 Charles and his courtiers. These dishonoured 
 dead will teach no useful lesson if we do not 
 study the vices and the passions to which they 
 were the slaves when living. ii !:> vv-a ihe 
 business of the historian to *!voke unsubstantial 
 phantom:^ un a fancifully-decorated stage, b it 
 h-j raise bodies from the grave, ni i- • them 
 acfain t!v- temples ^i the souls vv;i:.!i iiave 
 iii,>\v;i ir^rn them, \^:v:^:. trit-in in the surround- 
 Hi-s in which they lived, and a n dyse their 
 hidden ni jtives, good, bad, an i indilierent. 
 
 
 \- 
 
 • ( ! 
 
 The FrencV 
 
 men i n t <. ^ ; ^ . '.,.,■ i > , c • - n l 1 «. i :~) 1. 1 ^ vi 
 Nctable aiin^nn" th 
 
 V,- 
 
 * V i t 1 1 
 
 
 9 
 
 ( i 1 
 
 Lil:3uIiCll'Ju, \\a^ 
 
 -Iv"' prnnr'pfi- nf 
 
 the English. 
 at I \ remont, a 
 
 \\.x'l laaiaiLu ihe 
 
 cil 
 
 (a 
 
 th'- .ar'-ai I'wnde, and wia.) is 
 bcred a^ <:ii\ eleernai writer and 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV, 39 
 
 an epicurean wit. He was disgraced after the 
 battle of the Pyrenees, and retired to London, 
 where his tact, the dignity of his life, and the 
 charm of Iii^ mind and conversation assured 
 him an important place. He devoted all his 
 advantages to the consolidation of the French 
 alliance, and lo the procuring of valuable in- 
 formation for the ambassadors of Louis XL/. 
 His company was sought for by men ui in- 
 tellect, birtla. md position.^ The venerable 
 Marquis de Rouvigny, father- indaw of Lord 
 William Russell, and head of the Lrench 
 Protestants in England, passed several months 
 in London every year, and was universally 
 respected. Louis XL/., observing the esteem 
 in which he was held, eventually utilized him 
 in his diplomacy. The most nois} nf these 
 Frpuchmeu, aPi 1, thanks to the chef d'ceicvre 
 ot Hamilton, the most celebrated, was the 
 Chevalier da * aamont. 
 
 i 11' 1 rencli ui London were nearly all con- 
 nected wail iJa- Cuaia. The few tradespeople 
 had also .1 pecial aifluence, by which 1. a*s 
 knew hfav a. ^ nrofit. A Paris riilHner,^ Madame 
 
 ^ Saint Simon. Evelyn. 
 
 2 Evelyn: Diary ^ March a a^j 
 
•SBSS^ssss: 
 
 
 40 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Desborde, oroverned Oueen Catherine. She 
 decided with sovereign authority in all that 
 related to petticoats, smocks, laces, stomachers, 
 fans, frills, furbelows, and other French baga- 
 telles for ladies' wear. The wine merchant to 
 the kinor was a M de Pontac,^ of Chateau 
 Pontac and Chateau O'Brien, in the Gironde, 
 a Gascon whose high spirits and voluble tongue 
 amused the silent Encrlish, while the wine de- 
 canter, at after-dinner bouts, was being passed 
 round the table. 
 
 But these diplomatic threads, which were 
 woven into a web by such a powerful will, 
 rotted as time flew on. Charles was always 
 promising to join with France against Kurope, 
 and was always ready to join with Holland 
 against France. Every month that sped weak- 
 ened the secret springs which Louis directed, 
 and new combinations had to be resorted to. 
 In tlie first nine years of his reign Charles II. 
 had twice abandoned Louis Xi\ } There was 
 nothing in the situation of England to impose 
 r 11 him a French alliance. On the contrary, 
 
 1 Evelyn: Diary, July 13, 16S3. 
 
 - See MiGNON : Nc^ociatious relatives ct la Succession 
 (TEspagne ; and Camille Rousset : Elistoire de Louvois. 
 
 % 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 41 
 
 the interests of his people and a care for his 
 popularity should have made him resist Louis's 
 attempts to seize on the mouths of the Scheldt 
 and Rhine. His chancrinof humour and his 
 duty both drew him from the French king, 
 who, to soften the animosity of the English 
 and give a sop to their traders, devised a sham 
 treaty which would lead them to hope /or many 
 commercial advantages. Colbert de Croissy, 
 the Intendant of Paris, was charged, in July, 
 1668, to negotiate this instrument, the basis of 
 which was drawn up in the king's handwriting. 
 *' The negotiations confided to you are the 
 most important of all Europe,"^ said the minis- 
 ter Colbert, in a memorandum addressed to 
 his brother the ambassador.^ '' The treaty of 
 commerce is only to throw dust in the eyes 
 of the trading class in England ; and you are 
 to make it drag under all the pretexts which 
 
 ^ MS. Affaires Eirangeres, 14 Septembre, 1668. 
 
 2 From October i, 1668, the French who went to Eng- 
 land affected a deep interest in horse-racing, and were re- 
 ported to know nothing about it. The brilliant de Gramont 
 had 10 eye for a good horse, if w^e can believe Algernon 
 Sydney. " He's such a proud ass that he neither knows 
 what's good and won't believe any one else." See, also, 
 Algernon Sydney's letters to Henry Saville. 
 
 N> 
 
42 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 I' 
 
 may suggest themselves to you. It should 
 also afford you pretexts and occasions to 
 strengthen political ties, and widen your rela- 
 tions with political men." When Charles II 
 went to Newmarket, Lionne wrote to Colbert 
 de Croissy : ^ '' Were I m yotir place, I shotdd 
 also set Old in Izoo or three days? so as to have 
 an excuse 'for settling all when you come 
 back ; ' but I should never go away, finding 
 always some pretext for staying, such as a cold 
 or an attack of illness in the house." 
 
 After long searching for an ao-ent who mio-ht 
 be able to hold the volatile Charles, Louis, in 
 1668, at length thought he had found the man 
 he wanted. It .vas at the time that Charles 
 usually went t Xewmarket. The King of 
 France noticed this passage in one of his 
 ambassador's gossipping letters : '' The ^^\x\g of 
 England, who is so inconstant in most things, 
 shows in one respect fixity of application. 
 Come what may, he spends daily a part of his 
 
 ^ Lionne ct Colbert, 23 Fcvrier, 1669. 
 
 2 The italics are in the original. As the secretaries of 
 Louis Quatorze were clear in their instructions, and assumed 
 intelligent attention on the part of their agents, they only 
 underlined when there was not time for the latter to give 
 mature consideration to despatches. ( Translator's Note.) 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XJV. 43 
 
 I 
 
 if 
 
 1. 
 
 time in a laboratory making chemical experi- 
 ments." Since the attempt to govern him 
 through Madam Castlemaine had not sue- 
 ceeded, why not try to manage him through 
 the laboratory for which he clearly had a 
 passion ? At this juncture Louis had at his 
 call an Italian monk, named Pregnani, who 
 dazzled the Electress of Bavaria with his know- 
 ledge of judicial astrology. After taking him 
 from his convent she recommended him to the 
 King of France, whom she asked to get him 
 made an abbe.^ '' He understands," wrote her 
 Serene Highness, ** how to blow a bellows and 
 use crucibles according to the rules of alchemy, 
 has infinite cleverness, marvellous suppleness 
 and dexterity in attaining his ends." But how 
 brine Preenani into the Court circle without 
 exciting suspicion? The vehicle chosen was the 
 Duke of Monmouth, the eldest of the King's 
 bastards, who was weak-minded and credulous, 
 and the best-beloved son of his Royal sire. At 
 a supper where he met different members of the 
 French embassy, his curiosity was adroitly ex- 
 cited by tales of the wonderful transmutations 
 Pregnani could operate, and the horoscopes 
 
 1 Lionne d. Colbert, 23 Fevrier, 1669. 
 
 f 
 I ' 
 
44 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE POLICY OF LOUIS XIV. 4: 
 
 \\ 
 
 .he cast. Monmouth secretly wished to know 
 whether the heavenly bodies favoured his pre- 
 tensions to the Crown of Endand. He invited 
 Pregnani to London. The abbe hastened there. 
 He went at night to see Colbert de Croissy; for 
 Louis XIV., whose sense of what he owed to 
 the dignity of the crown he wore never failed 
 him, in the midst of the lowest intrieues, was 
 half-ashamed to be in any degree represented 
 by a charlatan, and wished the mission to re- 
 main secret. The abbe Pregnani followed the 
 Court to Newmarket.^ The means which he 
 made use of to arouse the interest of the kino- 
 and fix his attention, were very droll. The 
 Duke of Monmouth beinor in love with a o\x\ of 
 some beauty, to whom he thought the kino- his 
 father, and his uncle, the Duke of York, were 
 both making advances, had the curiosity to ask 
 the abbe which of the three would obtain her 
 the first. The soothsayer, without havino- seen 
 her, described her face, her humour and in- 
 clinations, and said what her past was and 
 V h - her future would be. He was so circum- 
 stantial that the king was informed of the 
 matter by the duke, and wished to have his 
 
 1 Colbert a Lionne, iS Af a rs, 1669. 
 
 'P 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 own horoscope drawn. The abbe was com- 
 manded to meet the king's desire by fetching 
 his astrological books to Newmarket. '* Such, 
 Monsieur, is the beginning of the business. If 
 it ends well, I shall apprise you ; and I believe 
 I shall have queer things to tell you of before 
 lono^." 
 
 The cunning Italian ^ was able, without re- 
 ferring to his books, to read the disposition of 
 Charles ; but he was careful to hide his game, 
 and took nobody, unless Colbert de Croissy, 
 into his confidence. 
 
 "He (the abbe) does not think much of the 
 King of England's mind, which he says is 
 prone to busy itself with amusing trifles, to 
 the exclusion of what is serious. He has an 
 unconquerable aversion to sustained effort, and 
 recoils from every sort of business. The abbe, 
 however, hopes that he will be able to over- 
 come his taste for mental trifling and to brine 
 him to take a good resolution by forecasting in 
 his horoscope impending disasters. I wish I 
 could be confident on this point, because the 
 king said to me, on arriving from Newmarket, 
 that the abbe's predictions about the races 
 
 ^ Colbert a Lionne^ i Avj'il, 1669. 
 
 il 
 
 '0 
 
46 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 fij 
 
 fhere were wrong in every single case ; and 
 that his errors had caused great loss to the 
 P ike of - 1 ninouth's servants, who re<iulated 
 their bets according to his forecasts. Certain 
 gain had been ■ romised t^ them all. The 
 King of England has since puzzled the abbe 
 about his misleading prognostics ; but as his 
 majesty's curiosity is great, perhaps he will 
 resort in private to what he affects to laugh 
 at in public/' 
 
 This unfortunate application of sorcery to 
 horse-racing caused the disgrace of the pre- 
 sumptuous abbe at Versailles. Lionne some 
 days later wrote : ^ ''As to the Pregnani, since 
 he has been unable to gain ground with the 
 king by his astrology and chemical tricks, it 
 is not probable that he can be of future use to 
 us. Take means to send him back to France, 
 where we can have him under finofer and 
 thumb. To prevent him refusing to leave 
 England, where he might get in our way, 
 affect to send him with a confidential message 
 to \''ersailles.'' 
 
 1 Lioniie a Colbert de Croissy, 4 Mai, 1669. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTE. 
 
 The Duke of Buckingham alone suspected 
 that an intrigue was hidden beneath the as- 
 trologer's predictions. But he was far from 
 supposing that Louis XIV., Colbert, and 
 Lionne were mixed up with a low cunning 
 charlatan. What he thought was, that Hen- 
 rietta, or Henriette, Duchess of Orleans, was 
 afraid her hold on Charles might relax because 
 of her enforced absence from England, and 
 sought to maintain it by the agency of the 
 Italian priest. As Buckingham set up to be 
 her lover, and to govern the king vicariously 
 for her, he was angry at the fancied substi- 
 tution for him of the abbe. " She sends," he 
 complained to Leyton,^ '' a humbugging as- 
 trologer, who flatters himself that I am his 
 dupe in love and politics, and who makes me a 
 
 1 Colbert's despatch to Louis XIV. on March 14, 1669, 
 giving an account of a conversation with Leyton. 
 
 47 
 
 ► 
 
I 
 
 n 
 
 i: 
 
 48 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 lauo^hinof-stock for Monmouth and Hamilton." 
 
 'lie '>\\^o^-^.-:^ iC\ uif^ furv." added Colbert de 
 Cruissy, '' u\ d to enter; ismg gallant, who 
 i^ \ iX'jd .a nndinc^ himself an object ui mirth. 
 Pcrliaj.. ■. VAy; U:>i uunor i^ u" would be to 
 send ov^T M:iaanv.:^ hrTself, Lo keep alive her 
 Ln)ther.-, tenderness, and heal the wounded 
 v:init\- *f Buckingham which may breed hatred 
 \v. jiL i JVC wa:^, 1 he ambassador knew that 
 tk- Fn :■ kli Court kad been reflectinor r -] 
 the (xi'udiencv it brino^inor the influence of 
 Madam i k inette to bear upon her brother. 
 tmi : 'I ih 1 rmichmen \\ho was most often 
 ill t :-: u um (A 1 iiarles, the Marquis de Flam- 
 in runs, some mnntks previously had spoken 
 L about charging the Duchess of 
 mh a mission to Fno-land.^ 
 1 kan iette, youngest sister of Charles 
 W- an"! mif: af tk French king's only brother, 
 had tia. Lk^iiaaing liveliness of her grandfather. 
 
 1 : 
 
 to Coi 
 
 ijrkmns 
 
 ^ i ra' king's brother was, at the Court of Versailles, 
 give:: a.e ti:le of '• Monsieur," without any other qualifica- 
 tion. V. i.cn he was spoken of or spo^cen to. His wife was 
 " Madame." She was sometimes familiarly called Madame 
 H nriette, to distinguish her from the widow of Gaston, 
 Due d'Orleans, her aunt-in-law. {Translator's Note.) 
 
 - ATS. Aff. Ltr. Angleterrej vol. xciii., fol. 174. 
 
 
 1: 
 
 At 
 
 %i 
 
 if 
 If 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTE. 
 
 49 
 
 Henri IV. She was slender, white-skinned, 
 and delicate and small. The two kings \\« re 
 equally fond of ;ier. But hrr influonca with 
 Lvjih \v.a> the cause ui bitter aak violent 
 jealousies, and her intervention woa! 1 akv be 
 11 _* patent so a^ perhap- ij defeat its object. 
 Apart from the suspicions q\ Buckingham v'lio 
 kept Henriette informed, tlir a ai \\a confidant 
 Leyton,^ with what went on ai iinglan !, there 
 wab Ladv Castlemaine lu be hainaared. That 
 self-willed beauty hated H reign meddlers." 
 *' The Countess of Castlemaine," wrote Colbert 
 
 de Croissy to Louis, *M a given me in my 
 v/if^'s presence a piece of her mind on many 
 subjects, into which I propose to go for your 
 Majesty's information. This lady having said 
 that she had had a letter from Madame, who 
 advised her strongly to make up her quarrel 
 with Buckingham, and that she was puzzled 
 to think why Madame was so anxious for a 
 reconciliation, my wife observed that union 
 with France depended on the agreement of 
 all the favourites- with each other." ^ . 
 
 ^ Colbert to Lionne, relating conversations with Le} ton, 
 Feb. 13 and March 9, 1669. 
 ^ Despatch of Colbert to Lionne, May 13, 1669. 
 
 E 
 
 If 
 
 ■J 
 
i* 
 
 50 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTE, 
 
 51 
 
 r T 
 
 :iivl did n^-'", .1 
 to France, dai 
 
 it"i.ift)!'»l \\'~i 
 
 U>sUuii 
 
 n '■) . ' 
 
 an^er a 
 
 
 r nice, Buckingham and Lady 
 each their cares and troubles, 
 : ! r^c^naiM was shipped bark 
 10 show uiemselves exacting. 
 dominated by the C< iintess 
 \vu:naii ut .1 \iolent temper, 
 who had j t got into a dangerous scrape. 
 
 "Tnfr-itpd ao-ain.st Killeo:rew/' writes Col- 
 1 It .:r Lroissy/ ''because he boasted that 
 Iciiied him iiu favour, she nursed her 
 , -: : ii:;:i until she could wreak ven- 
 ce. She wa^ al>k^ to do this yesterday. 
 KiUr few laa arranged to visit her at her 
 house, which is six miles from London. He 
 went alone \\\ ^ coach, and on the way fell 
 asleep. He was awoke bv the thrust of a 
 sword which pierced his neck, and came out 
 ii tae shoulder. Before he could cry out, he 
 waa fluno- ir a the vehicle, and stabbed in 
 tai < :!a r places by varlets of the Countess. 
 The ii a herself looked on iroiu her own 
 cvM a and ^\\, a which she was with her three 
 dauo-jn •!-- and cried out to the assassins to 
 'kill la J \ aat a. Xor did she drive off unti^ 
 a va, uiought dead. He was but badly 
 1 Colbert to Lionne, AUy 20, 1669. 
 
 uuunded, and has sworn informations. You 
 may fancy the noise the attempt to murder 
 him causes, and the worry and anxiety of the 
 Duke of Buckingham, who is still passionately 
 in love with this virago, whose husband he 
 killed in a duel for having resisted her brow- 
 beatings." 
 
 As to Lady Castlemaine, she was not in such 
 a humour as the French ambassador, to laueh 
 at the *' buffooneries " of Nell Gwynn,^ or at 
 the pleasure the king took in them. The 
 orange girl had the charm of novelty ; and if 
 her tongue was coarse, her wit was elancin<>- 
 and her laughter was gay and stimulating to 
 the over- raked Charles. He could not help 
 yawning when he was with Lady Castlemaine ; 
 but his spirits rose in the company of the 
 jocular NelL 
 
 Charles suddenly made up his mind to have 
 an interview with his sister. He told Colbert 
 de Croissy^ that he passionately desired to see 
 and converse with her. '' I was greatly sur- 
 prised," adds the ambassador, ''at the intima- 
 tion and I lose no time in sending you an ex 
 
 ^ Colbert to Lionne, Nov. 17, 1669, and Jan. 26 670. 
 2 Colbert to Louis XIV., Jan. 2, 1670. 
 
52 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 press to say tliit this is a case, if ever there was 
 one, in which the iron should be hammered while 
 it is hot." The conditions which the King of 
 England hoped by his sister s advocacy to bring 
 Louis to ad' pt show more greed for money 
 than '^tatescraft. They were as follows : — 
 
 " i he leao^ue between the Kine of Great 
 Britain and the Most Christian Kine, shall be 
 so durable that nothing in the world shall 
 henceforth divide the^ir majesties. The King 
 of Great Britain being convinced of the truth 
 of the Catholic religion, and resolved to declare 
 himself ci Catholic, and to be reconciled to the 
 Church of Rome, believes that, for the fulfil- 
 ment of this design, the aid of the Most 
 Christian Kinor will be needed."^ 
 
 This was written in 1669, more than fifteen 
 years previous to the death of Charles II. ; 
 and during these fifteen years a prince so con- 
 vinced and resolved simulated the Protestant 
 faith, remained the protector of the Episcopal 
 Anglican Church, took part in its services and 
 ceremonies, and went on appointing bishops. 
 
 Charles also agreed to connive at the seiz- 
 ure i y i. .:- XI\\ of any countries which it 
 
 ' MS. Aff. Etr. Angkterre, tome xcv., fol. 235. 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTE. 
 
 53 
 
 
 might suit him to annex to his monarchy, 
 whether to the detriment of Spain or the 
 United Provinces. But, in return, Louis en- 
 gaged to pay him ;^200,ooo sterling, plus the 
 cost of any English troops engaged in helping 
 him. This cost was to be rated at a minimum 
 of ;^3 16^. a day per soldier, and ^800,000 a 
 month while the campaign lasted. The King 
 of France was to cede to England, out of the 
 common conquests, the Isle -^f Minorca ;ind 
 the port of Ostend, and all the countries and 
 strongholds in America under Spanish rule. 
 The king's nephew, the Prince ui Orange, was 
 to receive compensation for his losses, but in 
 what form was not stipulated. As the Senate 
 and Republic of Hamburg were bound by ties 
 of interest with the United Provinces, war was 
 to be declared on them." 
 
 These crude and incoherent proposals came 
 suddenly on Louis, who had been long study- 
 ing how to carry out the well elaborated 
 schemes of Mazarin, by securing the inaction of 
 England. ''The most odious of the clauses," 
 observed Colbert de Croissy,^ 'Ms the one bind- 
 ing us to attack Hamburg, without any given 
 
 ^ Colbert to the King of France, Dec. 19, 1669. 
 
54 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 1 1 
 
 1, 
 
 be tu loijiir^hu' bnru iiuwn i^ii cjur 
 
 J<,ll., lv^7 
 
 1 lanscatic cowns and l\v' prin.,N:s ot thr Cirrnicin 
 Lnii»irc." ^ 
 
 It Wcis lii^^ii tiiiic for Mauam^^ TTcnri^-tte to 
 cunie turwarJ and nr^<aiatt'. Siit; i)c mh in' 
 wiatiiiL^ to iiar liriaiaa'' tiiat Loui^ XIW was 
 shucked at the demand to attack Handiure. 
 \Vuicn naa ne\"er L;'i\'fai an\' ontj caii^-e \^-a' cum- 
 |daint ; and ^he naa:^irvi tiiat Ariin-ton ^>h(ju!d 
 be iorceii to ]nodii\- tiU' ])rc)f.)()-*:d Ijai^i^ loi' nc- 
 i^otiatien. Aiain^^e'a at iM.ttom wa^ a Ix-aiian 
 Cauioa^, ana wsand nvjt hke Ciiarier. to ha\'e 
 hag;<^i('d a!.-)ut lie- <nni of na«n';\- th.u lie wae^ 
 t'j [)uc!v-i as a is-./;niii:o ?k,r i^-'-'m- (eo:-r lo 
 l^'->:^'n. ••bile Knie rC~ kai^lan i," hf nouht^d 
 t^J L^ouis, *■ wnii uiji near oi th^.' snni:^ wsuch 
 }''^^i" aiiU's^t}' a^a*'-!"^ i- i/i jnni ha^'ie ni CiCi- 
 ssn-r.itien ui m^ \::\.:c.\ ^-^ nf" rr^li-^'ion brdi>-v Tiveb^ 
 ]'^-oai.ae ill ihae:,. I tiuna, I uan, U vuia hai-d 
 
 C>j.. en uaia.-vi to brnig liiC Hanse towiT^ ns share- 
 bolder^ into hi-, twi -reat organizations for establishing a 
 ^ '-''^^^ Coiunai lin; ;:c; z'/a., the chartered Companv o: the 
 East, (I l:,iit In... I Company, and tiie chartered i uinn-nv 
 Ot the \vc n u: Anna un Company. \^ rauslators Note.) 
 ' Con cin I ; i.c iviii- of France, Jan. 29, 1670. 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTE. 
 
 55 
 
 ^j\\ \n.)nr Maiesian nn^ai tair niannx* laaarasnO an' 
 a cutclaralnai (>! CatnoiiCitv sheuid Ije tnua-- 
 [Hjfted at \(>ur ^b,l]enty's expttnse to Lnnd^nd' 
 Arhn-lDH si'ems to ha\a: beei^ disintern:sted tor 
 th^ tnnc and, idanrt in which hxi hviab His 
 wife liad bfa'Oed ^bulanie Celbert ' " to send 
 
 ner I oar 
 
 4 ua, s 
 
 ln>uah i)l tile ilnrst Y rm 
 
 ice 
 
 brocatelle to make hasiahias Ida' an ani^ isniai. 
 and covers ^ov twelve chairs , Ijed curtain^ 
 
 !1 
 J 1 
 
 naa.ttai cSamteav, ana covvorno' <>i tiu- ^ame slim 
 Icjr ti soUi a set o\ ciiairs and lauttonls in anotiiiT 
 clninibnar *' ll the i^m;4■ thinks it i^r tie- '^(n)d 
 :icr lu rnakn tins lirna^^nt, a w^njid. I 
 
 ot 
 
 "> ,n' 
 
 Jtiiiv,\, iiiai,.! :.^ti.Li.i\ liU. nivi \ . 1 iia ma*! tiiaJ 
 
 larnOari: w^asn nanl 
 
 .irnn^li.ni irean?aiu\r ni i 
 
 ai i^ . 
 
 i.aav 
 
 i ] 1 1 * n f * 1' 'i I 
 
 coin'se ni a Aov 
 
 niontlon on^nnni nj |ki\- nu" them. 
 
 Liiiin' l.'\' htta-, (hHicah,ies ])e-':in to \nmba 
 tnuinr tile d^ateroas inanijjnk'aion ui abaJana.* 
 ITcmriettu. She imt a vhmf~i tia: 
 
 \\ i i i V, 1 ,! 1 ' i L i i 1 n, .1 V i ! I a n> i i J I a i .,. ' 
 
 Li.aail;'. i in Lii*.- .^iSLia aiii.. n;;aiau Caau iv.' 
 
 ) I ( " ■; K n O i i 
 
 in 1 L \ 
 
 ^ C^oibert to ihe I\ ma 
 Madaia ' Colbert wa^^ an 
 who made a fortune in t 
 farthings, or /ian/s. She \v 
 
 de 1 urny. 
 
 r i a i 
 
 o. 
 
 
 - iS i n-^ ins, 
 rench hah- 
 ani e^olbert 
 
' ii 
 
 56 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 declare himself a I^h 
 
 ! • , , Ml 
 
 I !. i, 1 . 1 i i 1 \ ' s. 
 
 a SI 
 
 com 'J k:.\^-:\ 
 to r;i-Ml L 
 
 ..p,\il)le in \j..,\\^\^'\\. i'u over- 
 i:.;;i:;i '- difticiiilw the Duchess ^'f 
 
 « ; i I ' * ■( . L i, i ^. i i i i. 1 ,_ 
 
 ■M ! ; : ■ U ^ ^ 
 
 ( ) 
 
 out hMT io:.oan 
 ov- ai Dover. 
 
 ii III"! tt: had the happy thought, 
 ciioo:5iii^ iiic iiiaids 01 iioiiULir w iio were 
 atto:o.l ii^-r t'> Dn_:Li:: !. In select Louise de 
 i\- r^MOaHo. 1l ii. iiardiv probable that ^he 
 desi : ; ii creasincr her 0.0 oowtr -ver her 
 
 ... < • • ' y ' ■ ■ ■ ' 
 
 i ,M ' ■ i. i i V... J. i ' 1. i. 1 1 ; •. i i i ^._ '. . * I - I i . ■ > .,1110 \ • " '. 1 ! . ^ ^_ ; i .! . 
 
 whose ba!'\' i.UM-, melancholy eyes, aiol ia'!^..,:u:.!. 
 walk did imi; indicate an aaruii vHplouoaic 
 agent/ 15 .1 it i^, ^orai:;. li; Louise was pie- 
 s-nt at tlic int'~-rv:-\vs between Charles and his 
 ii^ter, aiiLi m.ide a duep inipressiun on hi no 
 tif' 1 ra the furious tern 
 
 :3 
 T T 
 
 lKO 
 
 '. J 
 
 r ^^; his \ 
 ( i liomaine, auu ui die vulgarity oi NpI! ^ 
 
 1 n^ 
 
 conversation 
 
 he Bret' 
 
 blonde, \\ iu) annoar xL sad and gentle, ii i it a 
 
 .: na^, .1. 
 
 t wop t\' 
 
 the ciairminof freshness u! 
 the high delicate breeding which 
 
 ' A mistake. -\ languid manner, when not arising from 
 ill health, often goes with falsity, and gains time for deliber- 
 atioFi. 1 luiiknes? i< direct, and does not loiter. {Tra?is 
 lators Note.) 
 
 \\ 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTE, 
 
 57 
 
 distinguished the Court of Louis XIV. before 
 I'^rU monarch's illegitimate children grew up. 
 
 Whether to prolong the enioxmeni ui ^pend- 
 ing quiet evenings wii 1 ins sister, or to keep 
 the preti) Louise sunn tinic lunger in Lngland, 
 Charles insisted on Madame Henriette delay- 
 
 10; 
 
 ncr ri 
 
 ince. 
 
 1 
 
 trM.nor 
 
 I 
 
 le 
 
 argued, is an affair of the highest importance, 
 and should be discussed maturely. M\- sub- 
 jects hate the French. The pains laey are 
 ! - av at to create a great trade, and to become 
 a maritime power will sharpen their jealousy.^ 
 The Kinor of France want to hold all the 
 great ports of the Cominent, and I ring under 
 his swa\ I maritime people which have been 
 tin: nntin rivals of Fngland on sea atid m the 
 colonial trade. i must therefore be very wary, 
 and not show xv.x hand too <^onn, Madame 
 Henriette did not easily obtain a prolonged 
 leave of absence at Dover ^- e had a lius- 
 band whom she always treated as an infe- 
 rior being, vrliich his effeminacy and base, false 
 nature justified her in doinor. He was jealous 
 1 in r, and saw with umbrage the importance 
 
 ^ See Mignet's Negociations relatives a la Succession 
 d EsJ'agiie, tome iii., p. 50. 
 
5S 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLh. 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTA. 
 
 j"^ 1 1"^ ■ r 
 
 \ I \ 
 
 ; hn 
 
 1. 1 i i V i 
 
 political part she 
 
 \ i \ V, h ^ ^.v:is at 
 
 lo cuin:nand his brother 
 rnnclii'^ion o^ 
 
 f,-. fhn ron rhision of ^ 
 
 ( ) T ^ M 
 
 she v;;i- ^'''~^t 
 V-nll-y.i. watchhi 
 
 not to be an ^ a 
 
 c;^^^,. ,f|:,;. ,4 the greatest importance. He 
 
 wrote I) Colbert de Croissy : ^ 
 
 " I s-^nd ynii this to inform you that my 
 Lruiacr ha. consented to let Madame remain 
 t n or t- -Ue days longer at buver. You can 
 exaggerate to King Charles the efforts we 
 maC and points we stretch to be agreeable 
 to ium. Lci him feel how much obliged he 
 should be ir^ i:^. -> that when we make de- 
 ^.^^.^c; he V. C be in :i humour to yield." 
 
 /v month later, Madame Henriette died. It 
 w^as riinioiirpd tliat she was poisoned.^ 1 he 
 Court .1 England appeared to believe that she 
 
 was. 
 
 d'H-niatic web she had helped to 
 weave Su'.in_ i ravelled. 
 
 ^ The original autograph letter is in the archives of the 
 Ministry for Foreign Affairs, English section, vol. xcvii., folio 
 
 _ -. May 31, 1670. 
 
 2 1 ::re seemed to have established that she died a natu- 
 ral death. He drew this conclusion from the medical report 
 Oh rr /v.«r mortem examination. :' i air has, however, 
 taken up the old theory, that her death was caused by poison. 
 
 
 59 
 
 ''Must we abandon the great affair t " asked 
 Colbert de Croissy of Lionne. "It is to be 
 foarrd ^ that the grief of the King of England, 
 \wi.v,a .0 deeper than can bu inia^^^jiicu, ;.n:..i the 
 malevolent talk and rumours c • t ;r enemies, 
 uill spoil everything." 
 
 The enemies of France were not the only 
 ones to attack her. Buckincrham turned aeainst 
 the French alliance. Colbert de Croissy 
 informed Lionne that, had it been possible, 
 Buckingham would have picked a quarrel with 
 France, if only to win popularity.^ 
 
 Louis despatched Marshal de Bellefonds to 
 rresent his official condolence to Charles on 
 his sister's death. The Marshal was a very 
 fine gentleman, had bland manners, and was 
 skilled in smoothino^ down angles. 
 
 '' When do they intend to let the Chevalier 
 de Lorraine back to Court .^ " asked thn Kine 
 of lingland, with a rudeness foreign to his 
 manners and disposition. 
 
 '' I replied," said the Marshal, '' thai 1 did 
 
 ^ Colbert to Lionne, July 2, 1670. 
 
 - Original autograph letter of Marshal Bellefonds to the 
 King of France. Affr, Etr. Angleierre^ tome xcviii., fol. 35, 
 du 10 Juillet, 1670. 
 
i I 
 
 60 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTE. 
 
 61 
 
 I 
 
 !, 
 
 \ 
 
 not know ; that it was not easy to divine 
 the thoughts of your Majesty on such a trifling- 
 subject ; and that none of your servants would 
 take the Hberty of conversing about it, unless 
 your Majesty first broached the matter." 
 
 It was feared that Charles and his Court had 
 slipped from the grasp of Louis. A last re- 
 source was to be tried. Louise de Keroualle, 
 whom Charles in his interview with de Belle- 
 fonds associated, with apparent tenderness, 
 with the memory of his sister, was packed off 
 in all haste to Calais, to be at his beck and call. 
 Apprised of this attention, Charles sent a yacht 
 to take her across to Dover. He wept, and 
 fell into a sentimental mood on meeting her, 
 and named her maid of honour to his patient 
 wife. Her presence assuaged his grief. Re- 
 lations with France grew less ticklish. 
 
 But man walketh in a vain show, truly! In 
 the funeral oration in honour of Madame 
 Henriette, Bossuet said : " The worthy link 
 which bound the two greatest monarchs of the 
 earth was broken, but now is soldered up 
 ao-ain.^ Their noble desires win confidence of 
 
 ' Bossuet : Oral son Fuiichre de Madame. 
 
 their peoples, and virtue henceforth shall be 
 the only mediator between them." ^ 
 
 It was not hard to regain Buckingham. 
 The French ambassador apprised Lionne that 
 in obtaining a pension for the Countess of 
 Shrewsbury, he would make the Duke his 
 obedient servant. The pension was fixed at 
 10,000 livres, and faithfully paid. Colbert de 
 Croissy was not slow to perceive the spell 
 in which Louise de Keroualle held Charles, 
 and the advantages to be obtained therefrom. 
 
 ** The king is always finding opportunities 
 to talk with this beauty in the queen's room. 
 But he has not, contrary to what is reported, 
 gone yet to chat with her in her own room,^ 
 contrary to what has been said here." 
 
 Lady Castlemaine prepared to make war on 
 the French charmer. She demanded the title 
 of Duchess of Cleveland, and looked for sup- 
 port to the Spanish faction.^ She made believe 
 that she still reigned over the king, by getting 
 royal favours heaped upon herself. Her 
 patent of duchess was scarcely made out, when 
 she exacted for her eldest son the title oi 
 
 ^ Colbert to Lionne, August 28 and Sept. 10, 1670. 
 - Jbid.^ Dec. 15, 1670. 
 
 
62 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLF. 
 
 Marquis of ^ ,:thampton, and for the second 
 that ui Larl of f Northumberland. 
 
 in a fe V \ :ir >." cried a malcontent, *' Eng- 
 Icin 1 \v:H be 5u iM! \- a^ to see a House of 
 Peers extracted out of the blood Royal." 
 
 These rvidences ff victory caused sh irner 
 rivalry. Louise de Keroualle began seriously 
 to stud) iier game, and to play it with no Xvjht 
 purpose at the balls given in December, 1670, 
 ar V/hitehall. " The fashion of masquerading, 
 iiiiroduced this winter," wrote Colbert de 
 Croissy, " is a source of great diversion to 
 persons of quality." The treaty of Madame 
 was defended by Louise, who had not yet sa- 
 crificed honour to h^r country. On the other 
 hand, public feeling weighed on the statesmen 
 of t]i * Tabal. The English people had a true 
 ii,:Di:i._L -I their maritime future, and of the 
 great hidden danger that faced it. They cried 
 out for the king to support Protestant Holland, 
 and even Catholic Spain, ^ against the King of 
 
 ^ In this, popular feeling was wiser than Cromwell, great 
 statesman though he was, had shown himself, twelve years 
 earlier, in allowing Mazarin to circumvent him and to lead 
 him into prostrating the naval power of Spain, which, in the 
 Protector's time, had almost fallen into a decrepit state. 
 {Translatof^s Note.) 
 
 MADAME HENRIETTE. 
 
 63 
 
 France. It had an uneasy feeling that a great 
 conspiracy was being hatched, but was ignorant 
 of Its nature. The brooding suspicions came 
 to a head, when England got into a state kji 
 frenzy about the Popish Plot. 
 
 Louise was not sure of her empire, and 
 found herself an object of ill-will to the Eng- 
 lish. Her only chance, she saw, was in the 
 discomfiture of the Duchess of Cleveland, to 
 hriniT about which she seemed inclined to yield 
 to Charles, and yet, when pressed too closely, 
 slipped away from him. In the close game of 
 the masquerading winter, her affected coyness 
 was ill-understood by her ally, the French am- 
 bassador, who, not venturing to believe in her 
 full success, and fearing a return of the vindic- 
 tive Duchess oi Cleveland, wrote to Louis, '' I 
 think it safe, while undermining that lady, to 
 keep her on our side by appearing to be with 
 her."^ 
 
 ^ Colbert to the King of France, Dec. 12, 1670. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 ACCESSION OF LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ' I NOW also saw that famous beauty, but in 
 my pinion of a childish simple baby face, 
 Ahidemoiselle Ouerouaille, maid of honour to 
 Madame, and now to be so to the Oueen/' 
 Evelyn jotted in his Diary, The baby face 
 wa- a deceptive one ; and the simplicity was 
 u mask for iranscendent art in finessino-. 
 *' How long," asked Louis XI\\, Louvois, 
 Lioniic Colbert, and the Court of Louis XIV., 
 '' 'ill the resistance of this childish-lookino- o-irl 
 be carried on ? " 
 
 Meanwhile, the Court of Whitehall noted the 
 furious tantriuns of the Duchess of Cleveland, 
 and other signs of her disgrace. ^' The influ- 
 ence of the Duchess," reported the French 
 ambassador,^ '' visibly wanes. The trouble and 
 expense which the Conde Molina has been 
 ctt tu get her round to the Spanish side, have 
 been thrown away. While she loses favour, 
 
 1 Colbert to Louvois, Sept. 21, 167 1. 
 
 64 
 
 M 
 
 ACCESSION OF LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 65 
 
 the King of England's fancy for Mademoiselle 
 de Keroualle grows stronger. The attacks of 
 niusea she had yesterday, when dining with 
 me, makes me hope I shall find in her a useful 
 ally as long as my embassy lasts." ^ 
 
 This attack of nausea was a cause of de- 
 light to the Court of France. '' The Kin<T 
 was greatly pleased," wrote Louvois, '' to hear 
 in what manner Mademoiselle Keroualle suf- 
 fered when dining the other day at the French 
 embassy. There was nothing in her conduct 
 since she left France, to lead us to expect 
 that such a piece of good fortune was croino- 
 so soon to befall her. His Majesty is anxious 
 to be informed of what may grow out of this 
 situation, and of the terms on which she and 
 the King have come to stand mutually." ^ 
 But the rejoicing was premature, and the 
 sickness recorded in the diplomatic paper had 
 •; : ilie cause suspected. Louise continued 
 to blow hot and cold at King Charles. She 
 seemed to make light of the great interests 
 whicli her coyness might damage. Her re- 
 
 ^ Colbert to Louvois, Sept. 21, 167 1. 
 2 Louvois to Colbert de Croissy, in original autograph, 
 Sept. 29, 167 1, Aff. Etr.^ Angleierre^ tome cii., fol. 283. 
 
< 
 
 66 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 ^i-'ai:ce al'inn : the Court of \ crsailles. 
 
 r^uu^'ticss, Liuirles I '\\\v\ pleasure i:i Iv-r 
 ^nc!^'t\' ( 'iiiw !'..: h'' w,.-. not a mnn b^ -'•ui!*-r 
 
 u> rei-n over him. W a- u nnt 
 ho wnokl cnn^?">h' nnur-:!! 
 lor n-r rc:,ervc, wiiii -lan- uther beaiii\ ' 
 
 'i T : r 
 
 > ! i 
 
 o 
 
 
 *< !♦ 
 
 cr-:-t:i*n that th- Kine ^'' 
 
 n 
 
 i'rl n 1; ( ; 
 
 L 1 i i u 
 
 
 ' i 1 I '..' 1 
 
 Madeiiioaajiic 
 
 1 i i I- s 
 
 h--.ard 
 
 
 !.<.- 
 
 ti i. 
 
 ■^ aa \\ :5 vi \i cii 111 
 
 Karoualle : rial a-riiaps ^<'a aan 
 T^an <a:aa' r^uiirces, what a hiiah, luriii^neLi 
 iaida'in^s laive been ;;^'r^-a \ 
 
 \ 1 i:^ McijC:3L)' goes lu 1 
 
 at aaa- (j'clock i:\K-x\ aa'Tain^r, a-, 
 thei't; I'a" If-'^ uai!! ail Ivnir, a'la 
 
 eleven o'clock. He it. 
 
 
 r U U I i 1 i> 
 
 LU i ^ 
 
 diniv r. ari'l sliares ut h^T caiah-ta 
 
 i 1 ',, i r? i. < 
 
 aiu.l i0sse^^. n^a. !.a' 
 
 
 \n 
 
 >t ■' 
 
 .■H. lH_i iii»wiiV 
 
 ■*. T ■ 
 
 f V 
 
 miTii^t "r^ 
 
 _' i M .lis 
 
 1 I 
 
 a la ■! 
 
 1 4, i i. : 
 
 -Hi 
 
 :are, 
 
 L* a I r-<aii i n_» 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 at t ra 
 
 akiiou^'ii i i iri A 
 
 1 ; i I u ' i i V- 
 
 l a u R i i i : 
 
 
 ia v\\\\\ 
 
 > t a i. t 
 
 r> 
 
 i ■ \ • f ■ 
 
 i - \. i. 
 
 affa"r-. to ladioc:, >u.\. ..-. traa/ a^aaa wan ra 
 tiiey pleased, render lU-services t*- tab ^^ 
 
 defp^.t thfar' laaiis, il w",. - w^il a^r 
 
 . tia.t las majesty 
 
 ka J s orood seiaai 
 
 *_3 O 
 
 ACCESSION OF 'LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 67 
 
 should have a fancy for Mademoiselle Kerou- 
 alle, who was not of an evil ilisposition, uai 
 
 'va^ a lad\a Tt wa^^ "l^etter to hax'^^ dcalnvs 
 Willi liar liKiii waih lewd and bouiicinL:' -a\ai ^a- 
 irlrls and actresses of whom no man of quality 
 cuuiU lake the measara, one wa- ao laraai- 
 i^ant ir scold; and wlii n the kinir uu, aath 
 lier, parcDons ol breeding could, waia au loss 
 of dignity, go to iu r rooms, and })ay lira 
 and h-r their court. Milord Arda-tcai t^dd 
 me to advise Mademoiselle ka :« u liio to aul- 
 ti\'at^ the k!na"'s a'ood r^racr^. and to "^ai ]aan- 
 age, that he should only find at her lodgings 
 enjoyment, peace, and quietness. Ho added 
 that, ii i.ady Arlington took his advice, she 
 would uro^e the new favourite a'tla r t ^ yield 
 unreservedl) lu the 1\ ng, or to retire lu a 
 French convent. In his opinion, I slaaild 
 also advise her in this sense. I aaa red 
 ' cularly, that I was not such a tool, or so 
 ungrateful to the king, as to loll iicr to pre- 
 fer religion to his good graces ; that I as 
 persuaded she did not await xvi^s ad\dce, but 
 that, nevertheless, I should n*>t sparu it tipon 
 h^r. to show how botii I and Milord appre- 
 ciated her influence, and in what esteem he 
 
68 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 held her. I beheve I ran assure you that 
 she hii:^ bu ^ui round i\ _^ Charles as to be 
 of th^" greatest -^rvice to our sov- rcicrn and 
 
 in; -t ;r, if she unl) does her duty." ^ 
 
 1 h : C nnt' — ^ of Adincrton ended ' > f"ol- 
 L)v;in^ iicr hurDUaiiu := advice, and Luiicorted 
 witii Colbert de Croiss\ li^v.- to brin^: about 
 the coniplpte surrender ui the younor French 
 
 beautv. 
 
 I h's anibassad^ ] hi held a high place in 
 the French Judicature i-^ President a Mortier. 
 *' He v;as a safe and sagacious mediocrity, 
 who, \y\ liau oi application and plain com- 
 v?s)'x sjnse, made up foi" what he spoiled by 
 the coai"i_ iiLiiinjrs cii.J self-sufficieni Jispo- 
 -:i: :i of his family." He did lo * think 
 tradition ui judicial dignity anywise in- 
 inpatible witli ministering to the vicious 
 i:;- ( f L liarles, as the ensuing despatch 
 loonae shows. 
 
 " The kine^ did me yesterday the honour 
 -up at the Embassy, where he proved to 
 me, hx indulging in a gay and unf ttered de- 
 uaiiCii, iiiaL ii<j uL^e^ iiuL iiii:DLi"Li:3L me. " v.,.-narles 
 
 LiiL 
 
 • r j ; 
 
 to 
 
 ' Colbei;! to Louvois, Oct. 8, 167 1, tome ci., fol. 167. 
 2 January 15, 167 1. 
 
 ACCESSION OF LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 69 
 
 was therefore brought without difficulty, to 
 
 accept an iaxitatioi 
 
 intcss of 
 
 Arhngton, tu take Louise K eroualle to her 
 la h ship's seat at Fuston, <o that he might 
 escape there from his Court, which ho had 
 brought to Newmiarket, and triumph over 
 her remaining scruples. 
 
 '' I am going," the ambassador informed 
 Louis, '10 the xXriia /itui- plac<" at Euston ; 
 a; hi as the kinof's inclination lor Mademoiselle 
 K eroualle, w^ho is 10 go there with me, is 
 foresee that he will often run across 
 
 rismg, 
 
 A- 
 
 X'^^wniarlt^^t t'"^ *^ee lier."^ 
 
 The plot was approved of lo 1 .ouis ; but, to 
 save his dignity, when it Avas a little bruited 
 he affected to treat ii as a good piwctical joke. 
 MF Majesty was vastly amused," Louvois 
 wa^ instructed to say,^ '' with all that was iii 
 vour letter about Mile, de Keroualle, and will 
 !i i\c pieasuro \\\ hearing of the progress she 
 makes m the King's favour. lo oven jested 
 on the subject, and savs that tiicrc rraa'^t eitlier 
 be small love for too mistress or great confi- 
 
 1 October 8, 167 1. 
 
 2 Oct. 20, 1 67 1. Original autograph, Affaires Etrangcres 
 Ajigkterre, tome cii., fol. 290. 
 
70 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 dence felt in \ -j, to suffer \'0'] to ctq i - luiston 
 
 s;:di lr)ll\- C' 'in; ^a\\\ , 
 
 a 
 
 Hiichwom n 
 
 • -• ^ ■ ■ • 1 , ■ r -, • "I •■-■>,. •. s 
 
 a:> I h: iircwi;rode, and lu-r 
 
 » 1 . ■ t- 
 
 1 . I 1 i ■- i 
 
 r.,.' 
 
 lix 
 
 i.1 '11 
 
 L 1 i ■ , ill' 
 
 r I 
 
 if' V f 
 
 n !'\' 
 
 1 .> i 
 
 ur^Ki^Hvin- .u;^l suiiii^tuous surroun'iin- 
 
 had bc-;:i iV):"c^:..i J a- uif: nccessilie:^ .u-i-:n,. 
 
 ■. nn 
 
 these tti-i' -. t ) promise in ;nuriage ii-r only 
 cliild, — one ^f l: most lovely girls tl^at ever 
 bloomed on hnglish soil, — to the son (;i ihe 
 
 Dach^-^ <"f Cleveland. Sh'^ ni^arr-d li^r-elf 
 
 agciiia the loss oi patr*.nage wni a ilie dis- 
 l{race of liait inistresr. would ^ at la 1 \ aiaklno- 
 
 hur owa :.cal, n-ur A-wraaiaa'a !;:•' th'-alrc of 
 the French aiv. ':aaa;'^-. ^a\a: !. nv 
 
 A ! 
 
 1 ! 
 
 ]:- 
 
 . .i::>LUli i-^ a. 
 
 aaaiense aua---. I'aai 
 
 • aa t . ) aangs and four pavilion^. A balus- 
 trade caa)aa- th^' maiision. and is nrnamentf^d 
 at equal iaiiaces with alternate vases and 
 statar^^. 'lla^ro was tliare. in 1672, a pictarr 
 ^^ i '■} -i^ billiard room; a chapel, an 
 
 an ! a conservatory adorned with 
 Ca^sar^ ai alabaster. The npart- 
 
 ^-^■-'^ ^'^ ^^'-^^^h guest were so well isolated, liait 
 
 • ' -1 - - , , . . 
 
 : 1 f ' ( \ r en.- tTi' ■'» ■■-t;f -^i^ --!' 
 
 O^a n rr{--]'\- 
 
 ri i >i l i i ^ 
 
 1 ' n 
 
 
 
 ACCESS 10 A' OF LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 71 
 
 w 
 
 1 1 
 
 "■• L. 
 
 a of the house, and era-; a a inde- 
 a ashment. The kine's aaarnnents 
 
 \\aa"o 
 
 anted ia !ia;scn. 
 
 elegant!) iiirnished. 1 a r aara naaa 1 aus 
 
 I'atii rooma. a pharmacy; and in the pnnltrv 
 yard cuup^ a^a" laiiening a -a L i'ia: stables 
 contained iTiirtx* horses, and 
 
 .("'-*! 
 
 ^\ 
 
 1 
 
 w \ , 
 
 1 i c i. ■ 
 
 ■ a aa,in\* i 
 
 iiiV-iill^w i 
 
 'oaches i 
 
 ul 
 
 
 4. 1 1 >■-_- I- 1 
 
 t n r> 
 
 1 1- 
 
 m f • ■ 
 
 AfHaatsaa Besides the 1 iwi.ca aaiaa-. Lady 
 Arlineton had invited the Countess a "^nn- 
 (Itaiand anr] a larcre laaaber of members of the 
 Curt. The kin^r who w^as at Newmarket, 
 came <^vcry other day, and nft^n sl^in at 
 iaa: tiai la ihe month of October. 
 
 ''Tl' kine," wrote Colbert/ ''come- liere 
 for ia- repasts; and after c.aa;g he parses 
 several hours with Mile. Kenaaiae. lie has 
 already paid her three visits ; and he invited 
 us yesterday to Newmarket, to see the races. 
 We w^ent, and were charminn-lv entertained, 
 ana he seemed more than ever sohcitous to 
 nleasp Mll^a Kerona-le. Tliose small aiuii- 
 laj.i:^ which denote a gr .a passion ware lavished 
 on h/a' : and as ^lie slinwwl in' a^a' ("''x^awssions 
 
 * Colbert lu Louvois, Oct. 22, 1671. 
 
f 
 
 1"* 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 \ 
 
 of gratitude that she was not insensible to the 
 kindness of a great king, we hope she will so 
 behave that the attachment will be durable and 
 exclude every other." 
 
 It may be, that the Countesses of Arlington 
 and Sunderland, under the pretext of killing 
 the tedium of October evenings in a country 
 house, got up a burlesque wedding in which 
 Louise de Keroualle was the bride and the king 
 the bridegroom, with all the immodest cere- 
 monies which marked, in the good old times, 
 the retirement of the former into her nuptial 
 chamber. 
 
 " The events of that night were the talk of 
 the whole Court, and the subject of the pam- 
 phlets of t :e day." These pamphlets, in their 
 sharp precision and directness, bear the stamp 
 of truth. They give in broken English the 
 coy exclamations of Louise, '' Me no bad 
 woman. If me taut me was one bad woman, 
 me would cut mine own trote."^ A guest of 
 
 1 See Evelyn, Oct. 9, 167 1 ; and The Secret History of 
 the Reigns of Charles 11. and fames J I. See also The 
 Blatant Beast, The English puritans braved modesty when 
 they wanted to defend decency against licence. Their de- 
 scriptions of "the nights at Euston " are too strong for mo- 
 dern laste to bear. The Royal Wanton^ and Andrew Marvel's 
 
 f 
 
 / 
 
 ( ' 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ACCESSION OF LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 73 
 
 the Arlingtons, Evelyn, declares that he never 
 saw at Euston a fete such as is described by 
 the pamphleteers. But he adds, that he was 
 only admitted twice to the king's table ; and 
 he states that Louise remained in her undress 
 for a whole day, whilst every one was trying 
 to amuse and pet her. At any rate, she had 
 a son exactly nine months after the mock 
 marriage at Euston,^ and Louis XIV. on being 
 informed of what took place there, ordered 
 his ambassador to present his congratulations 
 to Mile, de Keroualle. *' I have made that 
 young lady joyful," replied Colbert de Croissy, 
 ** in assuring her of the pleasure with which 
 his majesty learned of her brilliant conquest. 
 There is every prospect that she will hold long 
 what she has conquered." 
 
 The French ladies at Paris and Versailles 
 viewed the intrio^ue in another lio^ht. Mme. 
 de Sevlgne wrote to her daughter,^ " Don't 
 you like to hear that little Keroualle, whose 
 star was divined before she left, has foUow^ed 
 
 lampoons show how English feeling was in revolt against the 
 French mistress of Charles. 
 
 ^ Colbert to Louvois, Nov. 2, 167 1. 
 
 2 March 30, 1672. 
 
74 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 it faithfully. The King of England, on seeing 
 her, straightway fell in love, and she did not 
 frown at him when he declared his passion. 
 The upshot is, that she is in an interesting 
 state. I it not all astonishing! Castlemaine 
 is in disgrace. England, truly, is a droll 
 
 country ! " 
 
 Yet in that ^'droll country" Milton had, four 
 years earlier, published his Paradise Lost, and 
 Newton in that very year his Theory of Light 
 
 Louis at once tried to turn Louise's situation 
 to diplomatic account. Three advantages, he 
 believed, might be derived from the favour she 
 enjoyed : (i) an alliance against Holland ; (2) 
 a profession by Charles of the Catholic faith ; 
 (3) a match between the king's brother, the 
 1) jke of York, and a princess chosen by Louis. 
 The alliance was soon concluded. In the 
 face of the interests, the prejudices, and the 
 relicrious feelino^s of the English, Charles de- 
 clared war against Holland in March, 1672, in 
 the sixth month of Louise's pregnancy. On 
 the 28th of April of the same year, Louis set 
 out from M Germain en Laye on his con- 
 quering tour in Flanders. . 
 
 •The profession by Charles of the Catholic 
 
 n 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ACCESSION OF LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 75 
 
 faith was not so easy to obtain. He began 
 by objecting that the Pope was too old to 
 bring to a happy conclusion a step of such im- 
 portance,^ and that the English Catholics were 
 too weak in numbers, and had too few stroncr 
 brains among them, to give him good support. 
 Louise and his wife's confessor, Father Patrick, 
 tried to screw his courage up,^ because the 
 Catholic religion could only be set up again, 
 they argued, through a close union between 
 the Most Christian King and Charles. Father 
 Patrick kept Colbert de Croissy well informed 
 about the king's objections, and everything else 
 that he thought worth reporting. Charles and 
 Arlington more than hinted that it would be 
 gratifying to them were Louis to grant the 
 diplomatic priest an abbey, with a salary of 
 four or five thousand liv7^es. This wish was 
 strongly dwelt upon in despatches of Col- 
 bert de Croissy, who said that F^'ather Patrick 
 had so brought round Charles that he sent 
 word to the Queen of Spain that he was de- 
 termined to become a Catholic.^ 
 
 ^ Colbert to Lionne, tome c, fol. 82. 
 
 ~ Ibid., March i, 1672. 
 
 ^ Colbert to Pomponne, March 14, 1672. 
 
 The Queen 
 
 / 
 
 y 
 
76 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 Charles's brother had no sort of hesitation 
 to profess his religion. His wife had just died 
 in the Catholic faith, and expressing all the 
 sentiments which a recent conversion mieht 
 be expected to prompt. His son followed her 
 to the grave a few days later. The Duke of 
 York asked the king s leave to remarry, taking 
 a Catholic wife, and declaring openly his faith. 
 All the belles of the court bedizened themselves 
 in their precious stones and other finery, to 
 make a conquest of the heir presumptive to 
 the throne. The beauty and wealth of the 
 widowed Duchess of Northumberland made 
 her a redoubtable competitor. Lady Fal- 
 mouth, another widow, was then spoken of.^ 
 '' But," said Colbert, '' I doubt whether this 
 Prince's passion for her is so great as to lead 
 him to marry her. He would rather take a 
 French princess, to whom his majesty might 
 ^ive a dowry." ^ 
 
 
 of Spain, placed between her conscience and her political 
 interest, coldly said : '* Me haveis alegrado mucho con la 
 buena Jieuva de la piadosa ifitcncion del rey vuesiro amo, 
 Yo ayudare cumpliniiento de tod as mis fuercas^ 
 
 1 Colbert to the King of France, April 13, 1671. Lady 
 Falmouth received immense sums and secret subventions 
 irom Charles. 2 Sept. 29, 167 1. 
 
 i 
 
 ACCESSION OF LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. jy 
 
 '' If the Duke of York," answered Louvois, 
 ''wants a wife who is almost certain to bear 
 him children, he can't do better than take 
 Madame de Guise,^ who laid in thrice in two 
 years, and whose birth, wealth, and hopes of 
 fecundity should make up for her want of 
 beauty." 
 
 The Duke of York, meanwhile, sought to 
 console himself for the loss of his wife by 
 giving up Arabella Churchill, and becoming 
 intimate with Miss Sedley, who passed for 
 being a prude.^ Colbert was therefore puzzled 
 to think how he could draw the Duke into 
 wishing for a marriage between himself and 
 Madame de Guise. He promised Lionne to 
 neglect no opportunity to bring about a match 
 
 ^ Elizabeth d'Orleans, second daughter of Gaston, 
 brother of Louis XIII., married in 1667 to Louis Joseph, 
 sixth Due de Guise, a widow in July, 167 1 ; died in 1696. 
 The desirability of a match between the Duke of York and 
 la Grande Mademoiselle was never once discussed, although 
 that Princess said she was asked to marry him. 
 
 2 Miss Sedley had the gift of wit. On coming to the 
 throne, James created her Countess of Dorchester, and 
 when he was dethroned by his daughter Mary, Sir Charles 
 Sedley, who voted for the Prince and Princess of Orange, 
 said : " James made my daughter a Countess, and I now 
 make his daughter a Queen." 
 
 M 
 
78 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 with that lady, who, being the second daughter 
 oi oaston, Dae d'Orleans, was a niece of 
 ; i arietta M iHa, and a first cousin of the Duke 
 of York. On the 23rd of January, 1673, he 
 wrote, " I shall neglect no means to ensure 
 success in this affair, and I hope to triumph 
 over every difficulty through the queen's con- 
 fessor and the new mistress." 
 
 s 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE RIVALS, 
 
 Colbert de Croissy ignored none of the dan- 
 gers which beset Louise de Keroualle, who 
 was hated and attacked by such old favourites 
 as the Duchesses of Cleveland and Richmond, 
 and the fresher theatrical ones like Nell Gwynn. . 
 In his despatch of December 24th he wrote 
 to Louvois : '' The king is going to sup and 
 dance at Lord Arlington's, and I am to be of 
 the party. So also is the Duchess of Rich- 
 mond. Her great talent is dancing. Made- 
 moiselle de Keroualle may be taken in by all 
 these parties, and all the more so because she 
 does not keep her head sober, since she has 
 got the notion into it that it is possible she may 
 yet be Queen of England. She talks from 
 morning till night of the Queen's ailments as 
 if they were mortal." 
 
 The tongues of every one else, it must be 
 owned, ran on the same topic, and each de- 
 
 19 
 
8o 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ifl' 
 
 manded the other when Catherine might be 
 expected to die. 
 
 " M. Frazer, the king s physician, has ob- 
 tained the kinof's leave to examine into the 
 queens malady, and has found it to be con- 
 sumption, which will end her life in two or 
 three months, or, at latest, in a year. I hear 
 it said, that the king was resolved the moment 
 God takes this princess to Himself, not to let 
 a month pass without satisfying the prayers of 
 his subjects. He would choose for his wife 
 some young and beautiful person of high birth 
 capable of bearing him children. The doctors 
 
 all talk thus to ingratiate themselves with the 
 
 k" 1 
 mg. 
 
 Catherine, though reputed so feeble and dis- 
 eased, had a long life before her. She died 
 thirty-two years later. But the theologians 
 came to the help of the doctors, when it was 
 found the latter had excited false hopes. The 
 death of the queen, they said, was not necessary 
 for the king's happiness. He was, as Luther 
 taught in a parallel case, free to take a second 
 wife while the first was livinor.^ 
 
 ^ Colbert to Louvois, Feb. 20, 1673. 
 
 2 This was the opinion of Gilbert Barnet, the theolo^^ian 
 
 \i i 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 i.yiisijis. jrz^:ic. 
 
 y 
 
 lb uM^yrryyu^y rr/ ^d'9^M/:i^,pi 
 
 y / 
 
THE RIVALS, 
 
 81 
 
 But as Charles had no fixity of aim, he 
 was led by his pleasures from the idea of a 
 second marriaQ-e. Widiout meaninof to afilict 
 the queen, or vex any of his mistresses, he was 
 drawn into fresh amours. In eight months he 
 gave Lady Falmouth seven thousand pounds, 
 and the Duchess of Cleveland more than forty 
 thousand. 
 
 The duchess held the king by her four 
 children, of three of whom he thought himself 
 the father. She hectored him into acknow- 
 ledging himself the parent of the fourth, which 
 she did not deny to be a son of Henry Jenny n, 
 brother of the Queen Dow^ager s domestic ty- 
 rant, and husband, in fact if not in name. Henry 
 himself stood in a similar relation to the Prin- 
 cess Dowager of Orange, born Princess Royal 
 of Enp-land. The Duchess of Cleveland, not- 
 
 o 
 
 withstanding her undisguised passion for him, 
 remained virtual sovereign, not only at the 
 court festivities, but in the queen's bed- 
 chamber. Louise de Keroualle was unable 
 
 and historian of William of Orange. His famous treatises : 
 Solution of hvo Cases of Conscience^ and The other Deforce, and 
 what Scripture allows in those Cases, have not been re- 
 printed in the collection of his works, but are to be found 
 in John Mackey's Court of Great Britain. 
 
 
S2 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 to dislodge her from that position until her 
 Ciince had to retire to France to escape from 
 her creditors. The two rivals were, therefore, 
 at t^^p time of Catherine s great illness, fece to 
 face. Barbara was a furious scold, and ab- 
 sorbed in amours which could not be termed 
 secret, inasmuch as they were the town talk. 
 Louise was tender, languishing, reticent, and de- 
 voted to French interests, or rather to her own 
 interests, which were bound up in those of 
 i ranee. 0\\^ impudently played the wanton 
 with other men, and the other sold Charles. 
 Bar: ara scolded, laughed, and swore; Louise 
 pretended to love and languish. Of all the 
 favourites, the only one the English liked was 
 N J Gwynn, the gay, piquant orange-girl and 
 actress. Sparks about the Court, and statesmen, 
 took liberties with her, which she sometimes re- 
 sented in a way that would, were it not for her 
 feminine charm and good temper, have been 
 thought too rough and ready. Colbert de Croissy 
 informed Pomponne ^ that Buckingham, having 
 one morning entered the reserved apartment 
 of the king to talk with him about state affairs, 
 found Nell there, she still having the good 
 
 1 Colbert to Pomponne, Jan. 23, 1672. 
 
 THE RIVALS. 
 
 S3 
 
 fortune to please Charles. The duke pressed 
 her hard to grant him the favours she accorded 
 to his master ; and as he rumpled her collar in 
 trying to snatch kisses, she boxed his ears. At 
 least so she said, and those who heard, believed 
 her. Her adventures w^ere the town talk, and 
 amused rather than shocked the good folks of 
 London. It is clear that she was an impudent 
 jade, with irrepressible spirits and romping 
 ways. But the English, under the merry 
 monarch, liked boisterous gaiety and coarse 
 fun. Clarendon's popularity was due to his 
 jollity, frank bluntness, hilarious sensuality, and 
 complete absence of pretension. He let him- 
 self be ruined by buffoons and mistresses, and 
 had a joyous disposition of a purely English 
 type, which prevented him taking any pleasure 
 tn French fashions and ceremonious festivity. 
 Sympathy with high animal spirits was general 
 at Whitehall in the time of Charles H. "" Even 
 the poor queen herself was drawn into the 
 torrent of jollification. She did not think it 
 beneath her dignity to disguise herself as a 
 country-woman to mingle in the popular sports 
 at fairs and markets and around Maypoles. 
 When a visitor of the Countess of Suffolk at 
 
84 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Audley End, she in such a disguise started 
 off on . pilHon behind old Sir Bernard Gas- 
 coigne.-^ The beautiful Frances Stuari, Duchess 
 f Richmond, was in attendance, dressed as a 
 Kii in^T's wiPv an I also on a pillion behind Mr. 
 Roper, hi these travesties they went to the 
 fair of Saffron W alden. The real country 
 folks, taking them for play-actors, mobbed 
 them so roughly that they had to get on horse- 
 back and rallnp off. A band of well-mounted 
 yeomen rode after them, giving them chase 
 to Audley End, where the porters, when the 
 fugitives dashed into the park, shut the gates 
 in the fac^s of their pursuers. 
 
 Successful actresses, in the reign of Charles, 
 lived in great luxury. Nell Gwynn's bed was 
 adorned with ornaments in carved and repoiissd 
 silver.^ S'e was, in the Royal favour, the suc- 
 
 ^ A Florentine gentleman, brought into England by Mary 
 de Medici when Queen Dowager of France and mother-in- 
 law of Charles 1. Sir Bernard Gascoigne had served in 
 the Royal army in the Civil War. 
 
 - See the documents that have been preserved at Mal- 
 vern Wells, at Mr. Francis Hopkinson's. Nell made the 
 Treasury pay for her boxes at the theatres to which she 
 went as a spectator. She saw the " Tempest " four times 
 at the cost of the country; and '* Macbeth," "Hamlet," 
 
 THE RIVALS. 
 
 S5 
 
 cessor of Mary, or Moll Davies, whom the 
 king got Sir Francis Ratcliffe to marry, after 
 she had given birth to a daughter, christened 
 Mary Tudor, to point out that she was of the 
 blood royal. ^ Moll was Welsh, like Nell ; and 
 so were the Tudors. In turn, Nell Hwynn \ 
 was supplanted by a comic actress, named 
 Knight. But she was never wholly abandoned 
 by the king, whose last words were : '' Don't 
 let poor Nelly starve.'' She was popular to 
 the end. 
 
 The most hated of all the favourites was 
 Louise de Keroualle, who was thought sly and 
 intriguing, and was regarded as the incarna- 
 tion of the French king's policy, and the worst 
 enemy of England. Court and people were 
 of one mind about her ; and it must be owned 
 that popular instinct roughly, but truly, divined 
 the part she was playing, and the danger there 
 
 and "Lear," once between September, 1674, and June, 
 1675. ^^^ ^^^ ^'^^ CoDunission on Historical Ma7iuscripis^ 
 vol. iii., p. 266 ; and Pennant's Account of Londoti. 
 
 1 This girl was, on growing up, provided with a dowry 
 from the Exchequer, and given in marriage to the Earl of 
 Derwentwater. Her son was the Catholic earl who was 
 implicated ni the Jacobite rising against George I., and 
 executed, Feb. 24, 17 16. 
 
 \ 
 
86 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ll.r!)lirr]| 
 
 national ex'uiiition. 
 
 >i1s, of an arrest oi liie 
 h \ as into her ear, chietly, 
 tha: i u .rles pnurccl his complaints of the 
 rude and restive behaviour of his Parliaments. 
 * T!v Ki;^:; ^T England," wrote Colbert de 
 Croissy. on Ma'ca y, 1673, ''hides his chagrin 
 :.. ^v !i a- la can. But I see that he has 
 pie 1} : i: ; ai a. ii 1 can believe ATndemoiselle 
 de Keroualle, he told her yesterday that there 
 vas no course open to him bia a^ dissolve 
 Parliamcaa Although such a step would be 
 of the nio^t vital iaiportance to your a jesty's 
 interests, I have not yet ventured aj ti) and 
 obtain fr i Arlington confirmation of what 
 
 Lcaaie told me.'* 
 
 s \ :\ adroit and careful in feeling 
 
 i keeping within her depth. She 
 ci urging anything which might 
 
 \" ar. Seeing it would be fatal to 
 her intluence, and to her matrimonial hopes, 
 to t re : (Acaa :. into making a profession of 
 Roman Latholicism, she got the ambassador, 
 Colbert t~> inform Louis that, 'f 1-^ Kino- of 
 England once declared himself a Catholic, 
 every one would forsake him. The part of 
 the nation which alone had backbone and 
 
 the ilea ia 
 Louise a 
 
 her wax a; 
 abstamed i 
 
 lead to civc 
 
 THE RIVALS, 
 
 87 
 
 Stubborn will, was anti-Popish. The Duke of 
 York, by his rash zeal, had made a public 
 reconciliatioa of his In^ uicr wcili the Charrh 
 oi Ivome impossible. There was bai a single 
 course to follow. Tt was by slow degrees to 
 habituate the English lu a revival ci Catholic 
 ideas, rites, and ceremonies. 
 
 On the subject of the Duke oi 1 ork's 
 second marriage, Louise stood apart from the 
 1 a 1] A embassy. She wanted thai j rnire to 
 marry a daughter of the Duke d'Elbceal. and 
 not the widow of the Pake de Guise, whom 
 Louvois proposed. 
 
 The diplomacy of Louis X 1 \ iaa 1 been, 
 up to this juncture, under the direction of 
 Lionne, a man ( f superior parts, and t!ie 
 greatest of Mazarin's disciples, lie died pic- 
 niaturely at the end A" 1671. Arnauld de 
 ia.caponne, his successor, was remarkable for 
 his native rectitude, his good judgment, and 
 the exquisite keenness of his perceptions Ke 
 weighed and did everything with maturity, and 
 yet did not procrastinate needlessly. He was 
 modest and moderate ; of beautiful simplicity 
 of life and manners ; had a crentle address ; 
 and was, in conversaf'on, instructive and of 
 
 I 
 t 
 
I 
 
 88 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ppnr:riting sweetness and courtesy. But he 
 ha 1 11 : enoLio-h * f v.ciorht or self-assertion to 
 
 )\' 
 
 I : I 
 
 t Conn 
 
 :o^^^, tiKiii 
 
 Ln';i|MLc with thcni ds 
 
 lafHM'i' Ji:~>, aii'i jifi i^ IT!/' i ritiVi' t^ 
 siiualKais wnriv (>ui tlvhr own >< 
 
 to bolvc' ihlliCLlith:^ 
 
 th(:\' arose. l.nuvois rninx-^'d tiiL/s of war; 
 Pompunne shrank from tlioni. 
 
 It was easy to sec from the first tliat the 
 Duke of York would stand (uit ai^ainst a match 
 between himself and Madame dc Guise. An 
 unfavourable account of her, ^iven by Madame 
 Henriette, his sister, who disliked her, had 
 left such a strong impression on his mind that 
 he would not listen to anything to her ad- 
 vantage. He said he did not want to be the 
 husband of more than one wife, which was a 
 good reason for insisting on beauty. Charles 
 was at the trouble of explaining to the French 
 ambassador, that his brother had two ereat 
 
 o 
 
 weaknesses — one was touchinij: religion, and 
 the other touching marriage. The first had 
 done him a deal of mischief, and he feared the 
 other would have more baleful consequences. 
 Since the death of the Duchess of York, he 
 was agog for making a fool of himself a second 
 
 THE RIVALS, 
 
 89 
 
 time. To prevent him marrying for love alone, 
 Mil the princesses md great ladies \\:io passed 
 
 lur bciiiL^ dovntf 
 
 I IK) 
 
 n \V\ly 
 
 .fc, 1. .J 
 
 1 ; M i ■--. 8 
 
 ,c. u 
 
 
 it -I , - ■ - , 
 
 it \ V n, ' 
 
 certain tnat, Avitli his uxoriC)iis a 
 
 h'- 
 
 n.] 
 
 1 1 i i '.a 
 
 
 virtuiHis disiiubiuon, he A\'uuld be $a'0Vcaiu:-J bv 
 his witf. 
 
 Ijut Colbert de Croissy, goaded by Louvois, 
 continued to thwart the Duke of York, who 
 Avas l)ent on a love-match, in trying to force 
 him to marry the Duchess de Guise. This 
 Avas the more ill-judged, because the French 
 court ran the risk of losing all power over 
 him, and throwing him into the arms of some 
 German princess. Louise de Keroualle saw 
 the dani^er from the bei^innimj, and started 
 the idea of a match with another French lady. 
 She herself insisted, in an interview with Col- 
 bert, on the folly of trying to impose a mature 
 and by no means attractive wddow^ on the 
 Duke, wdio had set his heart upon a saintly 
 life with a young beauty of virginal attractions. 
 
 '-' ]\Ille. de Keroualle," reported Colbert, in 
 a despatch dated July 24, 1673, ''has had the 
 address to Cfet the Princess of Wurtemljun^- 
 excluded from the list of candidates for matri- 
 
 I 
 
i I 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 nv'n\- w'lh t!v; i ):;kr; .-1 \ -; i<. l>;.t she has 
 sh _»\vn suca ai'vluur in try:n- t* > 01.^,1111 a pre- 
 tl;rt"ncp for MUt.:. dJ-.i^uit. tii;il iio^rxlx' w;;l 
 iiov; l;:-iv'ii If) tile |.a^li^(.::> oi Mada,ini: tli: l. luir^e. 
 
 Yesterdav Miic, dc K 
 
 I ■ I I »i 
 
 a. 111 
 
 :ae queens ciianin*: 
 
 t') \\il;::>iJ'jr tt 
 
 ^', ,f tr 
 
 i-iul-.r: Wi)lll',i 
 
 aside 
 
 i 1 i U 
 
 \ \ \ \ p^ 
 
 C\ Flbnciif. ev( 
 
 i 1 ^ • ' ; r trill 
 
 agreeable tu 
 ladv chosen. 
 Thu- 
 
 iliof 
 
 --4 1 
 
 n r 
 
 
 
 if' 
 
 111 t 
 
 ? '' 
 
 I J.: chess (_>f 
 
 Ize t'l" di'oikI didies ^ .f t"- 
 1 iic iJL.cn',.::>s i.c I'. .rxxiii 
 tdc Duke (ie Houihon a: 
 
 as a a at favour not 
 
 laal 11 w-aM uc uis- 
 ■:A\ w^.ji'a thai \-i,)uni^ 
 
 "cr who filled an ia- 
 hou^chold ^>r tlie 
 
 ' ^ < n? • ■ 1 K ' ^ - t . . , ^ ? .- . 1 
 
 a- iaaa^a r^f Lorraine. 
 
 i 1 
 
 ( ) 
 
 iaiiada r: 
 
 i - ^ I. ■ . t 
 
 Ul'' \\'< 
 
 1 1 \i 
 
 L t 1 ' 
 
 :"' -aae. 
 *ss of 
 
 aalle" had 
 
 wv.^. uauL^ia'a's. sa': niau< 
 
 a a;r^ait ivTraciiai^e ** ai a^ aa- la^aa- 
 
 become. 
 
 Henceforaa ih" C'aa-t cA France would 
 in.ve to tr<:a: \aLa defer^jiice the Lrcion 
 
 f^ivourite wlio t^ • ■; 
 
 1 1 i 
 
 tiie 
 
 f ,• 
 
 i lancesse; 
 
 't l..*,an'a; 
 
 A^ 
 
 THE RIVALS. 
 
 91 
 
 Tha d'Elboeufs were poor. But Louise 
 raci-voned un iht^ir av-acaw ana laal a:=dr a-r- 
 
 ai lier ru'ca, a.) ncciistoia aa.- 
 
 traits huno- in 
 
 Lh:k'. 
 fauk i 
 
 iounci 
 
 C '' 
 
 WSl 
 
 youth. 
 
 Colberi a as annoyed a this rtraaa^em. IL 
 
 iSilrs-aH/d Ara.a,ad dc Lvaapuraa: lii.a aidrn de 
 ki-isaaille ha.Li obtaaicd Iro'ii xaik: i.iv.^.cs-^ 
 i ,a' p'^^^'tra'ts of iiar daa,.ditsi", and laid 
 
 si 1 .. ; 
 
 Qone i\K.:i ij<j:,ji lu lure uiu 
 
 
 iosinor ff)r one of them Sha k 
 
 represented, l^aa casi 
 aaaaias 'a a a a hom sia 
 currespondence, and ti 
 enjoyed. 
 
 1\L Cnio.ia: do Cr 
 
 f a 
 
 ...to 
 
 a.: 
 
 \ \'\ . • ',\ . 
 
 iV- 
 
 regular 
 
 \\ 
 
 sh 
 
 
 I a 
 
 ."■a Xx "'.\ VK\ 
 
 the 
 
 \ web 
 
 
 J a a ' :-j 1 1 
 
 i ! ■ ; 
 
 tiva : 
 
 ta 
 
 
 i.a\' 
 
 i; \ a iS 
 
 \r 
 
 > defeat 1^ 
 
 air 
 
 plan. 
 
 j. 
 
 
 Colbert 
 
 de 
 
 ^Xj 
 
 1 \ ■ 
 
 'a I Louise. 
 
 He 
 
 Hi 
 
 ^^ ciaana; 
 
 a,.aa 
 
 
 -'O- tn( 
 
 L ^ i. i 4. 
 
 he had 
 
 I , ■ 1, i C i 
 
 . ;. t i%K 
 
 o \j'\i'\.\. al v"» ui^ iiUL LUu iate 
 
 thus drifa^J i:a 
 
 a a ay 
 
 WXVQiX 
 
 1 1 % i '... i » 
 
 1 u. 
 
 ton aramst ac r 
 
 1 i ; V, 
 
 sa^ 
 
 to which tba^\ 
 
 rned Arlin^- 
 ;e the 
 looped, ill 
 
 i i ^ 1 1 
 
92 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 THE RIVALS. 
 
 93 
 
 oi dur lu unit iicr and the king in in amorous 
 liaison. " Arlington," de Pomponne was in- 
 I riri :d, neither likes nor esteems Mile, de 
 Kt ruLialle, and reproaches her with having as 
 soon forgotten t' e oblirations he conferred on 
 her, as aiu ni die orood dinners she has eaten/' 
 The Vv--n^:\\ ambassador was defeated in 
 conflict. Louise, it is lin.c, had lu give 
 ner protdgdes} who became nuns of the 
 
 L . . . ■" 
 
 Visitatiuii, 
 
 ana 
 
 to accept ]\i 
 
 icatrice of 
 
 Modena. \\iin)i;i James decided to marry. She 
 next applied iicr skill to bringing to a happy 
 issue an affair of great importance to herself. 
 
 A I tin end nf 1672 Aide, de Keroualle, 
 through die i i 1 di Hmbassy and de Pom- 
 ponne,^ p t*ti')ned the King of France for 
 leave to Lccuine an i^nglish subject, and *' so 
 
 1 Louis the Fourteenth was formally against the Elboeuf 
 match. " I have reasons," he said, " which would make 
 such a marriage disagreeable to me, and I therefore hope 
 you will adroitly apply yourself to cause hitches so that it 
 will never take place" (the king to Colbert, April 12, 
 1673). The Duchess d'Elboeuf — nee Elisabeth de la Tour 
 — was married in 1656, and died in 1688. Fran^oise 
 Marie, whom Louise de Keroualle wished to be married to 
 the Duke of York, and Marie Eleonore, the two daughters 
 of the duchess, became sisters of the Visitation. 
 
 2 Colbert to Pomponne, Jan. 30, 1673. 
 
 4 
 
 benefit by the gifts and honours which King 
 Charles wanted to lavish on her." Soon after, 
 she received the titles of Baroness if Peters- 
 field, Countess of Farnham, and Duchess of 
 Pendennis, a title which — nobody knows why — 
 was immediately changed to that of Duchess 
 of Portsmouth. The promise was given that 
 in a few days she was to be a lady of the 
 bedchamber,^ and thus rank as high as any of 
 the older mistresses who vr^rc duchesses. 
 Her elevation gave umbrage both to Court 
 and town ; and she and her strawberry leaves 
 were made the subject of ribald lampoons. 
 But much as she prized an Fmglish ducal 
 coronet, she would have valued more a stool, 
 or taboit7'et, of duchess in the 1 resence-chamber 
 at the Court of Versailles \ h ir he had 
 played such a humble part L,,i a iw years 
 before. 
 
 The tabouret was the highest object of a 
 Frenchwoman's ambition in the seventeenth 
 century. Not until Marie d'Arquien, the wife 
 of John Sobieski, had become Queen of 
 Poland, did she cease from strh-inq' to obtain 
 a tabouret at the Court of the Louvre. ** To 
 1 Colbert to Pomponne, Aug. 7, 1673. 
 
 I 
 
! / 
 
 in 
 
 94 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 think," cried \\'-x husband,^ "how she longs 
 f r that miserable stool, on which nobody can 
 sit it oase ! " When she was queen, she kept 
 the title oi rVench duke for her 
 
 sohcitiiig 
 father, and 
 
 importunities forced Louis 
 
 V i 
 
 r^\' V 
 
 \.'.. 
 
 \^*. -. i i 
 
 ':^;' thrrv^^h his ambassador at 
 Lit he rco^retted to be obHo^ed to 
 j lit repugnance to grant the Mar- 
 :ien a dig^nitv which he had so 
 
 i. I i i. 
 
 the 
 
 i I t i i i . 
 
 that he was astonished at 
 i' 'hnd continuing to ask it for 
 
 King of Poland was not an 
 
 important Li tr r in the policy of Louis, the 
 King of Fnjland was such a necessary ally 
 that his favourite was to be regarded as having 
 merited no i ; tter what high dignity. The 
 first step to the tabozcret would be to obtain 
 the ducal fief "f Aubigny. The negotiations 
 on t^i> matter were soon grot through. 
 
 \\\ July, It; 3 Charles spoke to Colbert of 
 '' his desire that Mile, de Keroualle should 
 be granted the fief, not only for her life, but 
 
 1 Letter of John Sobieski to his wife, May ii, i668. 
 
 2 The Bishop of Beauvais to the Marquis de Vitry, Dec. 
 10, i68o. 
 
 I 
 
 THE RIVALS. 
 
 95 
 
 that she might be able to transmit it to her 
 son.^ He would take care that it should not 
 pass from her posterity oi btuart blood. Col- 
 bert, who was in the thick of the strueele 
 against the Elboeuf ladies, was astounded at 
 this intimation, and exasperated at the im- 
 pudence of Louise, in demanding a French 
 Crown land. But he felt oblioed to con-imu- 
 nicate what Charles said to him to De Pom- 
 ponne, and did so in the following terms : ** I 
 own I find her on all occasions so ill-disposed 
 for the service of the kino^, and showine such 
 ill- humour against France (whether because 
 she feels herself despised there, or whether from 
 an effect of caprice), that I really think she 
 deserves no favour of his Majesty. But as the 
 King of England shows her much love, and 
 so visibly likes to please her, his Majesty can 
 judge whether it is best not to treat her accord- 
 ing to her merits. An attention paid to her 
 will be taken by the King of England as one 
 paid to himself. I have, however, told him 
 upon what conditions alone the fief could be 
 granted, and what he asks is just the con- 
 trary." 
 
 ^ Colbert to Pomponne, July 17, 1673. 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
 96 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 The estate of Aubigny-sur-Nievre, hi Hjrri, 
 ha^I 1. -n raised to a ducal fief in 11^2. bv 
 
 i. ) 
 
 Charl.> \'li., in i.v\^-^\:.x of John Siuarl, w i 
 Sf"■^\"^•■l iiiv^T tint i:!!V''. Tt wa-- t/) retinal to 
 
 the Cl%;\Vil 
 
 wiio was t 
 th.e lovebs' 
 
 b lauiC'': 
 
 
 b. 
 
 1 )acne^s < ^ 
 aUa:^h Ir- ^r 
 posscs^inn 
 iiut \ el recognise 
 Colbert tiiat th' 
 
 aT '^■a 
 
 , . , , , , . 
 
 ivh aaa av. a luisband kA 
 
 Aabaau L,a\-t^a a* aie 
 
 !a ii aniild ])e detached 
 
 a ;a laa and otq into tlie 
 
 wij s \\-:r- a }'f'ar old, aiai, 
 lAarles. Arlino-t-n told 
 
 a nose 
 
 r 
 
 \' \^ 
 
 I I I !' H 
 
 Ilia a a ' i- 
 
 1 , 
 
 i ! ^ 
 
 i i U ^ i i u 
 
 ■u \\ i i < 1 1 __ 
 
 II'-: I 
 
 was 
 
 lui 
 
 caaLla and had remarked to lia^ ,\a')rney- 
 
 Gt/n'Mad. wia-i. ia- was drawin?' aj. a:- natents 
 (jf a'.)bUit\ a.. a" L^^ a-- .aai. a o' ia-i- childreia bail 
 the boa \\\ (existence couuj ri^a iiia<„rit tlieni. 
 X' V ihele^r, Colberi liimsaJ aa < a a solution. 
 
 i ['• aroTiQ^cd a dnnati-ai ^'f Aabio-n\' in favair 
 
 «":> 
 
 O i t . i (. 
 
 1 U.caL.:i:7 y-i r-rtsmoulr:, waia reversion 
 to aav natarai child of the kinof, whom he 
 shouaa appoira lu succeed ia^r. bi this way 
 sao would la t become a French duchess, and 
 \\u.;ld ^aaily receive a ducal estate. 
 
 1 Colbert to Pomponne, August 29, 1673. 
 
 
 THE RIVALS. 
 
 97 
 
 Colbert's suggestion was in parr adoptedd 
 
 ]>al wldle ! 
 
 .i< t 
 
 b CJUili'eL: Id i! 
 
 a- acid oecome an cncan- ir^ 
 I ii' ' \\ \ )r,-j^ la,.- aa 
 <:x\c.r which \\V.: 
 
 
 ! n 
 
 a; naa.]- 
 
 :r^ 
 
 ijaaa- a 
 
 I ! 
 
 (f a ' f '■ n ■ r- 
 
 1 1' 
 
 , ^^ i, • U ; 
 
 know how m Iaa!^a^ use 
 
 and 
 
 1 i 1 ^^ V \ 1 1 \ . 
 
 liioy soon bocam^^ niataallv dAagreeable. At 
 a Liiia' wnen laneaaiii iiiivi i' aaaca were Cv_aa- 
 bintd against A Aaa] tla^ rnn*tar\- FiiMichmen 
 Court ui \\ iati'ii.ai were tiiuue'ht more 
 
 L Lit'. 
 
 1 r ' 
 
 1 
 
 *- i ^ 
 
 Li:* 
 
 I. i. i i J i I < . 
 
 n • >■! ■ 
 
 < Kill L 
 
 d'Kstrees, who coiiaaaadcd lia^ French fleet, 
 iai! an tlie hearts of English aii >rs. Charles 
 
 \\>-nt on board Ids aaL^wldpa aocomnaniod bv 
 Conite Ca.uiiA-:-,, tu w a .oa iu aad criveu a 
 pen'^ion of aooo crowns. 
 
 d las CanajjAs iuiu tjaiaincd leave to serve 
 in llio Fnglish an^iw lie was a brother (C 
 i\birsia.i 0;* Lreqii\\ aia ' 
 and imbecile aoarai-r. At 
 
 i V ., i 
 
 ^. * '. ) 
 
 ji ai a no* 
 seven I \ ■ 
 
 ^ The patent of grant is dated December, 1673, ^"^^ ^s to 
 be found in the archives Des Affaires I :> aiigeres^ Angleierre^ 
 tome cviii., fol. : 3 ; aie paiciii it crct lusa into a duchy is 
 
 ciaicd JaniMry 1004. it is in the aNaauiiai .VrciiiVc-, ica. o, 
 I, 28, xA. 15. 
 
 '^ lUa>\ IxAr-TiX - Correspondence t.. ii^. p -57- 
 
98 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 
 Til", t" r ! 
 
 i i A <. A. *. i i 
 
 .1 
 
 
 !if' It t : ! lis live in France, he 
 iit' I ^: Marshal cle \^'v-nne, 
 !i who knew him i/\^ hiN tarUiiy 
 rrcovcred huaiih. '• Canaples, who," >i:Lu.i!i;o 
 de Sevi'^ni'^ wroto to l^rr dau^^hter, ' liad been 
 cut, liaik'_u, ahJ carved up again by tie 
 doctors, -urv'\ed his four brothers and died 
 ul uid age. 
 
 Charles preferred to this valetudinarian a 
 iiephr^w of de Tur^^nne, Louis Duras, whom he 
 createu i mi i : 1 eversham, and made his boon 
 cc'ini anion, I \ vrrsham took such a part in 
 iii-. anui I inmii li: u (^ ibert warned de Pom- 
 ! onne to k-pn well wiiii him, because his help 
 (. u 1 not iic dmnensed with. iHis orood fortune 
 
 i rench noblemen on the Court 
 
 It became the fashion in Paris 
 
 a -n. 11; Frenchmen of Pucking- 
 
 cere ui a:^ much impon i:ur \x\ the 
 
 uis as c f Charles. Since Parliament 
 
 'a-ia Uackingham \\ Mil pojiiilarity 
 
 a L\ a li ' House of Commons 
 
 Anc^lican Church and tho Pro- 
 
 aai Mates oi hart pe. iHe was too cle\ai 
 
 I o-'lon thus gained an 1 often 
 went back tu lii^ i lench friends. Saiiii L\ic- 
 
 caa^t 
 
 X\ 
 
 w 
 
 e}M 
 liad 
 
 »\ 1 
 
 . O w ^ 
 
 1 "1 
 
 n Qi 1 
 
 ^1 1-a 
 
 777£" RIVALS. 
 
 99 
 
 mond did Colbert a service In bringing round 
 the Duke of Buckingham to him, and aided 
 him with much wit and address in keeping 
 them friends. The wit of Saint Evremond 
 was kept bright by the gift of a snuff-box, with 
 the portrait of the King of France on the lid, 
 worth twenty-eight thousand livres tournois. 
 To nrevent Arlington feelinof envious, another 
 snuff-box, to which a cHamond ring was added, 
 was sent him.^ Buckingham was revolving in 
 his head a financial scheme of the greatest con- 
 sequence, and, encouraged by Louis's bounty 
 and amiable condescension, he had his project 
 submitted to that monarch by the Marquis de 
 bessac. 
 
 The Marquis de Sessac had most of the 
 faults of the Chevalier de Gramont, without 
 his charming wit. iHe was, like him, rash, 
 presumptuous, and meddling. Aiicr he was 
 banished from the Court of France, he took 
 refuge in London, where he attempted, as did 
 uramont, tu make a fortune in gambling. De 
 ^k ssac had large coffers, which were often 
 sudden! v filled with gold, and as frequently 
 
 1 MiGNET : JSegociaiious de la Succession d'Espagne, t. iv., 
 p. 48. 
 
lOO 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 emptied in a single night. The Duke of 
 Buckinglkii.. r-iruck up a friendship with him, 
 and offered to sell himself and his party to 
 the King of France for a respectable sum. 
 The operation was to be effected unknown to 
 the French embassy, Buckingham having still 
 in him a little of that hypocrisy which is a 
 tribute to virtue. But Colbert de Croissy 
 could not be kept long in ignorance of this 
 bargain, which he was unable to approve. 
 ''Votes are only," he wrote,^ "to be obtained 
 by parading hatred of France. Let us enter- 
 tain no illusion on that score. It must not 
 be imagined that with two hundred thousand 
 cruwii:^ we can bring so great a body to follow 
 a course which reason should alone dictate. 
 A- M iisieur de Sessac takes pleasure in big 
 talk about himself, and in giving himself im- 
 poitan:^^, -^ v" risks, in drawing close to his 
 friend ik.ckingham, to offend Arlington." 
 
 D Sessac went secretly to Marshal de Bell- 
 k>ri - a \ ersailles,^ to announce to him that 
 ii in charo^ed to submit t-^ Louis an affair 
 
 ^ Colbert to King Louis, Nov. 27, 1673. 
 ^ In uctober, 1673. See instructions to De Ruvigny, 
 Ajj. Etr. Angleterre^ tome ex., fol. 127. 
 
 ' 
 
 THE RIVALS, 
 
 lOl 
 
 of the highest importance for the State, but 
 that he could only communicate it to the king. 
 He refused to see De Pomponne, the Secretary 
 on Foreign Affairs. At length a royal audi- 
 ence was granted him, and he handed Buck- 
 ingham's letter to the king. The duke, in that 
 paper, said he was ready for ever\thing. But 
 it was essential that he should gain some mem- 
 bers of Parliament, and it would be necessary 
 for the Kine of France to create a fund in 
 London to provide for the expense of buying 
 members of the House of Commons. The 
 opposition of Parliament to the Court pre- 
 sented such dangers, that Louis judged well 
 to enter into the relations with Buckingham, 
 and sent to England, as secret negotiator, the 
 Count de Ruvigny, whom he intended should 
 a Aw weeks later supersede Colbert The 
 choice of De Ruvigny was a good one. He 
 was a soldier, elderly, respected, and the recog- 
 nised chief a the Reformed Church of France, 
 Several marriages had united his family and 
 of the Russells, who wer^ all-powerful 
 
 ">•'-. it 
 
 Aiih the Encylish Protestants. 
 
 1 t i "^ 
 
 son was 
 
 1 After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, he was 
 naturalized English, and became Lord Galloway; and, 
 
I02 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 boni in Kn. ' 1:1 1. Ruvigin was of high birth, 
 
 t, an-.i >in,^i:h:-'\- clever. In- rrcuiiciled 
 
 J]' ai 
 
 rxcf:^T)Un:i;i 
 
 11'; 
 
 ,,-:.i. 
 
 1. 
 
 
 O'Vi '-it 
 
 ^^ . • -.It 
 
 1 ■ "! t ^ i 
 
 .:^ 
 
 ail 1 icrtihty of resource and social 
 
 ta-: 
 
 1 > . 
 
 I V I i \ a 
 
 n 
 
 \ wa. ai>-raicted tu concert with 
 '-^.--•■:l -'■' i In-- .Uaiaai^; J*' S-jssac.^ H^ was 
 ^^< i t in lia^ dark about the interviews the 
 latter had with the in ng of T ranee. < Mie of 
 the orders he ua^ ^i\' n was, to deceive Hack- 
 '^^J^- ' i; avJang him believe that Charles 
 knew n^^thing of his scheme. But Louis 
 judged well, w^iile Buckinghaan was lu think 
 "hat close secresy was being observed, to in- 
 ^'-- I ' - aa aa rch of what had been negotiated 
 through De Sessac. i iie knavery t which Louis 
 resorted was :.u ni ainple and shamefiii, liiat 
 Ruvigny wa^ to read over and over his instruc- 
 1^!''^n>. ;taa a make a prdcis of them, to show he 
 understood tin ni but to be allowed no cup). 
 Louis ''thought it too dangerous to let them 
 be takaii aaaa a^ i^ngland in writing. His 
 
 in the \\ ^i of the Spanish Succession, commanded the 
 EngHsh army which was sent to operate in Portugal. 
 ' Tome ex., fol. i r- . Nov. 4, 1673. 
 
 C> 
 
 THE RIVALS, 
 
 103 
 
 ^Aau'-A) wished tia/ni 
 un Rai\aan\-'-^ iiiaaj. 
 
 rail\ lu ul 
 
 .,,.., a I 
 t ( a J i i s 
 
 iIllprc^>^ud 
 
 by 
 
 i V , ( •_ 'v, I : i I ,_ i. i 
 
 la i 1]' s at L'/i u w* a \', 
 
 »> 
 
 Thus, in liif wnn^a* wina!] 'M,-|.aiaina] tht^ two 
 
 lamat ^aun 
 
 1 . ' 
 
 'Oaa'nt 
 
 to buy the King oi lingland and tin lauai ana in ; 
 the kna^ bv the subventw, an. iA Uu^ seari.w 
 treat), an the gift of Xiik:, r^tan ^A Aubigny 
 to tin.' i hichess of Fortamontli • arvl the P..a'- 
 liamciii liirougli Buckingham. Ruvi^-ny said 
 of It that it was "a filthA tiafnw"^ 
 
 All Europe had im ia;d against France in 167^, 
 t\ wi to the Prussians of Brandenburg, w a* i a 1 
 haaked out of an allianae wiiii tiu^ Dnicii the 
 moment they were attacked." Spain overcame 
 
 Inw^ 1 
 
 aarrm 
 
 OT 
 
 f Protestantisii 
 
 * T 
 
 1 rl 1 1 
 
 ill sKiino^ wata 
 
 1 i 5 ' a . a 
 
 !id. Far up in the North, Louis had 
 takrn Maestricht,^ and in" was silently pna^aring 
 to seize on the Franche Comte and the Pala- 
 tinate. His frontiers were being widened, and 
 his armies increased. Suddenly, at nu- decisive 
 
 1 Ruvigny expressed, in a letter to King Louis, dated 
 Xuv, -7, 1673, disgust at being an agent in such dirty- 
 affairs, and seemed to doubt of their cvf^ntual success 
 because of their immorality. 
 
 ^ See Rousset's Histoi) e de Louvois, t. ii., i - 
 
 3 June 29, 1673. 
 
I04 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 c 
 
 t(* 
 
 • T^nglani i eginning 
 
 -i.^. 
 
 1 ii- cilarm was l:v n I \ Comte ir trades, 
 v.h) wrotr^ from London v':h i ckarness of 
 111-^- tii.L wa. iruly marvellous:^ *' The 
 Englisii ilo not think themselves In:; \ by 
 ii'vaU^j-. ii uif-\ ..if' uiice lenorupd w'la b.-ain, 
 the Empire, ana N .Hand, nobody ot our gen- 
 ■ -a I he end of this w n.'* 
 t this period of the reign f Charles, 
 n ii iM--j'n< of Fn-land had been 
 :n^ liicmselves against R n m la : .ii 
 t!y^ l,nrrl Treasurer Clifford anti 
 
 Uli 
 
 i 1 ', I L 
 
 CI 
 
 Ulr 
 
 w 
 
 
 nrH:i! 
 
 \ ( ^ n 1 a n I. 
 
 a-r. latvi t(_) resio-ji Liicir 
 a: more could be : a^ 
 .itholics, the whole tide « > 
 
 ul 
 
 ,1 
 
 now' 
 ( ai 
 C.C,-...- 
 
 I agai'iNt Fna;.;e. 
 
 ■■'; " ^'H '\-.'nich l\na.'inn\' siircoprha] 
 
 ..mbassador, Ca. tries was paui ia:> 
 
 iu nah a t Iwres? and he ' f 
 
 u^ whicii 
 
 iu> [.fO dishaian-i.i, i ;■ 
 
 tne re^mi 
 
 V> a:-> LU IvCaL? 
 
 F 
 
 -onghani, w ]a> 
 
 ^ See Rousset's Histoire de Louvois, t. ii., p. 278. 
 
 2 ' 
 
 J 
 
 3 ^rIaNET: Negociaiions relatives a la Succession dTs^ 
 
 pagne, t. vi. p 254. 
 
 .^ 
 
 J 
 
 r//^ RIVALS, 
 
 10: 
 
 sell his sovereign at a high price, was, of all 
 tho political men of the day, the hardest used 
 
 by Parliament. La i\ Shrewslana ins Roman 
 Ca^h n Mf '' Popish '' mistress, was i wn in 
 lii- face; and his Canaanitish \icr., his debts, 
 ana nis dishonesty were all the subject ol acri- 
 
 - auacks. \\i- ij^nt beneatli ila^ blast; 
 1. with the suppleness of a man who has 
 
 a a liian stoutness of heart or firmness 
 
 I L / i 
 
 
 of character, veered round and chanwd his 
 
 • a '"^ livincr. He broke with \au- f:i:thful 
 Countess of aa'ewsbur), whu retired to a cun- 
 vont at Danlnrk,^ made ii|:) !iL aaarrc! u ith his 
 wife, and adopted the Biblical ! raaseolo^^v and 
 nasal twang of the Paritans. The Protestant 
 in Ruvienv reported the sudden ciaiv^rsion,- 
 vaa :i was shown in regular aiu adance at the 
 serviLf- (j1 lia- Episcopal Church waii his wife, 
 in his methodic attention to his expenses, in the 
 
 1 Ruvigny to Pomponne, Jan. 29, 1674. Her son, 
 Charles Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, became, on the con- 
 trary, the idol a the people, because of his manly beauty 
 and Anglican fanaticism. He was created a duke by 
 Wilh'am ITT, and led the coup d'Etat, when Queen Anne 
 was dymg, which secured the throne to the House of 
 I Ian. A. r. 
 
 '^ Idem, Sept. 10, 1674. 
 
io6 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 pa\ in :;c of debts^ and in the order established 
 
 ^^nus^h -Id all of ^vhich made h'm popu- 
 . iuHowed Buckingham m yielding 
 ! res-iire, ar 1 concluded a peace 
 
 in n ! 
 
 let I 
 
 .1 1 
 
 to 
 
 t W i > , 1 ! i - 1 «■- 
 
 V. til Holland. But he did not yet break with 
 i I I'lce, a; : . n ] fi King Louis the English 
 reguiKjiiu wiiich were in his pay, abroad. 
 "^li" ihe sit ti 1 was most critical. The best 
 ac:' !U t tin 1 rench policy in England, Louise 
 de Keroualle, had been in a single day reduced 
 to impotenc}'. 
 
 ^ Ruvigny to Pomponne, Feb. i6, 1674 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST 
 
 CHECK. 
 
 T\- the spring of 1674, just when another 
 Erench campaign was begun, and a few weeks 
 before the battle of Seneffe, Charles got tired 
 of his Erench shackles. The cause was well 
 known to his Court ; and the austere De Ru- 
 vigny said what it was in plain terms. Plain, 
 graphic words were not held vulgar at the 
 Court of Versailles. Madame de Seviene and 
 the Marshal de Richelieu never muffled up 
 disagreeable things in weak or vague expres- 
 sions, and were as free from prudish niceness 
 as Moliere or Voltaire. It was permissible in 
 good society m the 17th century to quote 
 texually what the Protestant Ruvigny wrote 
 to the Jansenist de Pomponne, in a letter 
 which was to be read by Louis the Eour- 
 teenth, whose Court was the most polished 
 
 and literary in Europe. 
 • 107 
 
io8 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 '' I have a thlnor to tell you/ M unsieiir, for 
 
 the kin/s i!ii r: iition, which should remain 
 secret i long as it pleases his majest) lu keep 
 it so, because if it gets out it might be a source 
 of unseemly raillery. \\ hilst the kino-^ was 
 winning provinces, the King of England was 
 catchino^ a nulady which he has been ai uic 
 trouble of communicating to the Duchess of 
 Ik' - ■ uti f h 11 ;: nice is nearly cured ; but 
 t aH a])|)earance the lady will not so soon 
 la rid of t a \ r a She has been, however, 
 i:i .1 degree consoled for such a troublesome 
 present by one more suitable to her charms 
 — a pear! necklace, wurdi four thousand 
 jacobus, and a diamond worth six thousand, 
 which a.i\e so rejoiced her i' a [ should not 
 ^ • ■ ^ -' '^ -^^ ^-^^ i'^^e, she were not willino- 
 tu r: k 11 tk r attack of the disease." 
 
 Ihe : a la. akch came from Louis, must 
 have been u'^t id at a i-nment when the clerks 
 M rJi I' xchequer refused a, pay the favourites' 
 ^^'^^"-^ I>^-^^ --' fn^-rorl separation frnni the 
 
 ^ Ma ^ h i a 4j fol. 20I. 
 
 2 Ruvigny invariably spoke of Louis as "the King," and 
 Ui Chp.rles as "the King of England." 
 
 ^ In a letter of - : 11 -tubbs to Lord Kent, dated Sept. 
 28, 1673, and preserved in Lord Shaftesbury's library at 
 
 DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST CHECK. 109 
 
 king, which the prolonged bad health of the 
 Duchess of Portsmouth occasioned, aroused 
 competition, and spurred on all the rivals to 
 abuse, and try to supersede her. The doctors 
 said she ought to go to Tunbridge^ for 
 the waters. She hired a house there, but on 
 her arrival found the Marchioness of Wor- 
 cester settled in it for the season. The 
 D ichess reminded the intruder that the law 
 was against her, and what duty she owed to a 
 lady who was a degree above her in the peer- 
 age. Thereupon the Marchioness replied, that 
 the titles women earned by prostitution, had 
 no effect upon persons of quality and sense. 
 She derided the Duchess about her former 
 gallantries with De Sault, and Hamilton. To 
 compensate Louise for this public humiliation, 
 Charles sent a detachment of the Household 
 Guards to escort her in pomp to Windsor, 
 where he placed her under the treatment of 
 his physician Crimp. 
 
 Long after a cure was effected, she was 
 
 St. Giles, he says : " Neither Madam Kerwell's, nor the 
 Duchess of Cleveland's, nor Nell Gwynn's warrants will be 
 accepted." 
 
 ^ Diplomatic note of August 16, 1674, vol. cxiv., fol. 
 119. 
 
I lO 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST CHECK, iii 
 
 ashamed of the accident, and for years after 
 v-ac in the habit of gently reminding the guilty 
 Charles of the injury and disgrace he had in- 
 flicted on her. ^^ ■ lade him blush for him- 
 self before the different confidential ao-ents 
 whoiii I ouis afterwards st ;:l to England. One 
 of Ruvigny's successors describes a scene in 
 which she raked up the scandal to confound 
 Charles : - i tell you privately, and in the 
 hope that it will not travel further, how three 
 days ago the Duchess of Portsmouth in my 
 t'ivsence attacked the king about his infideli- 
 ties. She did not hide from me what she had 
 suffered two years ago from his misconduct with 
 trulls ; and he himself then described to me 
 how his head doctor had prescribed for her."^ 
 
 The Duchess of Portsmouth found some 
 consolation in the arrival of her sister, whom 
 she turned into a means of securing herself 
 English allies. Henriette de Keroualle ar- 
 rived in London in May, 1674. Ruvigny 
 reported to his Court that she was a youno- 
 girl ui iiui more than ordinary attractions ; - 
 t-:it >]i' crossed the sea alone with the gentle- 
 
 ^ Courtin to Louvois, Dec. 27, 1674. 
 2 Ruvigny to Pomponne, May 12, 1674. 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 man who was sent in a yacht to fetch her from 
 Brest, and that on landing she was given a pen- 
 sion of six hundred pounds sterling a year. She 
 was not long in finding a noble husband, the 
 Earl of Pembroke, who was, Ruvigny also re- 
 ported to the Court of Versailles, more ill, and 
 from the same disease, than Charles had been, 
 but who thouo^ht himself cured. ^ The kino^, 
 besides the pension, gave the bride a marriage 
 portion. 
 
 Louis did not abandon Louise. She had 
 the address to be reserved in askine him for 
 favours, and went on feeling her way. 
 
 Her main desire was, to obtain the taboitret, 
 to which the ducal fief of Aubigny would give 
 her a right. But she contrived, with the finest 
 art, to put on Ruvigny to prepare the way 
 for future claims on the generosity of Louis.^ 
 *' I write," he said, ** to your Majesty at the 
 prayer of the Duchess of Portsmouth, w^ho is 
 uneasy about a blunder of the Marquis de 
 
 1 Letter, dated Westminster, Dec. 19, 1674, in the 
 possession of Mr. T. Stamford Raffles, 13, Aberciomby 
 Street, Liverpool : " Her sister was on Thursday married to 
 the Earl of Pembroke, he being pretty well recovered from 
 his * * * . Tiie king pays the wedding portion." 
 
 2 Ruvigny to Pomponne, March 15, 1674. 
 
lI2 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Ai 
 
 || 
 
 
 Danaeau.^ \\hic;i i)laces her \:\ i vronof liaht. 
 
 b.u: lui'i Lh'S' >u._^ ill ji;ni. Sif;^, to cnn\'n\- to xnu 
 no'A" inucii :,;ic taivcr^ lu ii(jai"i tiu- nUiox'^U oi 
 your sor\'!CO ; wiih wiiat Z'''al >\v: lo^ks aftrr 
 iheni, and what a [.)a:?:-ionaic desire ^he lias to 
 ('arn \-oiir Mait:st\-"s conlldrncc. l)ut instead 
 ot that she has been iniV>rnvd l)\- the marqni-. 
 Idnistdi that he incr'-i\- soi^'it-d iov licr the 
 pri'iin^e ot a tauouiiL wian >he wnahJ l:'<> leii^k 
 to hrance. She Lch> nie tiiat liaT.- is ^o littir 
 
 encinLtj ot tnis. tnat 
 
 nas cr^asrO to iiopo {(.>!' 
 
 it: tnit tnat. bem^" in ci ['n^^nioa ^tni to -(O'et: 
 }'^^er Ahiji.st\'. wiiat >h'"' wouM nio^t wis]] wruild 
 t^c to ijersnaile ) ui 
 
 11 O i 
 
 ia W !'i h/i I ; nlsra* )i i 
 
 witli which siie is na)\-('d to ;a:coni' w^n \-our be- 
 
 h^'-i-. I or<-s 
 
 the:Se sentinitiUs. \)\M 
 
 cuu iO Mot iia!"«j h ) e« s 
 ujv.w'A fosot'Ct tlen 
 
 ^. V-' Y '- .. I . , 1 i 1 t I . 1 I i 1 i i I I . ^ L ' I . 
 
 <ai la-r to \\a-;n: hcrsr-n to ^wia'ess 
 
 L I i ■- » ■. 
 
 t ' ' ' I 
 
 1 
 
 > a ' 
 
 uecaLi:5e ul aa- iq-o- 
 eni^:rauiie 1 lor her 
 
 ^^^i\^^^n ^ii- tiaewiii tlu..: tinio was n 
 
 n-iaknie her dtanand 
 
 Sll^^ st 
 
 1 an near 
 
 1 .. 
 
 to. 
 
 i s 1 1 
 
 1 iiiao 
 
 bill > 1 ., 
 
 acR \}\ moaebix', cUkI cLiwa\s itiwlerrc^i sn* ak- 
 
 ^1 I, 
 
 ^ Ul'WWin li.ul O.) 
 euT' i i !.:u;' , > !aju_;n. 
 
 >i\'\on to fiLrht a (hi':! uai 
 
 f ). 
 
 DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST CHECK. 113 
 
 ing through Charles or the ambassador. Fif- 
 teen months after she had expressed ikroaeh 
 tie* kwisa ia-r i^as-ioiiate z^a,,: \k^x liu/ bh-ench 
 
 i\ ni- S aarxwa- the Kor ' 
 
 ol I'^li^UUWi ' aaivL tu 
 
 Riivi^^;ny tiiai it wouki L.dve liim ]nue"!i satisbu:- 
 ti<jn li Loins wouid be pk:asL:d to baatijw the 
 first abba-)- vacant an an aunt i>f the b)ncia:ss 
 (at i'ori-inaatln bbnnc Sa/aima de b!veuc dc 
 I nncar, a aroiesSad nan in liia Ai.'biO" kA 
 i.ajaaT ai i lannaitan, m iriO 
 X^annes. hi con\a;\wa; tins ba 
 
 
 i'' ^' 
 
 (4 
 
 1 n ■ . 
 
 K I 1 \., 
 
 LiCC(.a.u: ua 
 
 ''■' ■ na ' no -s-ai.Te 
 
 I a. i » ; i ^ 11 a I i _ i u, ; L \ > (J ., 1 i V I o a O o i ; L a I O 
 
 . at oMCe, ana waai a e*'Oa ^race. 
 
 .e same desnatcla'" he saai laal 
 
 , ca oie 
 
 ro(ine:-L (A Uic Ljuchess oi k'ortaniuatn, tne Kincr 
 of i-a-;;bnd charged Iiim t^ recommend t- the 
 king her raLuive, ?vL Lktiiact, for aa,_, post oi 
 Sxndic o( the States «i Ih-Aiimy, Louis, who 
 d,ii.i» nai ia-o; this meddHno- fn affiirs .it his 
 
 iS 
 
 n)t? rnal administration, iiabt^d a reproof iw 
 
 < ', ' 
 
 naUxao; no allusion na ab do Lkhk3et ni an\ o 
 his daw atches, Ijat sent in' return of lawn .u\k 
 sileniiw a oair of ])endani dinirrrn 
 the favourite. She received tiieni wan a sho 
 
 ^ Ruvigny to Pomponne, Jan 21, 1674. 
 - lie///, Oct. 24, 1675. 
 
 f 
 
 to 
 
 w 
 
 /' 
 
114 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 A thr deepest respt-l aiM 
 
 intercuts. 
 
 Somr-tinics Iv-r a:* 
 h!ie la'uiL'iu rajiciiic 
 
 ^h'j \va^ a raair r'.;: 
 
 zCca 
 
 'n':at!c ta'"a 
 
 ^, and re- 
 
 r master's 
 
 O v_ i I 
 
 ! , ■ ; 1 - ■ ! • ; ! 'S r 
 
 a T ) a . . . 1 ■ I ' f a - : , 
 
 iX'c ui lac Uc Kuualio," saa 
 
 a nioLirnino" whca la" Clievali' r 
 
 r t ' the gibe; 
 
 s t ' 1 S ^-^ 
 
 t 
 
 
 1 * 
 
 ai 
 
 J • ; i ' 1 H 
 
 ! ! • i I 
 
 
 T^j t- 1 f 
 
 1 , 
 
 1 ( f ' I 
 
 come down i ) 
 f refined taste 
 
 LMa. iia)' L a.uacs, 
 
 at hr-r hoa^e. cr)inplai!a'(1 nf v;ant ^-f inoncy. 
 On licaraaa naa, ?\-u uiicrcJ. n-aii a loud 
 laaal 
 
 ta 
 
 1 1 
 
 mating the 
 
 ^ Letter in the Stamford Raffles collection, dated Dec. 
 10. I' 7:^ : "She is in deep mourning for the Chevalier de 
 iv. iii, as being forsoothe of kin to that family." 
 
 - The French hold punning and playing upon words in con- 
 tempt, aid also any sort of witticism that is rudely personal. 
 Nell's mot showed cleverness and an intelligent perception of 
 the state of parties. She meant, that, to please Parliament, 
 a^. ixi ]^ should sacrifice his French miss (the ragout), Lau- 
 derdale ^the Scotch collops), and Sunderland, whose face 
 rcscM. i-i a calf's, and who was said to be in the ideas of 
 the la a: kiiu. {Translator's Note.) 
 
 \ 
 
 DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST CHECK. 115 
 
 a i rench rac^out, Scotch collops, and a calf's 
 
 h 
 
 ^n,- 
 
 111 ]'■ 
 
 1 C ! 1 
 
 wliich "Sn ninant tlaii iia n^as to 
 K^chessof i'oribiiiuaila I.auder- 
 
 wliM wished 
 
 da!.- ^:,-v'-rL 
 
 •-■ 1 
 
 and e\a 
 
 aiai lo r; :\a\ r 
 
 lii' 
 
 ■' a^'--*"-'^ 
 
 i. II liar, lia aaa 
 
 i\a,/ 
 
 
 caaiaa f)\- au: 
 
 
 lataa^- '^ 
 
 ar\' (an 
 
 , , t *. ' \ , . 
 
 a: 
 
 t ka . i V 
 
 inp- lU:^ 
 
 a -e execution was 
 
 a\a:a,':-.' 1 haid day." 
 .'.all ;>!'aised at tlie 
 
 i i c was 
 J a den mode <? speech; 
 
 ■ I \\ jrds 
 
 Laairles lau^hei!. .ivA ....^., ....... , 
 
 i'>k'\ aiai thoiiHit it a slirewd one. 
 
 used 10 her a'vav^aa. 
 
 arr i sh«^ was not n vrnrnnn ^a 
 
 to please inm. 
 
 Faa Court of \^ersailles watched with aniuse- 
 aa rn the French harlot's ijru.,ras^ at White- 
 hall "Madame de Sevigne records some of 
 
 • 
 
 liu: echoes ui what was said there about her. 
 '' Keroualle," she wrote,^ "saw a, H ': r way, 
 anJ, has naare everything sh^,- \raha^:h lar C(Miie 
 lo pass. She a anted to be the mistress of the 
 ivai::; nf Fngland; and behold, he now shares 
 her couch before the eyes of the whole Court. 
 She wa^n'u to be rich ; and she is heaping 
 up treasures, and making herself feared and 
 courted. But she did not fa- see that a low 
 actress was lu cross her path, ana lu bewitch 
 
 ^ Sept. ii, 1675 ; t. iv., p. 128. 
 
ii6 
 
 '■"^^iClVSE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 the king. She i. 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 ' ■> 
 
 : werless to detac' ■ -^ \\'0\\\ 
 
 11- iiix'ides his v.v^xv\. !:is 
 
 The 
 
 
 low- actress i:^ as pro;: 
 
 . . 1 
 
 ] \\v 1 
 
 ^'-'■i! ^^'aoni ^iir ]t;cr:3 at, in 
 
 of. 
 
 .line 
 
 vh, 
 
 (^ften la 
 
 ]n"aves h-r u 
 
 * f ■> 
 
 ill'. 
 
 W' \ llKi IV cs 
 
 ■ s la*" i\ a 
 
 i 1 
 
 Laat hilt; in LiUj 
 
 \'nua ''' 
 
 , f n^ a cl c a n 
 
 '~^n to 
 
 t\\ 
 
 1 s 
 
 ,( i 
 
 1 H 
 
 S 
 
 Ih 
 
 . :^ 
 
 '^ %'f^u 
 
 :g 
 
 "^_ 
 
 t^li 1 
 
 a raa.: 
 
 ^1 
 
 hhe sinq-s, viaices, 
 
 i.aaklv iia.h 
 
 ♦ ,- 
 
 M )\-<* 
 
 "! . ■ 1 ' a. "■ 1 ^ M 1 
 
 ^; 
 
 nee 
 
 Kerouaii'- in-- a-cuaic a iav'uania, (_i\'.'\;ai 
 
 i i 
 
 
 son a 
 
 1 t i o. 
 
 , 1 
 
 sisn^ a:-'a na- _ 
 
 Tla> ir. la-a ^a^ argues: ' Ta.^i ;;• hy-toity 
 
 1 laaca ilachess set- ap to be oi ;^rand ([uaHty. 
 
 Ever\' o' 
 
 :( ' ' 
 
 1 ranee i'=^ ^u^r con 
 
 
 aaanai some grand lord or lady over 
 there dies, -he orders a suit of deep mourning. 
 Well, if she's of such high station, why is she 
 such a jade ? She oug^it to be ashamed of 
 
 herself! It 1 ^'- no reared Ij be a lau) , 1 am 
 surt: I sh(_oal i)lush f -r myself. I'st it'- an.- 
 
 ti\f..:o t^) be a Josw saa 1 \\..o never a 
 
 \ ♦ n 1 
 
 hm<^ 
 
 1 Charles Beauclerc, the son of Nelly, was born before 
 the arrival of Louise. He was recognised by Charles, and 
 created Duke of St Albans. 
 
 DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST CHECK'. 117 
 
 else. The king keeps me ; ever since he has 
 dune so, I have been true to hi an i !' iais had 
 
 a son -a me, and V v.\ ^-sn^ to make laai oasi 
 liic brat, for \\'- is a<s fond r^f vwr as of his 
 French miss.' This croataia,: a^aa;-. :a r .saa in 
 an extna^a'claiarv nnsnnor. and embarra-sas aad 
 discuiiCornD ihc new-fledo^ed ducha>-/' 
 
 T!io degradiag subjection ia nhica Ciiarles 
 
 wa:- I 
 
 aL 1 1 ob:^ a vUi J 
 
 i i I ,. I '. ■ 
 
 a;n 
 I he 
 
 n« sna^ai IniLL nut 
 o. i ;ie orame of 
 
 for the humiliations which in 
 queen. Poor Csiiiassaa <n 
 
 :ie consolation, har c.irnnan: 
 basset was bar nn\x anmsenasit.-^ 1 s: lin^ ovon- 
 inof she never left her circle, if the inner did 
 not offer her his hand to lead her to her cham- 
 ber.^ She w^as often ailing, and was subject 
 to nervous headaches, so severe as to . puzzle 
 tiie doctors,^ who -^o uiiaii pureed her, lisn the 
 cure was more perilous than the disease. 
 
 The hierarchv in the king-'s seraglio was 
 
 ^ The Duke of York to the Countess of Lichfield, in a 
 leUer in the possession of Viscount Dillon at I ^nchley. 
 
 2 Ruvigny to King Louis, August 30, 1674. The ac- 
 counts of the queen, kept from 1670 to 1703 by Sir R, 
 Be'lings, are in tlie possession 01 i.' la Aaiadel at Wardour 
 Castle. 
 
 ^ Ruvigny to Pomponne, ALirch 28, 1675. 
 
t 
 
 Ii8 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 
 child r 
 
 L 
 
 J 1 V. (.. I ■ 1 i 
 
 vided Mr. 
 
 Tiv; title of l)id;c (^?" Ivicluiiuinj wa^ ren- 
 dcR:d vacant by tlu: dt-adi. in in;:, of tlv.^ 
 bountiful Mi^s Stuart's hu-i)and. ddh' b)acii(:-s 
 of Pv)rtsniouth, who had ol'tainod ui!- iiet ot 
 Auld an', asked it for h'-r son Ciiarles. I>iit 
 silo was oiioo^od i)\' th?' Pacho'-s (^i („ Ua'o.ano. 
 
 I )akr ( A ( irafKai for 
 
 whr^ wantoij tho titl-. 
 
 A 
 
 hor i'lde-t -on. and na-'Ocd tii.o. ia- -la'ulh ha\a^ 
 tho precedence of tiu' in-a: iA a bd'tneh ia!--\\ 
 aiiLL taai nor e^inor scjn snt^aan ^tauLl ni/Xt lO:? 
 l-n^thf-r in tho oo<-raao. Clairl'':-^. wlai still 
 
 feared the t< 
 
 f t 
 
 . U i '^, I L V 
 
 1 ! 'I i »Ol 
 
 "Tac*- (^t Ckwa;hind, tre.^d to tarn tie; duncultN' 
 by rnakin;^ tht.: twvj ^d^ <M ioeoard:^ dakeq 
 siniukaue' aoiv'. Ike on^cedenco depend':d r-n 
 
 the [latent that wa:^ iir:-t ^i^^nod. d lie Ducio'ss 
 of Isjrt^najutio wiin w., . ne e-e sh" and cii/Oer 
 ti^M ia.a' rioaU. ^rot tkf \j-^xA dh-'-a-arr-r to 
 receive her tittunoj}- cit nkdnight, ju-i a-, he 
 was steppinL^ into Id:, ceeadi t(^ -v) to ILiliO and 
 atkx the seal to tie- oat-nt- of kiie ! )uk" (=f 
 Kiciiiia -nd. Xeal naeiean,: the la'/W"^s- ^A die 
 bUieiie^- ot Ck,:\-teand wait'-d (> 
 
 \ \ 1 SIT 
 
 was 
 
 t' "O tw 
 
 , L i < I ^ 
 
 ^aeJ-ide had gone 1 
 
 I ) 
 
 T ; ■ 
 i. - 
 
 
 DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST CHECK. 119 
 
 t> V I, i. L ■■._ i . J -i. I >- 1 ■' ■, V V i 1 , 
 
 As lo the son ot X k\. Ik 
 
 was just tia-n only le'sven a pr-nsina iA lour 
 
 tiioas.aio Oeunes r^terere' a, x'^eir 
 
 i ,1 i e -L/ a ^ i 1 \ 
 
 V » 1. i i3 e ■ s. ^ ^ j L ^e i i i 1 1 v 
 
 1.J i O I . W u ' a 1 i 
 
 C!iari-s, tie:: new Dake "f kiehnaei 
 Loviai a >>ce)Lca woman 01 n 
 Countess kbu"eschal. tor Ins La.:)\e'rne-s 
 
 lilt \ 
 
 wa:^ 
 
 w3 i i e 
 
 \'v'as acCv) 
 
 a >aiat'\' ot i\\s) ju.aiar^.'a a \ 
 
 ( 'I 
 
 
 
 daCcU lanah' (li Richmonit, 
 
 to 
 
 tho'r sons. t!ii^ 
 
 j^iw. 
 
 i X 4_Lii.iit*vi.i 
 
 to tlO/ir iS-a":; 
 nu.e.ah w.r-, lu be is 
 
 
 xi-aaicr 
 1)0^1 'Uw-i tile .swal-^ 
 
 \ i .. J 1 
 
 , rv \ ( r-dblc 
 
 4 — ■ 
 
 es- 
 
 \ V i ' e u I. n e ^ :~> i. . > \ > *... i *._ * . i 
 
 necla-^-- '- P.'! 
 
 I., s > f ' t 
 
 lai o'-iL Oi lae w siie acences \ 
 
 --■111. '1 -1 / 
 
 \ i \ i ' lis: ! I ] ■ I i • i , ' ^. ! I i ( i i ' 1 V Si I i 1 I I : 
 
 ^ rharles (167 2-1 723) was a 1 )\v rake, and slid, with a 
 facility which showed him to be his father's son, from Pro- 
 testantism to Catholicism and back 1 1 shifted with equal 
 facility his allegiance from Louis P'ourteeiuh and James 
 Second to William Third. He was the first duke of the 
 actual stock < 1 iOrhmond, and father of Charles, the second 
 Duke M701-50), wliose s 'S Charles 11735-1806) was one 
 of the leadin^ numbers co tie Whig cabinets of the reign 
 o; ocorge Third, and uncle oi e^ a Charles (1764-1819) 
 who died 01 a mad dog's bite 111 Canada, ii eui thus be 
 seen that the | re-ent Duke of Richmond is by no means 
 a remote descendant of "the French hi ussy " who sold 
 Charles II., her lover, to Louis XIV. {TransLifor's Note.) 
 
I 
 
 1 20 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 parliamentary meddling, a lien on the excise. 
 Botli mistresses, having noted a diminution of 
 \ '• ility in Charles, only thought of fleecing the 
 exchequer and investing their hoards in France, 
 where they would be outside the ranee of Eno-- 
 li-h popular tempests. But the Duchess of 
 Portsmouth, who was fond of gambling, lost 
 heavily at the queen's card table, and spent 
 iai^e sums in luxurious furniture. The luxury 
 of her rooms at Whitehall excited general envy 
 at Court ; and th^v were visited by crowds of 
 people, who wanted to feast their eyes on the 
 massy plate, tapestries, and objects of vertu 
 they c< u lined. 
 
 Louise wished her sister to live also in 
 sumptuous style, and teased the Earl of Pem- 
 broke to give her, when she lay in, a present 
 suitable to his wife's high rank. But he re- 
 sented the interference, and threatened to rid 
 himseli ui t!: rountess by sending her packing 
 tehail, I Louise's lodgings. All the 
 titlc:S. grants and luxury did not efface the 
 stigmas that were on the Keroualle sisters. 
 1 ac luul name which Madame de Sevio-ne 
 called the Duchess of Portsmouth in French, 
 had an equivalent in every English mouth. 
 
 tt ) 
 
 ■^ \ ^ V. * 
 
 DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH'S FIRST CHECK. 121 
 
 When the Count and Countess de Keroualle 
 visited London to see their daughters, they did 
 not stay with either of them, but at Sir Richard 
 Browne's, whom they had known in France as 
 an dijiig7^d when Cromwell was at Whitehall. 
 Count de Keroualle made a good impression. 
 He had a military air and Breton frankness. 
 His wife still preserved remains of great beauty, 
 and showed a lively mind. They were said 
 never to have derived any profit from the 
 situation of Louise. 
 
 When they were in London, another stranger 
 arrived there, whose advent was a cause of 
 sore anxiety to the Duchess of Portsmouth. 
 She felt that a struggle for power was im- 
 minent, from the moment when the news was 
 brought to town, that the greatest beauty in 
 Europe, the splendid Duchess Aiazarin, — 
 
 " Mazarin, des amours 
 Deesse tutelaire," ^ 
 
 as La Fontaine qualified her, — had landed at 
 Torbay. This lady soon after made her ad- 
 vent in London, furious against the Court 
 of Versailles, and decked out to conquer. 
 
 * La Fontaine : Le Rc?iard anglais. 
 
 K 
 
li I 
 
 1 1 
 
 122 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 M 
 
 j 
 
 (i 
 
 )| 
 
 Ruvigny was not less uneasy than Louise de 
 Keroualle, and sent agents to find out whether 
 the charms for which the new comer was 
 famous, were well preserved. A valet of de 
 Gramont had witnessed her arrival/ She had 
 embarked in Holland, and was driven by 
 stress of weather down the Channel to Tor- 
 bay, whence she rode up to town attired as a 
 eentleman of fashion. She had with her, also 
 on horseback, two women, five men-servants, 
 and a litde blackamoor who ate at her table. 
 Arlinixton and Montaoru, who both hated the 
 Duchess of Portsmouth, concerted how to use 
 to her destruction, the powers of the Duchess 
 Mazarin to fascinate and seduce.. 
 
 ' Ruvigny to Pomponne, Jan. 2, 1676. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIN. 
 
 The year 1675 closed a great historical era. 
 The captains and statesmen w^ho in the pre- 
 ceding years had played the chief parts : Conde, 
 Turenne, and Montecuculli ; and Lionne, Jean 
 de Witt, and Arlington, were dead, or had 
 retired. Louis XIV. suffered a Congress to 
 meet at Nimeo^uen^ and brouofht within his 
 orbit the new minister of Charles, the Earl of 
 Danby. 
 
 Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby, was, ac- 
 cording to Ruvigny's estimate, more afraid of 
 Charles than of Charles's master. But he was 
 so well ensnared in the toils of the Duchess of 
 Portsmouth, and so carefully compromised by 
 Charles,^ in the secret negotiations with Ver- 
 
 1 Tlie members of the Congress were named ; but the 
 Congress itself did not meet until the middle of 1676. 
 
 - Mignet: Negociations relatives a la Succession d'Es- 
 pigne, tome iv. pp. 354-399- 
 
 12; 
 
{ 
 
 H( 
 
 124 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 sailles/ that, owing to his struggle against the 
 House of Commons, he found himself, against 
 his will, acting with the French party. Ru- 
 vio-ny spoke incessantly to his Government of 
 the Common:, a^ " the great obstacle ; " and he 
 repeated this every time he found the king, 
 Louise, and I Kmby together. Charles was at 
 length. Oh the i6th of February, 1676, enabled 
 by a Frciich subsidy of two millions and a half 
 of livres tottrnois, to prorogue for fifteen months, 
 lie had thus, as he thought, made sure of a 
 period of quietness, when the Duchess Mazarin 
 arrived, and he was again plunged by her ad- 
 \ u ■iito all kinds of embarrassments. 
 
 Hortense Mancini, then thirty years old, had, 
 at the time Charle , was a refugee in France, 
 captivated him by her beauty. " The destiny " 
 wiiich, she said ''has rendered me the most 
 unhappy uf my sex, began by dangling a crown 
 
 befo 
 
 r-. 
 
 
 eves.^ It was notorious that the 
 
 ^ Ruvigny to Pomponne, August i, 1675. 
 
 2 It has never been well established whether Les Meuioires 
 de la Duchesse Mazarin were by her or St. Real, and in any 
 case they should be mistrusted. But what they say about 
 Charles II. 's attachment when he was in exile, and the offer 
 of marriage that he made to her uncle for her, is confirmed 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIN. 
 
 ^5 
 
 ►.Vj 
 % 
 
 
 King of England passionately loved me, and 
 wanted me to be his wife." Her precocious 
 charms inspired the poets who furnished themes 
 for ballets; and when, in 1661, she made her 
 appearance at Fontainebleau in the ballet of 
 the Seasons as a Muse, one of them wrote : — 
 
 " Nulla Muse jamais 
 N*eut I'esprit et le sein formes de si bonne heure." 
 
 She was given in marriage to the son of Mar- 
 shal de Meilleraye, who received from the 
 Cardinal the title of Due Mazarin^ and a dowry 
 of twenty-eight millions of francs. The fancies 
 and the manias of her husband amused the 
 Court of France for nearly sixty years. He 
 was a man of the brightest wit, was well read, 
 and good company. His manners were graci- 
 ous, affable, and polite. But excess of religious 
 
 by Madame de Motteville, Mile, de Montpensier, La Relaiion 
 die Fonds Colbert, No. 4782 by Riordan de Muscry. 
 
 1 The nobiliary prefix de was not in the ducal patent 
 made out for the husband of Hortense Manchini. When a 
 clerk of the patent office wrote *'M. le Due de Mazarin,' 
 Cardinal Mazarin ran his pen through it. He said, that the 
 de would imply a fief of Mazarin, and that he (the Cardinal) 
 in whose honour the ducal standing was granted by the king 
 to M. de Meilleraye, was originally but a mean varlet who 
 had not a patch of ground anywhere, and whose parents 
 owed their graves to their commune. 
 
126 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIN. 
 
 127 
 
 h ' 
 
 I' 
 
 mother's ^a 
 feeling arisin 
 
 UJ 
 
 devoti :i spoiled his natural gifts ; and he be- 
 came the prey of monks, bigots, and hypocrites, 
 who profited by his weakness to draw upon his 
 millions. He mutilated the finest statues, and 
 bedaubed the rarest pictures, forbade the wo- 
 men and wenches on his estates to milk cows 
 — an employment which he feared might sug- 
 gest bad thoughts. 
 
 The Due Mazarin wanted to pull out the 
 front teeth if liis daughters, who inherited their 
 
 f beauty, to prevent coquettish 
 them. In his letters he only 
 spoke of monks and missionaries^ who were 
 pouring out spiritual blessings ; of designs for 
 church ornaments,^ of frequently-recurring in- 
 tervention.. kA Providence in his own personal 
 affairs, and of small miracles. From conscien- 
 tious scruples, he threw up governorships of 
 provinces and the post of Grand Commander 
 of Artillery. H ; extravarant actions were 
 iniuimc; le. Ihouorh of the brightest intel- 
 lect, l^.p was a mono-maniac ; and his peculiar 
 
 1 The Due Mazarin was probably the original of Orgon 
 in Tarttiffe. The kind of piety into which he threw himself 
 is ridiculed in that masterpiece of wit, good sense, and 
 satire. (Translator' s Note}) 
 
 - See Mhnoires de Mile, de Montpensier^ tome iv., p. 69. 
 
 
 madness was his wife's best justification. In 
 the full bloom of matronly loveliness, and 
 surrounded with young children of whom she 
 was justly proud, he, for her soul's health, 
 immured her in a kind of aristocratic Mag- 
 dalens' Asylum, the convent of Les Filles 
 de Sainte Marie, in the Rue Saint-Antoine. 
 The young Duchess became, in her conven- 
 tual gaol, the friend of another court lady, 
 the Marquise de Courcelles, who was also 
 there as an enforced penitent. They both 
 quarrelled with the nuns for refusing them 
 water to wash their feet. In their remon- 
 strance they put forward that they were not 
 in the nunnery to observe its rules. Both 
 escaped. The Duchess and her maid Nanon 
 went to Italy, dressed as men, and escorted 
 by the Chevalier de Rohan and a gentleman 
 named Courbeville. The latter so completely 
 and openly governed her as to scandalize 
 Italians of her rank. She returned to France, 
 where her husband succeeded in getting 
 her confined in the Abbey of Lys, near 
 Melun. But the king, whose playmate she 
 was in girlhood, sent a constable with eight 
 dragoons, to force the convent door and set 
 

 I2S 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 the Duchess at liberty.^ She re-entered Pans 
 triumphantly in the coach of the Treasurer 
 Colbert, and then retired to Provence. The 
 Duchess Wazarin^ was one of those Roman 
 beauties in whom there is no doll-prettiness, 
 and in whom unaided nature triumphs over all 
 the arts of the coquette. Painters could not say 
 what was the colour of her eyes. They were 
 neither blue, nor grey, nor yet black, nor brown, 
 nor hazel. Nor were they languishing or pas- 
 sionate, as if either demanding to be loved or 
 expressing love. They simply looked as if she 
 had ever basked in love's sunshine. If her 
 mouth was not large, it was not a small one, 
 and was visibly the fit organ for intelligent 
 speech and amiable words. All her motions 
 were charming, in their easy grace and dignity. 
 Her complexion was softly toned, and yet 
 warm and fresh. It was so harmonious, that, 
 though dark, she seemed of beautiful fairness. 
 Her jet-black hair rose in strong waves above 
 her forehead, as if proud to clothe and adorn 
 her splendid head. She never used scents. 
 
 1 DeSevign^, du 12 Aoilt, 1689.— Saint Real: Memoires, 
 tome vi., p. 94. De S£vigne, du 6 Fevrier, 167 1. 
 - Saint Real, tome v., p. 79. 
 
 '■A 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIN. 
 
 129 
 
 At Aix in Provence, the Duchess joined her 
 sister, the Connetable de Colonna, who was of 
 as dazzHng beauty as herself. Madame de 
 Grignan met them there, and described them 
 to her mother as divine, and looking like fine 
 pictures. All the ladies were furiously jealous 
 of them, and called them mad-caps, who ought 
 to be locked up, to keep them out of mischief. 
 Madame Scudery was for whipping them ; 
 and the Countess de Soissons and Duchess de 
 Bouillon wanted them to be placed in a lunatic 
 asylum.^ The town talk at Aix was, that they 
 had come there disguised as men because they 
 
 1 These two ladies were the sisters of the runaway 
 Duchess and Connetable. Carduial Mazarin had five nieces, 
 the daughters of his sister Mancini. They were Laura, 
 Duchess of Mercour ; Olympia, Countess of Soissons \ 
 Maria, Connetable de Colonna; Hortense, Duchess Mazarin; 
 and Mariana, Duchess de Bouillon. Louis XIV. was suc- 
 cessively enamoured of Olympia and Maria, to the latter of 
 whom he promised marriage, and who was passionately 
 attached to him. In obedience to the commands of his 
 mother, and for state reasons pressed upon him by Cardinal 
 Mazarin, he married his first cousin, the Infanta Maria 
 Theresa, in right of whom he claimed Flanders. The 
 Mancini sisters were said to be equally beautiful ; they 
 had all a noble style of beauty, and yet they did not 
 resemble each other. 
 
 K 
 
I^O 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIN. 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 
 »* 
 
 had made an assignation with the Chevaher de 
 Lorraine and the Comte de Marsan. 
 
 Ik u\.- .1^ ': in i\\ their giddy behaviour soon 
 turned t!v ruistnrracy of Aix against them, 
 aix ; IV. y had to quit the in suddenly to 
 escape reclusion in a convent 1 in I ^nrhess 
 Maz r;: got av ny lu bavoy, where she spent 
 t: e years with Cesar A'icard, a gallant who 
 passed himself off as the Abbe de bn Real, 
 althouo-h he n.. . n : tonsured, and had no 
 benefice, ib na'^ a young man of sparkling 
 c nversation, va violently in love with the 
 D rchc-- an 1 \y?s (>( such utter and refined 
 depravity of habits, that Louvois, who was 
 ci connoisseur in such things, was horror- 
 biiicken when he read his letters, which had 
 been seized an 1 brought to him. They had 
 the effervescence ui hot animal spirits, and 
 showed their nnh r to be steeped in the in- 
 famous vices which then prevailed in Italy.^ 
 
 The Duchess hhizarin was followed to 
 England by the so-called Abbe. She went 
 n^ London in the secret hope of reviving the 
 old flame w^iich Charles il. had entertained for 
 
 1 Louvois to Courtin, Jan. 3, 1677 ; Affaires Etrarighes, 
 Anolcterre, tome cxxiii. 
 
 her. Of the fourteen years which had rolled 
 over her since her marriage, she had spent 
 se\ n with her husband and her four children. 
 1 iic rest of the time had been passed in con- 
 vents, on highways, dressed as a man, and in 
 the small courts of Italy, whose lazy tranquillity 
 she disturbed by her adventures. She picked 
 up new vices there, but remained youthful- 
 looking and fresh. Ruvigny, annoyed at the 
 •^vonderful preservation of her charms, wrote, 
 " She is to all appearance a finely-developed 
 young girl. I never saw any one who so well 
 defies the power of time and vice to disfigure. 
 At the age of fifty she w^Ill have the satisfaction 
 of thinking, when she looks at her mirror, that 
 she is as lovely as she ever was in her life." 
 
 She was received in London as a triumphant 
 goddess. The Duke of York gave in her hon- 
 our a rout, at which, through Sunderland, the 
 king presented her his compliments. Every 
 one at Court looked forward to a considerable 
 change there. A lady of her fame and loveli- 
 ness was sure to carry all before her, and to 
 do something extraordinary. De Gramont, 
 who from the first set up to be her social 
 pilot, was enraptured with her. He had not 
 
n2 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 1 1 
 
 seen her since she was a bride, and found her 
 i, but he thought for tlie better; aiil 
 :':• r:\::c:i ambassador tli .1 :u\ the 
 ini-tressfN were edipsed b}* her. Slv^ ^ ;u' red 
 t;uj C^jLiii d-. AnuiJci entered the canip of 
 Godfrey."^ Every t'-'^^ue ran ap^n h'^a*. 1 i>,^ 
 men spuke ui iici lu express adniirdiion, aaa 
 the women to exhale their jealous uneasiness. 
 
 NVl! aia !in celebrated the triumph ui ihe 
 Ducii' - by going into the deepest mourning^ 
 — I( r she said, the eclipsed Duchess of Ports- 
 mouth and her dead hopes. The Duchess of 
 Cl-veland retired to the country. AH the 
 laglish rivals played into the haul, -i the 
 new-comer, to get nd the sooner of Keroualle, 
 whose art and diplomacy theretofore had de- 
 feated their attacks. They accepted Mazarin 
 as their avenging champion She was at least 
 abo\c~b' ird, and every one knew where to 
 have her. Waller's poem of '' The Three 
 
 esses 
 
 n 
 
 k ;l satire on this struggle. 
 
 Iv vigny ^ n^^^xt warned Pomponne that in*! 
 I a. a aland had taken it into her 
 
 , ::• .~> 
 
 ^ Ruvigny to Pomponne, Jan. 20, 1676. 
 - Ruvigny to King Louis, July 2, 1676. 
 ^ Ruvigny to Pomponne, Feb. 3, 1^76. 
 
 I 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIN, 
 
 133 
 
 head to visit France, with the two youno- dukes 
 n^-^r sons ; and he proposed that she should be 
 exempted from custom h^use duiies of (^vcrv 
 snrt :u Calais. She was taking many horses 
 arid two carriages. The cr^tnnr- franchise 
 was granted, but? in terms which offended the 
 ira cible Duchess, who showed the official 
 passport to Charles, and ordered him lu com- 
 piain ^ because she and her sons (who were of 
 lie ''royal blood") were not styled ''cousins" 
 of T.ouis. He not obeying, she tore up the 
 document, and said she preferred paying any 
 amount of dut}', sooner than put up aith a 
 snub. She embarked with Uramont. ^ But 
 i!a French ambassador had taken care to 
 warn the custom-house officers to ask no 
 money and overwhelm her witli their civilities, 
 I r raat such was the king's good pleasure. 
 I iu Duchess of Portsmouth stood la need 
 ^^ "upport, and ^vas quick to ask it. 
 ill and faded. Another pre naacv 
 
 > V I. i ^3 
 
 e 
 
 (! 
 
 A .A 
 
 premature birih. 
 
 Jealousy so 
 
 '/ \ \ „t W'ULi 
 
 
 sadl)' ah' 
 
 ,i\ 
 
 1 Ruvigny to Pomponne, March 19, 1676. 
 
 2 Und. 
 
 2 Cojrtin to King Louis, June 8, 1676. 
 
134 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 yeai'K 
 ludjir 
 
 c^)nK:ssed. 
 
 remarked, that at the 
 
 
 ■f- f-i 
 
 'I^-lcd 
 
 King, 
 
 
 t ' 1 J i 9 '■ 
 
 a 
 Cli 
 
 isjhbuiir; 
 
 X'^wn'^arkf ■! . no 
 
 ' ■; 
 
 'i^ni--- hersolf in 
 riiio prevented 
 
 w 
 
 robbed li r of twelve 
 
 '•aw: led iicr jewels, 
 
 \ illnee. 
 
 freni seeine 5irr- n-^ nf*t'"i :m she 
 \{--i- in IV affairs were in disorder, 
 
 her -t--^v.n-k innrirn.: 
 
 thoiir?rinr, pnnnl- an^ 
 
 which she had eiUruste 1 a^ him, f r an equally 
 
 riie peciaa. r\ troubles of the Duchess 
 
 ^lazar'a v;^t- still great-ir Th*=; riva^ was 
 f-reca, la upening her campaign, lu iUai^ out 
 the lla^ of l*-:r -a T' rles, whom her love- 
 lines:^ uv';vc:irnc, was inelleLi b)" the tale ui the 
 >traii- t'.' wraah -la- ^vr, . reduced. Vh]u\ his 
 fi\va laai : la- vo'^^^tf^ t^^ Louis, askini; iara a- 
 f are al. Mazarin to make his wife a suitable 
 all'ovance ; and iuj eiau'ged Kevagny Lu say 
 that lie aa afa be deeply sensible t^ a f. f ivour, 
 
 .von id hi' imp< 
 
 witiinat rvh'-^h it won id d^- iinDOs^iblf' 
 
 lach' to ii\' 
 1 . ,. 
 
 1 i I' iOOvJ, ii( 
 
 aaade 
 
 a 
 
 ffair a 
 
 ' i W. i- ■ 
 
 :i:vl 
 
 ' it"' r 
 
 t 1 t; at he could not 
 
 ^ Ruvigny to Pomponne, April i6, 1676; and Ruvigny 
 to King Louis, Jan. 30 1676. 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIX. 
 
 135 
 
 say how deeply obliged he would be were it 
 promptly arranged, i.uuis was averse always 
 to meddle in family matters, and w he respected 
 
 the- Due Maza 
 
 he could 
 
 equitably force him to put lii- a. de in a position 
 in which she could more publicly dishonour 
 him at the Court of England. He, himself, 
 wrote to the Duchess to explain why he did 
 not accede to the wish of Charles.^ Ruvigny 
 handed her the letter, and bore testimony to 
 the great displeasure she showed on reading 
 It, at finding herself abandoned in i Court 
 where money was so necessary. Charles, 
 meanwhile, had given her secretly an order on 
 the keeper of his privy purse for a thousand 
 gold jacobus. A second attack' against the 
 husband of the fair fugitive was prepared. 
 Ruvigny thought it "dangerous a» \e a 
 woman whose star w^as in the ascendant, 
 whose importance was fast rising." Every 
 one helped her in the campaign on which she 
 at once entered again a diu 1 dichess of Torts- 
 mouth. The young Princess f Modena. wan 
 the Duke ot York laid, aU'W' aa.irrn,:a, 
 
 
 1 Ruvigny to Pomponne, Feb. 27, 1676. 
 
 2 Ibid., March 5, 1679. 
 
136 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 among the first to side with Hortense Mancini, 
 whom she kept whole days beside her bed, to 
 which the roy.il hdy, being in an interesting 
 situation, was c siifined. The king went often 
 to the bedroom of liis sister-in-law, without 
 appearing to expeci lu n.id there the Duchess 
 Mazarin, but on purpose t meet her. She 
 was very natural ^ and open, and did not resort 
 to trick or artifice." It was proposed to give 
 her the '^iiite of rooms of the Uuke of York 
 ai \\ hitehall when he moved to St. James's 
 Palace. 
 
 The honourable and honest De Ruvigny was 
 sorely embarrassed by these women's quarrels. 
 n I :>t :i; vwiy in the labyrinth of intrigues, 
 and owned he had done so. "Sire,"^ he cried in 
 distress, • I have just learned iJiat there's 
 
 rt dn and secret intelligence between the 
 I^^^■^q■ ol Enprland and th^ i ^ -chess ATnzarin. 
 
 a l'c^ 
 
 rr-t 
 
 She 
 
 i * i * i i * 
 
 4. J, i V i I . . I ,/ A i 
 
 (- V 
 
 ^'-i 
 
 I lies on ;ier mtrigue very quietly v. iUi 
 1 :io:.c who hoped to <^hare in the 
 1. have 11)1 \ - :u.d the opportunity 
 
 d. Id- li.-n urged tlu^ exr-'juiencx- 
 
 ^ Ruvigny to Pomponne, Jan. 20, 1676. 
 
 - ^ ' , j ii: -:; and 30, 1676. 
 
 3 Ruvigny to the king, March 12, 1676. 
 
 ^ 
 
 v 
 
 
 'I 
 
 THE DUCHESS MAZARIN, 
 
 137 
 
 obtaining a larger pension for her from her 
 husband. Charles and the Duke of York ^ had 
 been pressing him to represent to Louis their 
 sentiments of old affection, and of pity for 
 Madame Mazarin. Nothino^ would oive them 
 more pleasure than for their good offices on 
 her behalf to be well received at Versailles. 
 They were pained at the refusal of their first 
 intervention, and they hoped to be more for- 
 tunate a second time. 
 
 ''Charles," remarked the ambassador, ''shows 
 a deepening interest in the lady ; and it may 
 be, that her state of distress will intensify the 
 passion which now, clearly, overmasters him." 
 
 Ruvigny was not tho person to manage 
 feminine and effeminate souls. Louis sent to 
 reinforce the oM Pi'otestant in London, — with 
 tlie mission to supersede him in a few weeks, — 
 the most wily and refined of his courtiers, and 
 one who, althoufrli , favourite ul the ereat kino-, 
 had always behaved widi modesty. Ihe new 
 
 I J 1 1 
 
 \ I L '"^ 
 
 i • I L 
 
 ec 
 
 d t< 
 
 i!n,: iudiCciUirt' 
 
 '■ ''is 1 
 
 1 "i . 
 
 1 l)ecn 
 
 uiiu^T 1 ,jn:\-'0is, aiui 
 
 ^- I -... ^ i. 
 
 L i 1 '. 
 
 \ 5 
 
 '.a i \ 
 
 'i ^ 
 
 iiiii without a court 
 
 * Ruvigny to King Louis, March 16, 1676. 
 
n.8 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 mantle, and with a cane and councillor's ruffles. 
 lis name wns Coi^rtin, and he was the only 
 
 man of his profession who was invited i 
 
 u 
 
 A ! 
 
 J 
 
 \ 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 HoNOR^ CouRTiN, Seigneur de Chanteroine/ 
 was councillor of the Parliament of Rouen 
 at the age of fourteen. When governor of 
 Picardy, he did not venture to reject an 
 application from the Duke de Chaulnes to 
 exempt several villages on his estate from 
 the payment of the taille impost. But on 
 finding that because of this exemption the 
 
 ^ Bom in 1622; died in 1703. Married to Salome de 
 Beauvers; He came to serve as French ambassador at the 
 Court of Whitehall in May 1676 ; was author of t\\Q /our?ial 
 des Entrevues dans VIsle des Fat'sans, describing the inter- 
 views between Louis XIV. and Philip IV. and Mazarin and 
 the Conde de Huro, which was published in 1665 as a sequel 
 to r Hisioire de la Paix des Pyrenees^ de Gualdo Priorato. 
 See also Madame de Sevigne's Letters^ Capmas, Series II., 
 P- 359 i ^i"^d M. Boisdelisle's notice in his edition of St. 
 Smon, tome iii. pp. 279-286. Honore Courtin, a Norman, 
 should not be confounded with Antoine Courtin, an 
 Auvergnat, who was also in the judicature and an ambas- 
 sador, and who alone is mentioned in La Biographie Moncrt. 
 
 »39 
 
^ 
 
 1 40 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 141 
 
 Other villages of the circumscription were 
 weighed down with taxes, he paid, to relieve 
 them, forty thousand livres of his own into 
 the treasury, and resigned his high and lucra- 
 tive post. li : had an amiable and a cheerful 
 disposition,^ a good judgment, ripeness of mind, 
 a graceful manner, and a bright, delicate wit. 
 Courtin, albeit of diminutive stature, was eal- 
 lant in his attentions to ladies, had the air 
 and speech of one who had mixed in the 
 best society, and yet without affecting to be 
 above his rank of councillor. Althoueh re- 
 ticent, he was perfecdy sincere; and he had 
 the clean hands of a man of unimpeachable 
 honour.^ 
 
 Before setting out for London, where he had 
 previously been on a diplomatic mission, it 
 occurred lu iiiin tu obtain informition about 
 the t :i and the Court, f-^-w i maid of honour 
 01 ih- Uueen ui England, who was suiyino- at 
 I c >n\ -nt in t'l Faubourg -: '"Germain. He 
 had dined, wiih h-x id l'^- uourville's ; and he 
 
 • Gourville's M moires, p. 543; Mignet's Negociations, 
 tome iii., p. 34;, ar.d t. iv. p. 141 ; Rousset's Histoire de 
 Louvois, t. i. p. 46-, 
 
 2 Saint Simon. 
 
 had heard that she left the Court of Whitehall 
 because she one day, when in the Maids of 
 Honours' waiting-room, gave birth to a child. ^ 
 I i also went to see Duke Mazarin,^ who pro- 
 posed terms certain not to be accepted. They 
 were, " the retirement of his wife to the Abbey 
 of Montmartre." Courtin, therefore, placed him- 
 self on the lady's side when he went to London, 
 and endeavoured to produce on the mind of 
 Louis ^ an impression favourable to her. IT^^ 
 mentioned to him, in a letter, how he had seen 
 Madame Mazarin at high mass in the chapel 
 of the Portuguese ambassador ; but he could 
 not help noticing that she betrayed disgust at 
 the length of the service. He studied her; he 
 drew the Abbe de St. Real into talking about 
 her; and the upshot was, uneasiness at her 
 erowinof influence. The Kino^ of France was 
 earnestly advised by him^ to use his authority 
 
 1 Courtin to Louvois, between May and December, 1665. 
 This was not the young lady whose child, born in the 
 queen's circle, died soon after birth, and was dissected by 
 Charles, who made ribald jests about his supposed pater- 
 nity of his anatomical subject. 
 
 2 Courtin to King Louis, June 8, 167(3. 
 s Ibid., May 25, 1679. 
 
 ^ Ibid., June 8, 1676. 
 
142 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 143 
 
 i lorcing her husband to grant the pension 
 which she demanded. St. Real had let out 
 that she thought Louis disHked her, and would 
 not be sorry for him to know that it behoved 
 him not to have her against him, since she 
 would, if he went on showinof himself ao-ainst 
 her, use her influence in a way that might not 
 please him. 
 
 Had she really influence ? Courtin sounded 
 Charles himself on that delicate point ; and the 
 Kmgof England told him that he had a real 
 friendship for her, but that he would not suffer 
 any cabal to draw him into a closer relation 
 with her. However, he said, she was a great 
 beauty, and that he found no pleasure equal 
 to that of conversing with her. He also 
 showed that he liked to talk about her and 
 to hear her praised, whereas he appeared in- 
 different to the Duchess of Portsmouth, who 
 had grown delicate, was somewhat chano-ed 
 and had only enemies in England. It was to 
 be foreseen that the king would yield to the 
 new temptress, in which case the French am- 
 bassador would have uphill work, as he would 
 at the same time have to combat both minister 
 and mistress. Courtin did not see that it 
 
 mattered to Louis whether the Duchess Ma- 
 zarin refused conjugal rights to her husband ; 
 but that it greatly mattered if the duke went 
 on refusing her the fifty thousand livres ^ which 
 she claimed for her necessary expenses, because 
 she might help to keep England from joining 
 with the enemies of his majesty. The English 
 hated the French more than ever. Courtin 
 related how a London crowd were going to 
 throw a Venetian into the Thames because 
 they took him for a Frenchman. At any 
 price, the Duchess Mazarin should be gained, 
 or orot out of Encrland. A benefice or an 
 abbey might be promised to S. Real.^ It 
 would be a miracle if the King of England 
 did not fall under the empire of the Duchess, 
 because the whole Court was making a set 
 upon him in her behalf. 
 
 The situation was so danorerous that the 
 reserved Courtin tried to act on the husband 
 by a letter, which was insolently satirical. The 
 lady, he said, was afraid she might find reclu- 
 sion at Montmartre irksome ; and she did not 
 feel her strength equal to the se^vere rules of 
 
 ^ These were the only conditions she stipulated for. 
 ~ Courtin to Pomponne, June 8, 1676. 
 
u+ 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 a convent. From a jocular, he. went on to a 
 menacing- tone. The Duchess took her stand 
 on the conditions which she proposed when 
 Madame de Montespan was at the trouble of 
 endeavouring to make up the breach between 
 her and her husband. She remained deter- 
 mined not to grant him the privileges marriage 
 justifies. But she would be satisfied with a 
 yearly pension of fifty thousand livres if her 
 laces, jewels, and precious furniture were given 
 back to her, and if the idea of locking her up 
 in a convent were for ever abandoned. It was 
 not reasonable to suppose that she would con- 
 sent to such a captivity, she having charming 
 lodgings in St. James's Palace, and handsome 
 furniture belonging to the Crown of England. 
 St. James's was the palace of the Duke of 
 York, who was married to a young Italian 
 princess— an enthusiastic ally of the Duchess 
 Mazarin, who had made up her mind not to 
 reside at Whitehall, where the king lived. She 
 did this from a sense of dignity. If she chose, 
 she would not want for anything, because there 
 were persons at Court who would be glad to 
 aid her in whatever way she wished. 
 
 The purblind Duke Mazarin did not see the 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 J-'OAVscns.: 
 
 
 :^A... 
 
 ;vvv^ 
 
 //^;y/yv^ 
 
 L^' 
 
 .'■u:4y. 
 
 ^y^m^-^^^ 
 
 |l ! 
 
COURTIN, 
 
 145 
 
 n'<>ri\ i)t i^ourtiiL and wrote to h;ni an uiiduous 
 i-n-.T <'f riMit pn::-os.^ He arcj-iied like a theo- 
 ^^ o'--^'^- ^ ^i^' reasuii^> le.^ '.:y\\v m:-Ju iia\-- luiJ 
 hofore a concla\-^:^ nf hoci-rN cf Dn iietx-, Init 
 '■■''"■ J ^vcic LiiiUwii ciu^t\ Kjii um c a i 1 m I ; ' ' ! a ' 'i I 
 beaut)", wla> was la-^-atiaaa' vath cieh^an, tiie 
 currupi ainiubplicrc ui W aaj^liall. T;a- has- 
 
 a epistle im -lasi^.^ ; aiaa the aaibas- 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 ■-a^ ;; a' 
 
 ) ! IT ! n 
 
 t 1-. . ■ 
 
 I 1 V , . 
 
 M 5 i 
 
 1 
 
 t I ( ■ \\- t\ iff 
 
 a Hi a ; a T a a a 
 
 1 i I '.. 1 i 1 * : -a 
 
 ni 
 
 .laa as a nooi 
 
 i 'eaii at )nne, lii.a 
 
 a a I /a I r n 1 \\a n cj i . ~^ - - ^ 
 
 a . ' 
 
 1 ii^' .^vi)i«j N. Ki;.a wa:- more Diiaoi*.:" tiaiii 
 
 J. 
 
 I • ' ■ ♦ I .... 
 
 arvi woaiii b^ glad to take lirr fr^aa av i^ ?n.)- 
 
 , ■ { 1 ■■■; f T ■ ' " 
 
 Uiiiiaa> K}\ i.onciuii. ' lie wai:^ aOi.! \''T\' aaiurous 
 an^l piaimised tla/ arn])assador la> \^k'-\ N^a'vices. 
 At this aaa.aafr "^a ki.-.Li -Uilemix" ^^uaa■■a I'^^r 
 i'ari>. b.M.-av)a- wa-. ^0/ ai Oca.^aia' O) ka.M\\^ uie 
 rt*a:>? HI i a I a i >, ' { 1 
 iraai ^i ? \aolentl\" (aaaiaaiaa-u a> aa !.a" .^11 .iC- 
 
 . ^ 1 
 
 i„ a u i u 
 
 
 
 ^ Courtiii to Pomponne, June 2j. 1076. 
 
 2 Ti^/t/, j V i . 1676. 
 
 3 Ibid., Juac :aa 1676. 
 
 * Loi!\i)a to ( .)urtin, Oct. 2r, !a;6 Affaires Ffrj?ig}res, 
 
 Anglciirrc\ i,Mi\c i-\x,. C, fbl. 177, 
 
146 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 counts \va-. siiuuio ^ ;• :.t 
 
 L ill 
 
 object ot Ills iuv't'. 
 
 I lie ciniL\l:-^ai. :■ <T 
 
 i 
 
 f\ 
 
 uircc \vt:cKS 
 
 I ! i I ■ I I I '. 1, 
 
 
 his sudoisi \va\- tlu' 
 
 (^^uAvun rio^lied, 
 
 i ; ("( 
 
 ! r 
 
 lie lllcililt to ^o. 
 
 o 
 
 '* V i, i. . '.' i i i I. I 
 
 W; w \\'( 5 IT t * 
 
 
 
 "~i 
 
 i e i - > L i . u K L i i . t "■ I ^ • '... L 
 
 ii'JL'K <, 
 
 I L 1 4 ■._, V. i : 1 : 
 
 '\ iiiiiibL-ii.^ iii LiiC V. iiliii, 
 
 1 
 
 it WciS in 
 
 1 A' IlKin \' t(J K'-j' ' , > 
 
 #^ ^ i. 
 
 C'.anin> h,:po;- 1< id: ^ 
 
 :j'-r ;0':u'' ■--[ {• * tli-* car 
 a^^'ij I hat tac Lic:3irc 
 ia* th' 1 Michess M.i 
 !'~^s. ] ;a ' ^' M s -c 
 
 it w 
 
 saihatai cuia xcdtaa. !"» •solution ^c 
 
 pro:.^al4\' r-i^jiii ij-a^ia- ::e got to Dr)\'fT. The 
 
 \\ a 1 1 i\t aaai i^'iaiiuQe, 
 
 iJucia,, 
 
 an' 
 
 I la'aiah t a V 
 
 1 ^ . ' 
 
 \^r"i nci 
 
 T 
 
 
 » \ J 1 . \_ i 1 
 
 whij naLi lajad in.aa id ^. Real's lei a in 
 
 had been se'c a! in th^^ i)Ost-office, opined that 
 
 air^ r(_M_.ai aai^a ijc niure oraiuiui lu iiur uiaii lus 
 
 i la: i a:cai::v. id i^uidbinouth, \vh- icia been 
 
 coiiiaanw" 
 
 abbtait a a 
 
 . r i ♦ a , ■ > . . ^ ■ ' i * 
 
 Ui. i).uii, -..n ci:-':-a. .'.;!_ i Oil a 'a' i'. aa'a 
 
 ? , . t 
 
 aie 
 
 ^ < uurtin to Louvois, Jan. 3, 1677. 
 ^ Louvois Lu Courtin, Jan. 3, 1677. 
 
 3 She was there from May 25 to July 4. The waters of 
 Bath th.:i began to be the fashion, they being thought 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 147 
 
 \ '_ ^ i 
 
 Strong jests oi 
 
 h'O-self m taeay possible \va\-, i 
 bed iv^Hw ih" resenta 
 pected to : arbour lu 
 
 1 .. V. 
 
 a ined 
 
 ae ex- 
 
 
 received ir 
 
 uai 
 
 ! "-^ f ' 
 
 i''C- \\\a' troin i ^lda u 
 
 I) 
 
 aie wa 
 
 , I i. i 
 
 Oa 
 
 111 i- ! i ^... 
 
 ai I ondon.^ 
 
 I III I Le^-l til \ ■* i :; ^ ;•-!»;; , i v 
 
 la t ])eing ollered a ic 
 
 to go on in the evenine. to <!<- ^ 
 
 Although saa Uaa .aai wuiii, she luuke^l better 
 
 than vrhcn she went to take t!a? waters, and 
 
 thought herself so restored that shf- aa Jit ioae 
 
 soon to pick up flesh. Ihaee d.ax ale r she 
 
 enieitained the Coaru aah L-aau-^ss (hj Raxcesiv 
 
 more recuperative and purifying to the blood than those of 
 Tunbridge Wells, of which Hamilton had written a charming 
 discription twelve years previously. To judge from what 
 he said, Tunbridge Pantiles resembled a scene in a comic 
 opera; and English village maids and matrons dressed as 
 tastefully then as Swiss or Breton peasant women still do. 
 He was as much struck as other French gentlemen of his 
 day with the neat ftet and dainty shoes and stockings which 
 English women of all classes wore in the time of Charles H. 
 English ladies' feet have now a repiitatioii for bein^ clum- 
 sily shod ; and the shoes and stockings of lower-order women 
 are of a piece with the rest of their cheap tawdry or slattern 
 dress. {Translator's Note.) 
 
 1 Courtin to Kin^ Louis, July 6, 1676. 
 
148 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 at dinner. The musicians cf Louis XIV.s 
 chnmber, who were on ri tour in l,ngland, 
 i^^^\ 1 d : ^ the repast, and Charles came b^ 
 hear th' ni. The singers were Giles, I iH^rest, 
 Godene^ch , u: 1 Lambert/ the lau.ur m-law 
 of Lulli, accompanied them at the spinnet The 
 hosteb:> cisked lii' :n lo sing, ' ' i iic iiic ckva vio 
 :n:r.r in.i- :: ^ nie mate con zelos,"^ an 1 Charles 
 took in q-0(ja y.vci irr- Innc^lit^T caii^^^d !^v her 
 request. If- c : inued to give to L^juise, in 
 public, tokens of triendship and regard ; but 
 he ( nh- saw ii r i company, diid the former 
 intimacy was nrt renewed. T'; Dn chess 
 Maz.aii] pleased him more, and he bcuayed his 
 passnn for her by his efforts t-^ nke the 
 Dtii.iiL;-:5 ui Lui'umouth fancy he was not hot 
 foot afmr the former. To add to her niis- 
 fo^tMin ,, Luuise hurl in^ eye, which remained 
 blaciv n. : ^v/ollen for many days. The sparks 
 ^^' -^.: C'.^nrt quizzed h^r about th^^ accn i^-nn. and 
 ;:i.n:hed puns about the ambiLuii :.iiuun 
 
 i i 1 v.l Li L. 
 
 1 T. 
 
 .\ > of him that Borlean spoke. Lambert was 
 1 ).r.ctur u: Chamber Music to Louis XIV., and obtained a 
 copyright in 1658 for the publication of his compositions.— 
 Ar,:h{"cs y./r. X . 8650. His daugliter married Lulli. 
 ~ •• Make me die of grief, but not of jealousy." 
 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 149 
 
 in the blackening of her eye to transform her- 
 seit Irom a blonde, into a brunette like i dame 
 }dazarin.^ 
 
 Th^ French game seemed to be up. Courtin 
 and Louvois began lo neglect Louise, who, after 
 a reign of six- years, was apparently about to 
 suffer a final defeat -he. who wa^ so plucky and 
 fortile in resources, began i lose courage; and 
 despair was creeping on her.^ Courtin w^rotc i 
 Li ui- to communicate to him a scene iii n took 
 place in her lodging. i: went to \\A\ :n r 
 at Whitehall, and found her weepino-. ::)ae 
 opened her heart to him in the presence of her 
 two French maids, who stood wa'th drvvnca^t 
 eyes close to the wall, as if glued to it. Tears 
 flowed from their mistress's eyes ; sighs and 
 sobs * I errupted her speech \\. i i.ni,. nn^J 
 n;ii!] in/r inuil nnuiught, trying to soothe her 
 wounded spirit, and to persuade her lu hide her 
 
 ch a ^^Tin 
 
 and appear 
 
 n*- 
 
 mmc 
 
 1 
 
 kinof's 
 
 altered iiumour. Louvois made uin uf in r 
 r^ngs, and coarsely wrote,^ that the scene of 
 
 1 Courtin to King Louis, July 9, 1676; Courtin to 
 Pomponne, July 16, 1676; Ibid., August 3, 1676. 
 
 2 Courtin to Louvois, August 6, 1676. 
 
 3 Louvois' rough irony was proverbial ; and his coarse, 
 arrogant, and overbearing temper made him precipitate 
 
ISO 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Li Siorjiora adolorata ba^l va^tl\' aniised his 
 in:iic-i\', .u;^i liuit the ambassador i; 
 
 ■ ': L i . vl » \. 
 
 b. 
 
 ^f-^t:^, 
 
 -hr- 
 
 \\ i "--i. 
 
 J L i I,- it > V 1. 1 
 
 t( ; ulU 
 
 no 
 
 ^\\ at it 
 
 i 1 i V I i L ■ 1 
 
 \ \ irf">!"*' 
 
 1 . 1 I i i i i i t *, . ! 1 1. 
 
 1 • 
 
 rf Louise 
 
 tilt- 1' rv:ULh plenipol>_aUari'„:^ at 
 would have met with unyielding 
 It wa^ necessary to keep tlie 
 •. p > there hi th beHef that the 
 Prrt-;!iin'itl] wis still on the pin- 
 eal favour, and so able to support 
 
 ai ; Count d'Avaux, \\\\-> repre- 
 - at i.\': Cnngress, aa a a;" 1 ^achess 
 
 whan -.b''- sat oat : ti^nt- tla-^ king went to meet 
 her at \\ aKUar aa^i pr'_oLa"veJ iur her the same 
 feehngs.^ Some wraks la^ r. Ccartin a *' -rmed 
 thera that tin klnrr wa~, tVenuentl)- at the 
 '' ' ^' .rr->an ■ ah s, where t!-^.-ia' were 
 
 iiree different games — hombre, 
 
 foa-' ai . 
 
 ,.-,.. ,.,1 
 
 the pn;:c\ 
 da Crois 
 
 ^^ntCii la 
 
 i i I '■. ,. ^,*. Li ' 
 
 i ' . 
 
 rr. '. 
 
 France into that war with the German Empire in which tlie 
 Palatinate was ravaged. The letter cited above was dated 
 August 19, 1676 and is in the records of the Affaires 
 J.:r.uigerci. Anglderre, tome cxx., A., fol. 260. 
 ' j^uy 7, IU76. 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 151 
 
 a a set, and thirtv-and-fbrty ; aiid uatt he pro 
 mised to attend her Sundta 
 
 r ■ n "s ; ' 'i 
 
 ( ,' I . L "^ 
 
 H 
 
 I i 
 
 
 L \ 
 
 \ n 
 
 a ' I a I > t 
 
 i ! \ ' t * s t a 
 
 ' I /■ ■, ': 1 - ,■ i ' 
 
 
 e 
 
 ^. I. i 1 ' i 
 
 \ \ ■' ; ? 
 
 1 ) a chess Mazarin. 
 
 A daut^htnr of \h.r- km 
 
 na M 
 
 i I 
 
 u ■■* < - " f "* ' 
 
 ■\'P- 
 
 lan 1 \\ ho had been married, almost hi childhood, 
 
 to t^H' LaH of S'w-^"x, formed a tonaea" aittich- 
 
 "r w i' w • "1 
 
 . I v„^ i t (, I i 1 L ^> 
 
 meni iur the bca-aOui a. 
 
 arranged to meet at Iiis dauL;iitar's apartments. 
 
 W'hf.m he was there, nobody aam haimrcu tu 
 enter the room where he was. Am exception 
 was nat evon made for the bVaami ma-aaaiib.^ 
 riie chambers of I.ady Sussex at those 
 MCraoLed by her motlior when -he was in fa- 
 \iuas and were above the kines cabinet lie 
 could ascend to tiu an b\' ; 
 
 V:> 
 
 
 : » ■ 1 , \ 1 ' ? 
 
 being- seen. Ahidame Mazarin 
 
 \ r o '-. 
 
 riinninp' in from ^a, iarncs's Palaap tt' i...ia\'' 
 5ii r5vx >, and her tctes-a-ictc rrrr i harles were 
 prc^longed fir into tlie night The Fronch am- 
 havaa r aua ai led nimself with the Countess, 
 an 1 ascertained from har about the, to all 
 
 ^ Courtin to Pomponne, July 20, 1676 
 
i;2 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 r^CH i ' 
 
 
 Com 
 year 
 
 w 
 
 appearancf' rasiiil meetings in her rooms of 
 
 the kine and lijr vh_ar iriend the iK. chess. 
 
 Moved I \ a less political design, Courtin 
 1 t:Uj friendship of Mrs. Middleton. 
 Mrs. Mi Idletoi! was ''that ^inous, that 
 r fni'/nr.i! ;ic i^cnuty," who coin'n.inauJ Ura- 
 iti :i when she made \\^x cidbtit 2X 
 \\< a'^ much admired twenty-five 
 ^n : was ''the belle" f W he- 
 - f M'med like a fine statue, wn^ 
 n complexioned, and had a soft, 
 skin. There was some- 
 rs, and in her carefully 
 .va^ t'^^n ni^f f^">r tim taste 
 \a:3 her indolent langruor 
 h' gallants of the Court. 
 wrth talent. mra.n;uiu 
 r without obtaining hers 
 : ived her at the 1 reach 
 eign ky rl^hi ^A keauty. 
 ''\' ;mt fnlln^vin^ \'ni]r 
 svise," he informed i aponne,^ 
 c able to lead a pleasant lif^^ oypr 
 Akiiiamc Mazarin came to dine wiili 
 
 heaiUi)-, nii: 
 
 L i 1 i i i ' ill 1 i c r 1 1 r i I 
 
 o 
 
 chosea diction, tli :> 
 
 
 n -> T f • ( 
 
 "^ h <■ ' I , ■ t ' '; t . ! If; 
 
 lost his iU'ari -iii 
 
 H' 
 
 •• If i a 
 
 e.v..iU > . M '._ 
 
 
 iiai c. 
 
 me 
 
 i \ 
 
 comp:i!vr witii Lady Sussex. I 
 
 ^ July 2, 1676. 
 
 .^ 
 
 
 s 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 y\ 
 
 \ 
 
 153 
 
 had near me at table Mrs. Middleton, who is, 
 without doubt, the English Queen of Beauty. 
 1 took them all in the evening to hear the 
 French musicians ; and then I went to walk 
 with them by moonlight in ^t James's Park. 
 There we met the unfortunate Portuguese 
 ambassador, who is dying for the love of 
 Madame Mazarin." 
 
 The ball of dissipation rolled merrily on. 
 Festivity reigned. The only serious man at 
 Whitehall was the French ambassador. He 
 sought, in keeping pace with the amusements of 
 the Court, the means of furthering a great scheme 
 of policv which would have reduced Eneland, 
 the theatre of these junketings, to the position 
 of a satellite of the French Monarchy. 
 
 The Duchess of Portsmouth,^ acting on 
 Courtin's advice, dried her tears, affected indif- 
 ference to her check, assumed a lio-ht-hearted 
 manner, and kept in the stream of dissipation. 
 
 *' bau has just given our Embassy i splendid 
 dinner, to which Mrs. Middleton. tii Prince of 
 Monaco, Sunderland, Sessac, and our people 
 were all invited, reported Courtin.^ *' The King 
 
 * Courtin to Pomponne, Sept. 21, 1676. 
 2 Ibid, 
 
 k 
 
) 
 
 '34 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 of Eii^i in !. wlio lind dined w m \va^ nueen, 
 
 • ill \\Ti-!i \\-- W'.r- :ii table: awA \ have 
 
 I 
 
 i i 
 
 ■nnn ai]^: - iin^ 
 
 1 I 
 
 15,. ^^ .. l , ^ - r . .^^_ • ^ -^ ' . . . . i i 
 
 witii r;v. i i'.- iiar, a!:-.<i ;,^ ■: a pleased to sa) that 
 
 aan\-, at liia iJvichess ^A i'urL-niuaLi':. , anu tu 
 
 [ .'• HI a'noi.i a' ^a*^-tii:'\ la ' 
 
 ! >^'J )'M m» 
 
 "> 1 , * f . . 
 
 cV'ea 
 
 T '■ 
 
 uciure. 
 
 
 , 
 
 , 
 
 c? 'na 
 
 
 t ' "■■ ■ t 
 
 
 . I i . , i I I- 
 
 1 M M i 
 
 ! a' ! ■ 
 
 aaa^'- ' 
 
 
 -M • naiC' > 
 
 )t 
 
 t' .r 
 
 a a a'^r 
 
 ear; 
 
 chess de Ma/aiia. 
 
 'a: i : iciiu, i .:a:\' ^a"s 
 
 PV 
 
 '1 n^ 
 
 fr-. 
 
 \' 
 
 I a I \ :-> 
 
 •■ i •■ , . •> 1 
 
 
 t L i. c ■ 
 
 
 aboui 
 
 afbi' \\ 
 
 eaa A^ >'. 
 
 1 
 
 . he came also to dinner, t^^ meet 
 t r^^mouth and Airs. Middh a a 
 I ai the English bcaali- lia: uiic 
 I :ai\a most pleasure in seeing. But what a 
 iKaaacr of watch-dogs surround her! " 
 
 t' a when vrlting to Louvois 
 
 iCc ui lunds which remained 
 
 1 ) ^^ ssac mission Courtin said : ^ 
 
 \dd Ik \erv -la^] a you could let me 
 
 ai a Iding a chapel to the 
 
 ta': l\aa'a--\v, in wladi r^rayers 
 
 Ltai offered ai. i >v \ou, ana in \>,iv- 
 
 the 
 
 t ; i ^ 
 
 ^1. 
 
 '^-' the expenses of a fete which I 
 
 ^ Sept. 24, 1676. 
 
 
 ♦ »« 
 
 'i 
 
 r 
 
 j 
 
 ^ 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 15 
 
 ntia/r pvaninQ- tn tha Duchess ATazarin, Lady 
 
 ''^^ 
 
 y I 
 
 '^'-*>-. aaa .ur^.. iianiiituiib bi:-ua", aii- 
 
 :3.:> I 
 
 icn- 
 
 LHi^^iic:^:!! ul i uiav :t aai'a-> 
 thr Duke . f 
 
 
 ■^ 'aaii;t;i:a at xn lae 
 
 ananiLj/ 
 ladies. 
 
 I la-/w 
 danca a* 
 caiaa_r\ a 
 
 1 ork a-. aaaa\- 
 
 1 : . .. ] 1 1 
 
 i •>. 
 
 I ' i 
 
 1 nere 1 
 
 :ui*- aa,a a:^ ;arai-o tlicse 
 I :^-cretar\- uf >aat;^- wiu-a 
 ( M '/■>:_ a If"', i\']io na"nas to 
 IX hours waihout rarana in the 
 0". C'-hn'S, aiaa vouncr ladies (jf 
 
 
 1 In the reign of Charles II. it was poh'te to style a young 
 unmarried lady, who was not a professional beauty, 
 *'Mrs." Courtin styles the untitled spinster at Court 
 Mistress, and the married lady of every rank Madame. To 
 ])revent confusion, I adopt the modern fashion. {Trans- 
 lator's Note) ' 
 
 2 This was evidently Sir Joseph Williamson (1623-1701) 
 who behaved so badly to Arlington, and became Secretary 
 of State when that nobleman retired into private life. Of 
 the other two plenipotentiaries to the Congress of Cologne, 
 S :i. lerland was not a dancer; and Sir Liohne Jenkins was 
 not a Secretary of State, but Judge of the Prerogative Court 
 and Member for Oxford. Williamson was a Catholic, and 
 persecuted as such. He followed James II. to France, 
 where his descendants now rank with the Fitzjameses, Mac- 
 Mahons, and Dillons, as descendants : i:arl Oillamson," 
 and bear as such the title of Count. Their births, deaths, 
 and marriages are treated as fashionable events by " le High 
 Life " Boulevard journals. ( Translator's Note.) 
 
 I 
 
156 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 iition an 1 note are to be asked; and frolic- 
 : damsels will not be able to say that I do 
 
 not kno'i' hov; t^ treat them handsomely. The 
 
 
 w'Cii ijiK.l. 
 
 X lA i i 
 
 0UD_r ^lU'.-'T :- \.i> \ 
 
 hombre v :h t;; 
 
 shall leave the 
 
 c: i; :r.\ i . to their hearts' content. 
 
 ) play at 
 ^ I chess Mazarin. We both 
 
 \\r\^ madcaps lu ^.kip and 
 
 thine aboiu 
 
 <yr 
 
 S 
 
 ;n: 'iMic, ur let him know any- 
 H would say that I do not 
 ^ r )\\ old. Ikii one must be a 
 : r to o-et on here; otherwise it is 
 to com- t ! 1 iigland. I can however, 
 i tiuii although I must handle pitch, 
 i ini r solved 'v t to be defiled like the other 
 lureicrn ministers (and among them M. X'anbeu- 
 ninL'hen ihe Dutch minister), who all keep 
 
 u 
 
 seles: 
 
 
 & 
 
 I I L,i ^ t„i>. 
 
 -> i 
 
 euninghen^ is as much 
 ' :v red as you were, when you used to go 
 to Chelles. I i a i^uum to call oa Aiio. Middle- 
 ton, whom I more than ever regard as the most 
 beauiiiiil and amiablo woman at Court. I would 
 
 a money, if she would listen to 
 
 a-.^ 1 
 
 liar 
 
 ov rtnres from me. But she is not m rcenary, 
 
 and once r lused a purse containincr fifteen 
 
 haadrf'd gold angels, which Graaa lU nm r^ 1 
 
 1 Ambassador of Holland, who was for peace. 
 
 f. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 I 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 157 
 
 her. Do not, therefore, fear that she will get 
 hold of the balance of the Sessac fund." 
 
 '* The balance you mention," wrote Louvois,^ 
 "cannot have the pious use to which you would 
 apply it We have other things to do, besides 
 building Embassy chapels. However, make 
 use of it until M. Demetz pays you your salary. 
 \Vliat you say of the ball you have promised to 
 give, makes me wish to be of the company, 
 althouo^h I should not think of dancinor down 
 the Secretary of State ; and I do not know a 
 single rule of hombre. A 'M should do would 
 be to feast my eyes on Madame Mazarin. and 
 that I should never stop doing. There is much 
 eood now said here about her which I find 
 hard to believe. You may well imagine that 
 it is not of her beautv the talk is, since she is 
 assuredly the finest woman alive. But it is 
 ^aid that her tongue and disposition, are not so 
 charming as her person. If you were insensible 
 
 to h^r and therefore more free from bias, I 
 -ii_ vdd ask you to inform me on these points. 
 I remember having seen M. de Vanbeuninghen 
 ai :^L. Germain with rouge and patches, which 
 the courtesanes of Chatou and Passy had plas- 
 
 ^Oct. I, 1676. 
 
158 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 drift Oi 
 Mazariii 
 
 ^4. i , i 
 
 terec! i \v.- cheeks I don't know wlirth^r his 
 
 I ;; Ijii iiii 'rjssever sends him i Whitehall 
 so b'"-:! it*^ : i. I have so often heard < f the 
 charms ^A Mi >. Middleton from de Lii^iiiunt, 
 th it I should be glad to have her portrait/' 
 
 oith^r did not understand that the 
 - letter was to cajole the Duchess 
 V repeating the flattery it contained, 
 L see the possibility of getting her 
 ovrr to tlio Fronch side. He evinced the 
 X: I) L ) show that he was nui >ub- 
 11 r. ii was not he who was her 
 the Prince ui Monaco,^ w'c^ was 
 ic :i r company. Courti i supplicated 
 11 t lu repeat in society the rumour 
 V a. \\\ love with her, because people 
 IV h^ I^nd avowed it in his despatches, 
 in 1 h would be a subject of raillery. So far, 
 she had not In die least turned his head, and 
 yet there v.\i> c i a day in which he did not 
 sor-nd several honc" in reading in her card room. 
 Heciu a remained ihu:^ uCLUpied until niidnicyht. 
 
 II r house wa- aii a-r^^eable one, and provided 
 ei")' cuiuiii--.ny, in-nnie was alwavs 
 
 greatest 
 
 juc^at^ 
 slave, 
 
 U >.i i 
 
 Louvu.s 
 t'a I he 
 
 w 
 
 cl 
 
 \ il.. 
 
 * Courtiii Lu Louvois, Oct. 29, 1676. — Autograph minute 
 of Louvois, tome cxx., fol. 186. 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 159 
 
 going on. Courtin sometimes watched the 
 
 p!i\, but nwre often sat in an easy chair, 
 beside the fire, reading a book. S. Real had 
 got together a good library for the i Hichess. 
 Tih: ambassador found in it Appian, and 
 the Annals of* Tacitns, translated by 2\i. 
 u . iblancourt. The Duchess's conduct towards 
 the ambassador was free from impropriety, of 
 which hp was very glad. Biil he could see 
 that, although she was civil to Him, she had 
 sumething in her mind against him, and w^as 
 not frank in her dealings with him. i h: had 
 alreadv inf^anied IVT de Pomnonne oi her 
 annoyance at the intervention i Kn Charles 
 and the Uuke of York in her fav^ 
 
 ■^ 1 1 1- 
 
 I1 
 
 avingr 
 
 •-_ 1 i i>i. 
 
 had no effect at Versailles. He was half in- 
 clined to suspect that she had been ^rnt to 
 London on some intrigue against IVance. 
 flu Duchess of Portsmouth told 
 
 ainLa;sador ihat she and Iv in- 
 come I ) > unic secret understanding, 
 this was a iealous fancy; bni n n i 
 entertained liV hen Courtin complained that 
 
 his warnni ^s had been neMect^-n w- idle, and 
 
 i-^hjl the wipple- 
 
 French 
 ijs had 
 C' rhaps 
 
 t 
 
 :3iiiCereiy 
 
 
 \ I •. 
 
 \ V annient haggled 
 
 :ion Of e 
 
 f 
 
 e ; s , 1 1 i i. 
 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
i6o 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Ku-i^^^ :i-!'^ 1 f r Madame Mazariii. He 
 
 111 - * , 
 
 I'M't; \\i«Ui 1 h:j III) cause to rtjhciu wi uiis; 
 1'.,- kn^w tliat t:V"' iaM\- wa-. ^leepl\- in^'i-i'M^^L 
 
 LiaU LiUil ' )p; )L)rLdIilliu:3 WUiliu <tri::5U ^' 
 
 iv 
 
 11' *: **.'• i 
 
 )' i 
 
 w c: h 
 
 iC 
 
 l-.r.. 
 
 k ' 
 
 to take 
 
 ..... ' F 
 
 r jv-enge. 
 
 I 
 
 iiiciu- 'ia. 
 
 !l ! 
 
 ^Ija);-;*: ( u lu,, s , 
 
 a::a a-sador 
 
 i.ULi\"ui:5 n-u If.) lia- a th!-, a-, a i/iaah^ 
 
 ^: aial to uiduce lain aot to a.)-v.a 
 
 tri a the Duchess Aiazana ai\va\- 
 
 iriendly manner, and was a 
 
 w.aaaa ni \-'_a-;a aaaahlo niA'/inf^r^, iM^nuvois 
 had -a'-a iv--r ■iawciii^ ua yaa.aa.^, a. !;i,_. music 
 ^f a a-iiaf \aha:ii sh^^ thrammed herself, lie 
 w'ua.d a.iva.: lj-.:--n capUxaitcd by her. She had 
 a !aa\- fra'aal '^f r'-!a:aacable 
 
 ar< 
 
 as. iier :5iLa" 
 
 )\' 
 
 !a'a:\ aaa 
 tla^'u^ed ti 
 
 \\ ii' i^)-J r,UCl' 
 
 I ai<o have 
 
 { r -; .'-^ a a: her bricrhtness of 
 
 • da t anamination, which never 
 
 aa lni;^ht, — when the card parties 
 
 of the 1 
 
 t!a' naj-L t 
 anidassavi^ 
 
 na:ia/---i ! a's ^iv 
 
 
 ap, 
 
 \\ < 
 
 aavo 
 
 piaasai i I. 
 In^-or , a 
 
 •-, M ^ 
 
 a \ 
 
 ■. % ■ : t r , 
 V V i u i i 
 
 : i'-^ii:^^ :^leepy/ I i^o 
 ' allowed t- ^ nioy this 
 
 A\j\\Li as a 
 
 'ing >M 
 
 r )*n? 
 
 lov'^r . ^f iht; 1. )a^;hess. 1 1- 
 lativ^,' it Zkj L_i,j tUaa ^aa waiii ai 
 wlio ofttai caiiir- 1/ - ilaa- \aaa rii" I 
 
 ^ Courtin does not name this amif 
 
 f y '\ £ if 
 
 lO 
 
 dliddleton, 
 
 II 
 
 > 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 lOi 
 
 \v i a.v:-> 
 
 P rismouth at his house, or to spend la 
 
 c\"Cijaip wiia i .ad\' Sa- 
 tilt' secret rep<.aa^ u^ I 
 
 laiua- .A 1 \ 
 
 ta.iiia waii i 
 In a, aai- 
 
 •-., ( ; { )\ 
 
 \ '^ t 
 
 .. i. -> 
 
 ■ tin. 
 
 1 h,:i::hess Aia/ 
 
 
 ' 1 X'\ ' I f 
 
 -Urs. Middletaa^s ..a|,ipar 
 
 Courtin 
 
 r 
 
 s. i L" V U elil lC' 
 
 lU 
 
 bcQfan a\- aiiaiif^ a duda;'.'.,] descr'nt 
 
 V, hadi iu effaced the words : ' 
 
 represent aft^^r midni-ht thi,: X^avmark-i races 
 
 waUi die i\\u ladies." 1 la tiaai ciders aia> a 
 aara..>aN disquisiiiaai on k.idii.::d a-,. a., ankles, shoes, 
 
 aaa >t- H,:kn-igs, \viiia;i Nla..'\v- daji ae wa- la a, of 
 idt; pngorish -ana-.,'! kA i.liplomaa\, a,!a,i 
 
 L 
 
 t ri 
 
 dana's wajrin 
 
 (. 
 
 Pans bU..a'king"s, i.)r die shoe^ 
 
 1 can I enaarf- 
 
 ladies 
 
 bv dk.dam,e Desbordes. 11aa-e is 
 aeaiaa^- nead-r dian v.ki teia and ankles of liie 
 English ladies, in thela wtH fitting shoes and 
 silk stockings. 1 hey wear their skiru -hurt ; 
 anci I (>ft(ai see legs so well u.irned that a 
 sculptor would like lu mould them. Greer 
 stockines are' modish. 1 lie garter, 
 
 •■ » \\ 
 
 .^^ — , . ^, 
 
 gliinpbe:^ arc od'ai affbrtied, is belon" ua- knee, 
 aiai 11 black a^ !vet, with diamond buckles. 
 1 1io:jc who have no silk storkin'as to wear. 
 
 M 
 
1 62 
 
 
 wuincii ur 
 
 ^ t 1 i i - 1 V V ». 1 i V 
 
 expenst 
 
 LOUISE BE KEROUALLE, 
 
 • k:,. 
 
 ^mnr^th as satin. English 
 beine stockinMess to wearino^ 
 
 i ? 
 
 b:AU 
 
 uisfiguring hosi-r\-." i. uv-is pro- 
 le nev^er thought of laughing ai the 
 the Duchess Mazarin/ as tiie am- 
 i suspected. Ua the cuuirar}', he 
 eatcst regard for her ad always 
 a woman of absolutely peerless 
 
 **'] 
 
 C i /' a' L . r 
 which 
 
 pLUjiiCi \ 
 ,1 .1 
 
 t n a '^ \\- 
 
 t ' V ; .. ; ■ V - 
 Li, ^ . ■ ^ - > . 
 
 waia in 
 intr- a \ 
 
 L i i i. I L. 
 
 t • ! 
 
 i 
 
 )C>. 
 
 1 nxliess of 1 i ismouth," ^ continued 
 
 at da king often at her rooms, 
 
 ti pi ace where he's seen most 
 
 da i have ascertained beyond doubt 
 
 asses nights much less often witl^ Ik i' 
 
 . Ac uwynii , and, ii i lcui believe 
 
 a- aa3st aboat with him, his relations 
 
 ^ .ac:^:. ui [ ( riannnth have subsided 
 
 .a a. friendship. As to the Duchess 
 
 i laa • !i^ thinks hor the finest woman 
 
 aer saw in his life. Although I ^ > 
 
 \ I ) her chambers ai :di James's 
 
 ean see that she hides all Uiat she 
 
 can from me. I am greatly deceived, if she 
 
 i:^ 
 
 aariQ^uinof for some of our enemies 
 
 p 
 
 nere. 
 
 * Nov. 2, 1676. 
 
 2 Nov. 12, 1676. 
 
 I 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 163 
 
 ' in general terms I have advised har, that 
 if she wanted to let out, she should d^j xi vvith- 
 
 \ not to be 
 
 a \^"l^ 
 
 out causing a scandal, and in 
 remarked much, even in London. She finds 
 amusement, she says, in the most innocent 
 diversions. Every evening i witness scenes 
 aa her rooms, so astounding that a description 
 of them could not fail to set even a great 
 minisp r like you laughing. As to "Irs. Middle- 
 ton, I still hold I I the opinion that shr's tlie 
 sweetest woman 1 ever came across, ui any 
 foreign country. She's beautiful, has th^ air 
 of high breeding, is full of talent, and yet 
 modest and unassuming. Were I no older 
 than you, I should be madly in love with her. 
 Tdit T am forty-nine, and the thiclv ur of 
 London depresses me.^ Madame alizarin, 
 after piously attending mass on Sunday, dined 
 with me, and played the rest of t!a' aia rnorai 
 ai my withdrawing-room, at battledore and 
 shuttlecock, with l.ady Sussex. She claxro-ed 
 me with her compliments for you. I men- 
 tioned to Mrs, Middleton your wish to have 
 her portrait, and she answered that she was 
 infinitely obliged to you." 
 
 ^ Nov. 23, 1676. 
 
 / 
 
1 64 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 COURT IN 
 
 16: 
 
 > T^ i r 
 
 Far fr 'HI t'linking this Court gossip beneath 
 h". ..ti Tiiiun, ihe orrc.ii ininisl= r I ouvois testi- 
 fied t!> th''^ c'l'^'^at pl'"a=^'ir" wliir'; it affV^rded 
 hi;n, an 1 ho^'ja tiiat he should be kej^i in 
 formed of what the London ladi^- were 
 
 doinc^. ■ 
 
 informed of the hubbub caused 
 
 the Kali oi Sussex living to 
 
 n. ^ ) an] hve in the country. 
 
 in^^aiaraM'' companion ui ihe 
 \\\ : and the Duchess of Cleve- 
 it laa- iiur iicacl a' i-r^-ak up 
 [ I husband's aunt and mother 
 a^^e desien. Thoucrh vonna', the 
 i'\ a aiorose humoar. ihe 
 iN :a aiouth mortally hated the 
 >a^5u.v, Lu^au:5c she thought she 
 direca 1 the a uri^ue between the king and 
 t'v iK-aa'^s Mazarin. H t Charles was re- 
 sol\-cd uait iii- ia.aa !a'lya^)ve should not be 
 deprived of ta^^ companionship of his romping 
 dai a r. 1 t aess of Sussex was hardly 
 j^n.ji'P tiiia a clai L aivl only thought "f ^kip- 
 pinor ana daauia^, i,\\d indulging in games of 
 r aa - \rnn\ aiorning till night; and she was 
 passionatea. iiaiched aj the Duchess Mazarin, 
 
 He X . 
 at Whitehal; 
 
 force la- \\ : 
 SiV" wa^ ti 
 1 )...diess M: 
 land had ta 
 
 L . I U i i i I i i 1 ! . - '- \ . 
 
 formed i 
 husb a a 
 
 Dachess 
 
 L ' ' a a r ■ " :- -- 
 
 
 who appeared in her young eyes a heroine 
 of romance. 
 
 T. ouvois was enchanted to read about these 
 quarrels and intrigues, and encouraged Cour- 
 tin not to neglect them in writing to him and 
 the King of France.^ The statesmen in the 
 employment of Louis the Fourteenth w^ere 
 remarkable for their application aal thorough- 
 ness. But they were, with the exception of 
 Colbert, free from [niposity, aial were above 
 trying to gain prestige by solemn pedantry. 
 However, while they so closely observed the 
 Court, they remained in ignorance * a the vital 
 forces and the resources of England. It may 
 be said for them, that a study of the national 
 spirit and energies was not what most con- 
 cerned them. They had aa i a \ themselves 
 chiefly with the present. To hold England 
 back, through the Court, while the French 
 were conquering on the mouths of the Scheldt 
 and Rhine, in Flanders and the Netherlands, 
 was all they wanted. However, it would have 
 been wise to have tried to understand, if only 
 with the design of preventing their hostility, 
 the men and the forces that were coming up. 
 
 ^ Dec. 17, 1676. 
 
1 66 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Tn C/; !' i ■ ' t^ f: lur Duke of Marlborouo-h, 
 
 C'.';:-tin ana Luuvois did nuL di:?ccrn. !rM_*rc 
 than :i -fan-h, tn^^' headed libeinhi''. (Jairchill 
 
 T; 
 
 V"^^ «-=t 
 
 i J 
 
 
 If 
 
 asKCil : 
 
 been ncc'-!n' h, ir rlnnps hf w.^nlh h..\-f de- 
 vnlnDf'd. h:-a^ hn^^ n'^-t'>h'"'": "H'^'v/i^K. into nn 
 i'h;-triuLis 1- runch general, and una iha reign 
 
 f't tn^ 
 
 would not ha\'^" liad a 
 
 •;()•"'• 
 
 en 
 
 
 w: 
 
 rc;^n: 1^ . i i I, 
 
 ia.,. I 
 
 t '^ " 
 
 Ciairchill a-ia-d, na tlv French 
 
 :i C' )rrespoiKiaacc was upniicd abuut 
 an ; - already In-ew hhn, and also 
 
 
 ! , 
 
 <a'cuit. 
 
 He ia.d a r'T>utation in L-a-^'n ahnni was 
 n t t'^ hi- a h antao^e, and lai I traded, in the 
 
 ci'jnaaCiiL 
 
 J Couri ah'cles in which he i 
 
 on 
 
 his fine fienre and handsome face. I hat sort 
 
 cA \acf aai:^ iVcqa^ni ai a a.: L'^ana-. -n U:- \ alois 
 kui^'-a wia'!-- ar--ar- i -a-a/-^. -:' liiali hitlni and 
 li dit par:^a:> received iiuaic) and jewels, and 
 s aiaa: nes estates, fr n: women of wealth and 
 (and rv. ( hnjcn Liizabeth was also gfenerons 
 t ih beau a v:':^a whom she diverted herself 
 laa th lai a' professional beauty was not a 
 plant ot la:^a a ^i n ih, and was ne\a i well 
 ^ Courtin to Lonvois, Nov. i6, 1676. 
 
 ' 
 
 f 
 
 4 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 167 
 
 naturalized in Englan-l Tt is possible that 
 
 John Ciianchill, in seekina 
 France, wanted to 1 
 
 HI 
 
 nria-ik 
 
 tiWi/.a 
 
 iioi 
 
 n ! 
 
 " J.-3- 
 
 reps to wau^ai \\ 
 
 sessed and what advancement he ha 1 i tained, 
 
 and desi: 
 
 ,1 
 
 
 i 1 C 
 
 had la'ai formed a i re attachment for Saah 
 Jennings liie leading belle (f lai * i ) :hess of 
 York's household. At a ball given I \ that 
 princess, the loveK lenuings left a dance in 
 which she was engaged, nj at down to 
 weep.^ Churchill had told her h^- wn me- 
 naced with con^nnn )i!on, and ordered l)\' ins 
 doctor to go to live ni France. Siie believed 
 him, although he was in perfect heahh. His 
 father and aa ah 
 
 were torna tmg- 
 
 liii 
 
 niarr\' an iieiress, ugly to drthn-niiiy; and he 
 and Sarah Jennings loved each other. Cour- 
 tin informed Lnnvois that the bean Caarchill 
 had pillaged the Duchess of Cleveland ; and 
 tliat. in one way or another, iie land got out 
 
 blio-ed 
 
 r?iie 
 
 ■\ ' ' 
 
 -1:3 O 
 
 ^5 
 
 of hier so much money, that 
 to eo to France to economize and o^ain 
 from her creditors. When the haridsurnc 
 gallant had robbed her, he desert' 1 her. 
 
 1 Courtin, Dec. 7, 1676. 
 
i68 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Pnssibly, if he and she had met in France, 
 they might have been reconciled, and, as he 
 wa^ cool-headed, insinuating, and intriguing, 
 he miglii have become a valuable instrument 
 of France. Louvols drily objected, that Mr. 
 Churchill was " too fond of pleasure, to dis- 
 charge well the duties of colonel in the army 
 of the King of France." He had been pro- 
 posed for the command of the Royal- English 
 regiment, which was in the pay of Louis. But 
 Louvois said he would give ** more satisfaction 
 to a rich and faded mistress, than to a monarch 
 who did not want to have dishonourable, and 
 dishonoured, carpet knights in his armies." 
 
 Towards the end of 1076, the influence of 
 Louise de Keroualle fell to a low point. 
 Courtin pitied Charles, who wanted to be well 
 with every one^ — a hard problem to solve, 
 surrounded, as he was, by jealous women. He 
 had to face the anger of the Duchess of 
 i'urtsmouth for drinking twice in twenty-four 
 hours, to the health of Nell Gwynn, with 
 whom he still often supped, and who still made 
 the Duchess of Portsmouth the butt for her 
 tickling sarcasms. The rakes of the town met 
 1 Courtin to Louvois, Dec. 17, 1676. 
 
 \ 
 
 COURTIN, 
 
 169 
 
 the king at her supper- table, and said freely 
 before him whatever came uppermost in their 
 heads. As for the Duchess Mazarin, the 
 Court of Versailles was informed by the watch- 
 ful ambassador that Charles went regularly 
 through the going-to-bed ceremony at White- 
 hall ; and when his gentlemen and servants had 
 left his chamber, he got up, dressed, stole off 
 to St. James's Palace, where he arrived after 
 the Duchess's card-parties were over, and did 
 not return to his palace until after five in the 
 morning. It was evident, then, that he did not 
 spend his nights in the lodging of the Duchess 
 of Portsmouth. He went to see her often in 
 the daytime, when he knew she had company 
 with her ; but that was all. 
 
 Louis had made haste to profit by what 
 influence remained to the Duchess of Ports- 
 mouth, and took Conde, Bouchain, Aire, and 
 Philipsburg. He forced the Prince of Orange 
 to raise the siege of Maestricht, to the great 
 apparent joy of Charles, who cried that that 
 little upsetting gentleman, wanted a whipping 
 to tame his ambition/ The irresistible cam- 
 paign of 1677 was prepared. France, bounded 
 I Courtin to King Louis, Sept. 3, 1676. 
 
I70 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 by the sea to the west and north-west, by high 
 mountains to the south-west and south-east, and 
 by the Mediterranean to the south, could only 
 extend her frontiers to the north and north- 
 east.^ The Italian wars were mere showy ones, 
 as the French statesmen began to see in the 
 sixteenth century. Coligny affirmed, with a 
 menace in his eye, that " any one who tried 
 to prevent a war in Flanders was not a good 
 Frenchman, and had a Spanish cross stamped 
 on his heart." The English statesmen, from 
 the time of Queen Elizabeth, understood 
 that France was bound by the fatalities of 
 her geographical position to bear down on 
 Flanders ; and as they feared to have a long 
 coast-line to guard, not only in the Channel, 
 but on the German Ocean, into which the 
 Thames flowed, they came to look upon the 
 French as their born enemies. The soldier, 
 the sailor, and the civilian, but particularly in 
 the middle and lower classes, were imbued 
 with hatred Lr i'rance.^ Courtin often warned 
 his Government f this deep-rooted animosity, 
 
 1 Due d'AuDiFFRET Pasquier : Elo;;e du Marcchal de 
 Ber'iuick. 
 
 - Feb. 15, 1677. 
 
 COURTIN, 
 
 171 
 
 which, he said, could not be explained by any 
 freak of fashion, because the Court and courtiers 
 followed the modes of Paris, and the wits of 
 Whitehall took for models the wits of Ver- 
 sailles. Yet they sought pretences for de- 
 claring openly their aversion for the French. 
 The king was not only held in French bond- 
 age by the Duchess of Portsmouth, but by his 
 personal obligations of an unavowable kind to 
 the King of France, and by his hopes of future 
 pecuniary aids. 
 
 In the records of the French Foreiofn Office 
 there is a paper written by him, in a firm and 
 flowinof hand, in which there is no trace of 
 the nervous ao^itation which shame mi^ht 
 cause. It runs thus : — 
 
 ** I have received from his most Christian Majesty, by the 
 hands of M. Courtin, the sum of a hundred thousand 
 crowns, French money, for the second quarter, ending on 
 the last day of June, and to be deducted from the four 
 hundred thousand crowns payable at the end of this year. 
 
 "Given at Whitehall, September 25, 1676. 
 
 "Charles R." 
 
 This paper bears the royal seal. There are 
 two other signed and sealed receipts of the 
 same year, dated October ist and Dec. 31st. 
 
1/2 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 '\'j ijriiiality was left out in delivering them/ 
 Charles was not conscious of his ignominy. 
 I he four hundred tliuusand crowns were the 
 price of a • abrogation f Parliament, which 
 did i: I meet in 1676. As he was paid, so 
 he served the King of France. But the day 
 of reckoning was coming round. Parliament 
 was L ^ meet on i'ebruary 25, 1677, and this 
 causerl uneasiness at Versailles, many weeks 
 before the evv at took place. Courtin was 
 told to neglect no symptom, and to try and 
 see what members of the Opposition were 
 purchasable. He had a very hard card to 
 plav, and hid nis serious designs under gay 
 attentions t * tlio mistresses and the other 
 
 ladies about ihem. iio was importuned by 
 the Earl of Herkshire,^ who had two years 
 previously come begging to De Ruvigny, and 
 complaining that he had lost by his zeal for 
 France a pension he received from Spain. ^ 
 
 1 Aff. Etr. Aiighierre, tome cxxi., fol. 213, 216, 307. 
 
 2 His name in the foreign archives is spelt Barchis, 
 Bacsha, Barkshe, and Barker. But, as Courtin says this 
 Earl is of the noble house of Howard, he must be the eldest 
 son of Thomas Howard, who in 1625 was created Earl of 
 Berkshire. 
 
 3 Ruvigny to King Louis, Marcli 25, 1674. 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 ^IZ 
 
 Ruvigny, thinking he might be useful, lent 
 him out of his own pocket five hundred 
 Jacobus, which he did not expect to receive 
 again. But he assured Louis that a thousand 
 gold pieces would not have been too much, 
 because at the Court of England, those who 
 did not give high pay were badly served. 
 The Kinor of France ordered the thousand 
 
 o 
 
 pieces to be given. ^ But they less stimulated 
 the zeal than the cupidity of Ford Berkshire, 
 who wrote lu Courtin ^ to know whether he 
 
 C! -^ i I 
 
 ^^pcrct service aeent. 
 
 wished to use him _ 
 
 Courtin, being the soul of probity, recoiled 
 from dealings with Berkshire, who, albeit a 
 scion of the noble ii_iibL; uf Howard, was a 
 low knave. He at first merely thanked him; 
 but, as the meeting of Parliament was drawing 
 near, resigned himself to ask if the king would 
 authorize him U) hi the earl have another 
 thousand Jacobus.^ Then he pi srused, then 
 he Lemporizeti, and at kaa aaau a qu;aaar in 
 advance, to make sure of a speech a^.. a i any 
 
 1 These five hundred gold pieces are mentioned in Aff. 
 Etr., tome cxii., fol. 199. 
 
 2 Courtin to Pomponne, August, 1676. 
 
 3 Courtin to King Louis, Dec. 21, 1676. 
 
 i' 
 
f 
 
 »» 
 
 174 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 anti- French resolution that might be moved in 
 the i I jiise 01 Lords. There was no lack of 
 men in the House of Cnmmons who would 
 have received money without any sort of scruple 
 from the French Embassy. T ii *' would have 
 been a vain expense lu bribe them, because 
 the\- \\'^,)..M n-i k-^'i) a:i\- '^.--^un nut!'; f. a* the 
 advantage of L'^iis. Th^ whole litiiise of 
 Commons hated 1 iance, and w is determined 
 tliat ^'Av^ shnii]'] not seize on the Netiirn land'^, -^ 
 
 Couriin b icp-.^^;...:.ce to dirty-handed English 
 noblemen was n t tikm hi good part at 
 Vernui!<>. lie was drily reminded that 
 
 thing would be thought dirt\ there, which 
 
 Vi possess the Rhuic dud 
 wa-^ w-min:mded tc.) cnv-r into 
 r:nan, a Sf^cr^tar\- < -i' Mate, 
 :a- ! )uke ca \'ork, w \'\k^ was 
 art" hundred jacobus.^ But 
 ' ^aia lae Duke of Lauder- 
 
 enabled a a W.\ 
 Flanders ; ana 11 
 
 re! a 1 1011^? w a a l_. 
 a iivi Li. \'> ' a i. ; I' ' i • I 
 to be boiiL^lit few 
 he fuaa \ 11 a.aa: 
 
 \.s^ 
 
 
 instructed to qop wliat he could 
 do throa. a ua: 1 ^ chess. The kingf of a iwnce 
 
 \hr. 
 
 cj> 
 
 hi" if ^.i-f 
 
 !i !a - while tn writa witli lii' 
 u Aai a.aaa ^ja uar-i subject. 
 
 ^ Courtin to Pomponne, March 8, 1677. 
 ^ Ibid., Dec. 28, 1676. 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 175 
 
 Courtin replied to Lou vols that he owned 
 that the Duchess of Lauderdale ruled her lord. 
 But the Duke having always spoken against 
 men high in the service of the State accepting 
 presents, and his worst enemies admitting that 
 his hands were clean, it was hard to find a 
 way to bribe him. His wife, a cautious woman 
 evidently, was very anxioiw li at he should stand 
 well in the eyes of Parliament, and timorously 
 afrairl that h^ might lose its good opinion. It 
 was not therefore certain that she would listen 
 to proposals from the French embassy; and 
 if overtures a are made and rejected, the matter 
 would get noised, and ilie Parliament would 
 be more dogged thari a\a.r iii a policy of re- 
 sistance to France. Nevertheless, as she was 
 eairavagant in spending ai >aa), dwA liked to 
 have ever\ a^ a thinu^ she saw, Courtin thouo^ht 
 that i .ouis micrht serai h r a r^ift of eleofant 
 jeweller), Uj accept which, the a.mbassador 
 would tr\' to ka 1 her without saying anything 
 that, if repeated, might do mischief.^ 
 
 With Charles there wa- no need for beating 
 about the bush. It was best to go straight 
 to business with him, and tell li'a^ that it 
 
 ^ Courtin to Pomponne, Jan. 14, 1677. 
 
 i 
 
1/6 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
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178 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 w i\ 
 
 
 ( > : 
 
 wa^ nt trie buld, l:iUL;hin 
 
 i. ' ' J ' •>. V. ' ' . . till I I i I '■. i t I .^ i\, I ',.1 
 
 a 
 ^5 
 
 , t 
 
 .. L ^ i i 
 
 i\ in-^ n: 
 
 »: 1" fan 
 
 ro 
 
 V:(^ 
 
 t> t ^ ! 1 
 
 aOing iL 
 
 f -,.■•. t- 
 
 i.rcri^au aj iici', nistcavi »a lo tar wcrpinor 
 \ailMr/. \\l\o had ia->! l^one out? ^hr- \'r;\ved 
 taai la- would laav-r niLa'u |.a"olil i:.i 
 because the K;a^ < i 1' nglanc' aas her or. 
 a* .::iui'a.i; CMiapaa:')-!, aa ' lik'^d r"V \aV ihc 
 best. 1 la oti; r ladies had heard ol a -: iax- 
 urioas laa^aa--^ "i M i^s Nelly's under-clotaing, 
 anLi a-ir'U \i they could judge of ii f-r tht-a]- 
 selves, \\'aia.a;t aa^r^^ ado she let lia ai raise 
 eacii |riiiL< .u, ua la one, and before all in 
 the room eaananr them on her. '' T a^^vrr in 
 ia\ life,'' said L-.aaa, "saw such thorough 
 ciarinliness, neatness, and sumptuosity. I should 
 sn^aa i ^ a r r tliinor-c; that we all were shown 
 if M. de la aa \o re still Foreign Secretary. 
 Lui with }'oii I must be grave and proper; 
 and so, Mn-iaur, I end my letter." 
 
 *' Miss Nr^ll^'," mother of the Ear1 of Hr^m^- 
 f aal \\a^ N- .\ ViWmai ; and Lad\ ! iarvey, with 
 whom "^v pa' 1 th^^ visit, had just formed a 
 tender nv ndship a a- die Duchess auizarin. 
 
 '^ ^r rtsmouth, ana Iier 
 
 c;a 
 
 1. 1 ^ 
 
 ' tin- Daahcss oi 
 
 hatred was aiuic danorerous than 2\cli :, j-:^ls. 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 179 
 
 Lady Harvey was tlai 
 
 t -■-« i :t I 
 
 M 
 
 , \ It 
 
 K \ \ 
 
 '-N ( 
 
 celebrated as 
 
 tiers in na- L's^.ait 
 
 i I, to 
 
 ;U]a )•]• 
 
 a i h A i \ , 
 
 rri] 
 
 and 
 
 L i i, ' 
 
 \v I T r \ 
 
 !i 
 
 was o! iii.-r 1 ,:i 
 
 r t . r % t' . I t •< , , 
 
 
 ,11 tile iaole ui jLl Kcnard 
 
 A 
 
 vc'Iais : — 
 
 " Le bon coeur chez vous, compagnon du bon sens, 
 Avec cent qualites trop long h deduire, 
 Una noblesse d'ame, un talent pour coiidLUic 
 
 Et les affaires et les gens, 
 Una humeur franche ct 1ihrc et le don d'etre nm'e 
 Malgre Jupiter meme et les temps orageux. 
 
 Her animosit) t- v irds the Duchess of 
 CI*'\' land ]av] probably tlie sain^- cause as 
 her hatred for the Lkichess ui iajius mouth 
 and her sudden intimacy with the Duchess 
 Mazarin. 
 
 Her contemporaries spoke undisguisedly of 
 her vices • and she was brouglu, by a satirical 
 dramatic author, upon the stage under the 
 name of Sempi^onia} The actress who per- 
 
 1 Courtin to Pomponne, July 20, 1676. He often 
 speaks of the brilliant play of her wit in his despatches, 
 and of the bold, gay character of her mind. 
 
 - Colbert thus gives this threatrical event. " The ways 
 and doings of Lady Harvey have been given undisguisedly 
 (au naturel) under the name of Scmpronia^ and with great 
 
i8o 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 f)riiv;4 i\\'- [);irt iH-H-rt^ an applaii'l'ii^:' lirup^^* 
 WM-^ inipn-^' >:i!; i ; but wli'-n. uwii;'^ t^> liit: 
 
 T 
 
 iicu. -u-^ ciLiract-i', wum ii tiv. 
 
 1 ' a*t>in« siitii saiu wa-^ ! ^lix' sf », 
 
 ^ » ' „ <. I L v., i I i i . I. i L i L I i til,. , I > I t • I L . i 
 
 d^^ Cr^'i'-.^\-'> h..:tt^r- n:i liii- >ua'- 
 oi ru^finhianct' with th^- Saur- 
 nn the \ac'^- uf t!a/ natrir'ian ia^ 
 
 I ha,' hi •-^'■1 of 
 »■ 'v; a i:-^f ' tile 
 'L (huh a -rt 
 
 ■ t ! a i \' ' ' T") ra n t ^ 
 
 I 1 V •. i J t I 1 
 
 4 Rr^aic 
 
 M. K 
 
 iXTrilivjiia iiUarpralau. m a iuL 
 
 i L' 
 
 1 ...a\- 
 
 Uir\'-\" laa-^tar, nis r-ntiia 
 
 a I a= >.,i aa,* 
 
 ■^ T 
 
 L ' U i i 1 . 
 
 la i 1 
 
 aa' r-, and ia;r iiaa'aJ-^ in .^^ -■; 'a-aa; / 
 
 I ia^^f.: 
 
 "a t'l lie 
 
 aa'"iai--^ cnra, : a a ' * 
 a-> >atLa aiiaa'- \^\ \\\'- C^^aia of \ha'- 
 ^'v'ia-ai \';a=^ iV't iii'^an^ibl^'' to th^ir 
 d'lie h'^reiofn Aaaira rava;rdb 
 of tliat yaar ar^'- fall o!~ dh-.-rtha„: sciaa-.. hi 
 \\aiiCii tHa iJiaLi:Da ^liiaaa ni^j cuacLUjiiie:^, cuiu*- 
 
 tr^'at- 
 
 1 aa 1 i '.jLa-) ^5 1 ',. 
 
 applause. W-iv ■: ihc irnpr.^uiunciu a the actress, and licr 
 
 rc^:^n-c ay I .aa> Ca-acmainc's fava:;:-/' T Duis XTV an- 
 -vr. :. ' i rail \. - a nni* h ai a sement the curious circum- 
 a ai -^ \v;u( ii \uLi wr aj a) ihe Sieur de Lionne, and 
 which he cunnnuiacatca t- la. } v:3ici Jay."— 4^: a.//., lonie 
 xciii.. fbl. aU- ^■'-^'- '^- i '*^9. 
 ^ Giu-y.,, a . 
 
 I 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 iSi 
 
 tiers, and the aiaaa--aaaura aaaaa-iiiuad aa laaa 
 
 arc tna actaia^ I h(;\' aia: dascrdaiai so \a\adi\" 
 UKit, aiua)a:_ai naaia- than two CfaUurios haxa:- 
 
 *-hi|'^''h Siaia: ti)t:y ware iic^CrUacd, thc\' aaaUi 
 
 no inarc cho ]ion<s, wia/n tlaa (hist\- iaac«aaj-. in 
 
 •^ i_ 1 1 a .-> o \_a i a i a 1 1 1 a li c lu 
 
 1 lit' K\\\ -' > 
 
 \\\) uuar 
 
 ^a-aresses -^" ^"'-■•- '" 
 
 tL \ araaiiias waara auiies 
 ^*i ^^^c^^' ^^^ial laaaa an^i Hiaaaaa;taaU aaaaa^e- 
 iiients. 0\\v ol tiiani uais naiowaaaii i\a- iii?/ 
 
 attic sah ol iiar viois. A,nolhi:r ca.aiaa 
 
 •^ ! > ! t a , • r 
 a V I i t ^ J v i 
 
 Ciai\a,a'aatau 
 
 . a) 
 
 j H.naa aiUi cuwailaal Ul>U.a 
 
 a 
 
 I^'onalna .ua! IdaoiKa auil e 
 
 V. ' a 
 
 \a'^!iUaia\' hacana^'' 
 
 tho mother-abbess (»f liic Courl. d'iao ah haU 
 nitaah/ai enough, wla-n tired iA oha.a-ara a,) 
 
 oevolta uaaa' nun 
 
 us LU baaaaajs Lima 
 
 i a a ■ a < ' \' 
 
 ^i'^tanad Willi ^■aiiuhie pleasura lo liia A^. 
 
 a nil laaaa 
 
 S; aa a 'f 
 
 ■s u! Ahia-^naai aniJ ]V)ar- 
 
 iiaaauta. ?\ a'aaa da 
 
 n >. a i I ai a- .a i a?. i.\\\ rsi a j ;_^^^ 
 
 ^nha' \\\ iiaa seciaaaaa a^a^' soia ioiaiaa.i a 
 
 " '• t 1 1 • • ; • 1 1 
 
 - *-0 a - it ! \ a a >■ • ii la.- aa s rt ^/ 'an ^ n ari'"" f n r ^ 
 
 rncaaS. \\ il > apnaUol a\Va\ 
 
 ' . a i V a a i aa . 
 
 
 waaan 
 
 t -.' '- a >. a a i I a ■ 
 
 la) \ luUaii:, ha!r\'C'a aa ti ]au<aiU- 
 
 tHan.iia' ''aaaa^i'va' to tloa waariiL Ha! 
 i:xaa'|..aiiai a/1 alr:^. hiidalaa.aa laia 
 
 a 1 1 
 
 a )( 
 
 (diarniini^- CMUiifa^ss c^f Si 
 shrew ibh buiaih 
 
 .aa ani' 
 
 1. I i ! ". t 
 
 L i 1 e 
 
 h. nnine-a a a^ ^^>a' xaaaa^a laraaaj 
 
l82 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 to vhr-^^ar. th- ladies nf nnnJitv .u \\\'- Court 
 ui" Cluirlc^. 11. \vt;rc i"ri\^)k)a-, dirl vulgar demi- 
 reps. T]i''\'lKui. iiow-^v-r, t'O'-- qo'ilitv nf per- 
 
 knew where to 
 i^ transparent as 
 
 "V^ C ' i. c j 
 
 ind iiO"\' wcr 
 
 ii.u't; ihoin, 
 
 with aiu' ot ihcni a 1 
 
 .U vV it 
 
 1 1 .' )• 
 
 'it: lu carry on 
 
 )[ 
 
 
 'It 
 
 ina.'!l 
 
 1,1- ^ I J I i 
 
 ( onfusion 
 
 I I i : I 
 
 t t ! (^ 
 
 , ■\r 
 
 lO^. 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 tni^tn. 
 
 .•> 
 
 c • t ( » 
 
 
 . r 
 
 
 a laose 
 
 \\ :a '. w a-n a-w" l^ ^ oa-'m, 
 a ai sona waaa. i a lais 
 resT'-ct t!a-\- v;^a-p at a ili-a^-^vantaire with 
 
 LIT' I • ' • 1 , ' ' 
 
 uai^'■ oa ivaraa..Uia, \\aa_» naxar -aKl anylliing 
 
 int t^ --aw aaa wan-^;t„» r*'t*cence, 
 
 aral :,fcrccv e^ve iwa", -waitii tiie 
 
 ivent ot ahiaa- 
 Ta: a ],. \{ a 
 
 luid ta<' >a: a! ■ 
 c[^■aia- ' a' t:]r ia 
 
 feelina tiii-^. ^'>''^' 
 
 tr\ ing I') h-iach th<^ king from a;- I'Vench 
 
 i.aa aaaia, an i destroy her influence. Courtin 
 
 nwinaa''M'1 tn rr-mahi o!i o-Qod tei'w- with the 
 
 ^L arai, — the uppei iaaah 
 aa' \v>i- i=:Maa\- -ca ndalous, 
 •enetraia'n and diplomatic 
 
 .ai ; aa- i la r Kii'tlish ri\ails, 
 ta a n . laa a iiile they were 
 
 c^ 
 
 L N 
 
 1 
 
 Lhi^aasses 
 
 > ■■■! 1 t • •> , 
 
 English i'Liticoat-party 
 
 that wa-i h--]iin(l law ^f them. !!:> despatches 
 Uiuui watii anecdotes illustrative of the difficulty 
 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 183 
 
 he had in not offending any one. The am- 
 bassador havl 10 enter into their anuisements 
 aathout once forgetting that he represented the 
 greatest king in Europe. ili^ i^allani and 
 <aaaious aa ainers, his wit, ;aai orobabK- !iis 
 broken hnglisli, whenever he vent ah to talk 
 ia th. a !aa_^a:ige, greatly helped ia-^ address. 
 
 advantai^e to 
 
 F\aai hia ^nia]1 stature was an 
 
 him at Whitehall and Si a aas's. The nobly 
 
 born and ennobled iad'/- tat;ra tr^ at^d aan as 
 a ciaaanaw toy. Meeting lani at tia- taeati'e, 
 he wrot^' to laaivois, Lad\' Ilari'^yand V\'{-, 
 Middleton ar. posed to go and ^\i\} mree days 
 lat'i at a- house, each accompanied In icne 
 de scs amies, Mrs. Middla a tai; 1 i this 
 intended invasion on the i V ncii embassy at 
 tho 1 ^achess of Portsmouth's, aaa \ ..-Ax \ farvey 
 at the Duchess adizarin's. Ida two duchesses 
 
 \'ow'^d dww sliould inja ta 
 
 
 lieauclerc was of the party, although she and 
 Lady Harvey were at daggers drawn and 
 cotdd iiuL endure each other. The Duchess 
 Mazarin had always refused t/^ break bread 
 with, konise de Keroualle, or to eat at the 
 same table with her. But Court hi managed 
 to keep all the rivals who were imd^r his roof 
 
\i 
 
 84 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 i >i 
 
 
 0\'P'l 
 
 1 ' t 
 
 )1 
 
 
 species o 
 
 horn ii th-;ji:i l " most 
 :c ; aii'l when lie (e-:i\-ere<-I 
 
 i 'J' t "'^ i i l'_* ti ^ J 1 clll'-l _■> i ^iZcii ill 
 
 f imeri-^'eiment. in--/ came 
 
 
 in /hi no- ]] 
 
 \V-:lt 
 
 'uni: eni£ ci 
 
 -. , 1 
 
 <. • 1 
 
 l.l 
 
 ) * w 
 
 I ; U t 
 
 i ieine' ah<^nt a reconciliation 
 I te 1 'Lichess Mazarin. 
 riv « Hieen e itiierine resio^ned herself 
 p \\\ia tiie p( .. ' r of the 1 ' ^ aess of 
 d, so the Duchess of r rt-niouth 
 I .ariiea I', stand Auu Gwynn and Uic uiaer 
 street and stac^e harlots. She also had to bear 
 the reigii u: iiurtense Mazarin. 'la. reign 
 v.a^ III ioa^ i a a- at' r -f doubt. Hortense's 
 s,f>u~f: aaa aaced her accession to the I r* raaa 
 wriM t^aaigiit the news of such a rapid vicl )r\ 
 too aj irv^lloiis to be true.^ The discarded 
 
 alked of Charles Hke an a^*- 
 
 I. 
 
 Tvl M 
 
 t *i 
 
 i n -^ r r- i ' . ~r ( ' , ; T . I T i » 1 , 1 
 
 4 i i . . I. i s. » I,., i. ^ , > i i, > .' 1 i I i v 4. 
 
 nn fhr- cnr. u^r'^ x^T 
 
 h'^ fr'-ads. Coartin was 
 rue, and brou^' ' a is leijal 
 
 :uJIle. Scudcn'b letter to Buss'-, July T4th, 1678 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 1 85 
 
 ti' 
 
 nen t-) n^ar in aiauxf-sa 
 
 Lo u i! la. j k 
 
 . n / 1 i .7 
 
 wauaa supports;: i ai 
 He began by 
 
 ouise de Keroualha wis 
 
 I IkI\ 
 
 t \ ' ! t 
 \V ill 
 
 as- 
 
 
 !, t i i > i L i J ' 
 
 aa:"v-a lias c"Taaait\s taul 
 
 Madame Ma/iarai -laasaK' .ibaaJuued hersell Lo 
 
 Cliarlss — not far either iove ^sr aai^)ition, but 
 
 ^an 
 
 1 \ • I 
 
 l>v_;CaU^3L: :A\'C 
 
 Vti'^-l ii 
 
 U » ' K 
 
 
 ■;^i * ■ 1 . i 
 
 a' forced 
 
 waaiu oi-o u- do far aioney. If aia 
 uf iKn beinor tiira-i iatn a (s,5s\on: 
 
 t(> ii\-;^ wail ia-r i^artufte-riddea las,,.... 
 
 aa^ia, as easily !nduc(-a a) go bariv a^ l\as^_ 
 ^is._' w.a^ SAa-aaagant iV\ aer expeaaiaara, aisi 
 had ifs'- iivprios of her aion-ser\suits envprod 
 with gold lacc. The nine diffeiaai ^uiu a r 
 h^r tw^o portrays, six valets, aia:! a r-aa''^ cc'-t. 
 uaui ua: cravats, lau Liiuu:5j.raj six hundred 
 livres Ha aible was excellent : and the two 
 
 a i ^ » a •^' a a u i.. i 
 
 'iawa^^ which 
 
 I a; ::>- 
 
 Ksavi wont 1 sa a 
 
 r \ \ 
 
 nary expenses. She had laiaa a ai a tv^ 
 since she came to E norland. Her succe - aiere 
 
 had li'^lited up lira* visa^^o wiui ui^/ aio^t cliarm 
 
 ^ expression, a 
 
 A^i 
 
 i" 
 
 ai\v 
 
 i » (, a I i I *, i o L 
 
 ^ Courtin to Louvois. See copies of Louvois' corres- 
 j:>ondence at the Depot de la G'.erre^ tome dxxxv. fol. 183. 
 
■* 
 
 I 
 
 1 86 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 COURTIN. 
 
 187 
 
 to the right extent. The table that she kept 
 was excellent, and in short her housekeeping 
 expenses alone far exceeded the two thousand 
 crowns that her husband allowed her. If she 
 fed according to the appetite^ which God had 
 given her, said L .nui, she would eat twice 
 as much as her annuity could buy for her. If 
 her husband knew how good her health and 
 appetite were, he would surely feel the cruelty of 
 not augmenting her pension. It was a puzzle 
 to Courtin to think how she could pay her way 
 if Charles did not serve as her banker. She 
 was as intimate with him as he could wish a 
 woiiki 1 of her beauty to be. The friendly 
 neutrality of Charles being of the utmost con- 
 sequence to France, Courtin was unable to 
 think why it was that this mistress was neglec- 
 ted by his Court - She had been with the King 
 of England on the fourth of March from three 
 to seven in the evening, in one of the reserved 
 rooms next to his suite, into which Charles and 
 C lifhnch were the only men who entered. 
 T!^^y each had a master key which fitted all 
 the locks to this Cytherean temple. 
 
 
 >"> 
 
 ^ Courtin to Louvois, fol. 256, Jan. 21, 1677. 
 ^ Courtin to Pomponne, Marcli 25, 1677. 
 
 As Charles liked a gay quiet life, and showed 
 that domestic storms did not suit his epicurean 
 temper, the rivals ended by forming an har- 
 monious group around him. Louise pushed 
 the spirit of conciliation so far as to ask the 
 Duchess -^iazarin to dinner^ and then took her 
 to the Mall in her coach, to the astonishment of 
 all the fine folk^ kjI London, who were not less 
 wonderstruck when I i U Harvey appeared in 
 the same company. 
 
 In a degree, this general peace in the sera- 
 glio was due to Courtin. War between the 
 Palace and the Parliament had waxed so hot, 
 that the union of all the ladies was deemed 
 necessary to keep the indoleiii monarch in a 
 combative mood. When the Commons assem- 
 bled,^ on February 25th, it began by informing 
 the Kinor that it would vote all the funds he 
 wanted, if he lost no time in declarincr war on 
 France. 
 
 ** They will vote anything against us in the 
 House of Commons," wrote Courtin ; '* and they 
 say, that they are ready to sell tlieir shirts off 
 
 ' Courtin to Louvois, March 25, 1677. Dossiers de la 
 Guerre^ tome dxxxvi., fol. 617. 
 2 See Mignei's Negodations, t. iv., p. 431. 
 
 1 ■ 
 
 i 
 
i88 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 \.: J'W UiAL iv '-' 
 
 i ' , - . 1 
 
 i hesc 
 
 \ i I 
 
 1 s • , , >' I ■ 
 
 i ) 
 
 i. 1 ; i 1 1 1 1 i ^ .... , I t 
 
 ik- use of:^ The nui 
 
 i;:i-L i;:. i- loud and w^i 
 
 ti i 
 
 J' ■ . i 
 
 ah 
 
 to me, ii: i .: 
 
 
 .i 1 ■•- 
 
 \\ 
 
 f < 
 
 SPPTllN 
 
 Cliarlp^ an-i i.oi:i- rT'lif"'""! to tlip Coinmni 
 
 IS 
 
 L'tlCii ili liii> oW'ii lilUIlIIei* L iKiriiJ::^, n\' UTO- 
 
 i 
 
 1 i1 T ' ! 
 
 
 tiijii \\\iN lri»;;i A 
 
 i i i, .M i i j I 
 
 ^f ':->S['J^l^> 
 
 2 4 tM 
 
 ;\ 26. 
 
 A 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 .t i 
 
 t > - 
 1 1 
 
 
 ruWiT' 
 
 llLiil ' tjT' jU -•>. Ul-;!'** W'ah il iill' 
 
 J t 
 
 1 •^^.,u"u^.lllL)il tu liK: I ua ot iJcC'-inln-r. 
 
 J Li i !5 i) a I i .^ \ V C I \ % cL 5 a S Li v.i La L' I i ■: i L 1 1 1 L iv i_* I i 
 
 \'aiurici'"nnr^: and M, Lnax-^^^s wi-f't" a boast- 
 iii: aat'.T t^ I^uiIv-Uji]. tor liic LcacUi ol inc 
 English. dt:^crn)in^^;" tia- carnpa'^a of 1677: 
 the victur\" ot aLaa. l/a---^.!:i^ aad tli'' si-^-c-. 
 ut ^t. (.inier aad L\uaiK-a\\ '^ Malv ha^ii- in 
 cpinaufa' wiiat x^va caa." said Idtuaani 
 '• ajf il will ba aaa^'^-a -ia ^^}X li- 
 baa^iviad, unless Iil' idajoscs to 
 not Is.) entf:r aiuj Ua/ it*ajui- a'Siia^i a- 
 
 Loais did niako ha-aa aa-1 no-I-rtcd no 
 
 i '^ i. ! 
 
 a"* ' ! a f 
 
 ^ lloiisett, t. ii., p. 309. 
 
 1 
 
 COURTIX. 
 
 189 
 
 mean-^ - 
 
 member- 
 
 securinof the silence of the leading; 
 
 >i i> 
 
 < a ioreio^i 
 
 debaa s 
 resorted 
 
 ua.' 1 ioase 01 «^ura; 
 a a- Bribes wero aa li^ 
 to. The shnrt session 01 i -' sai aa 
 {d.,950, and that of June /'550 only. 
 dr^w at" taa Frencli l-aaaas^\' /'..a-, 5:' 
 Mnrch 1st and September 6th, 1677: aad dKai 
 
 betwet/n 
 
 siornofi 
 
 a treatv m waica 
 
 ena"aa^-a tn r.-mam 
 
 subvention of 
 .ouis on the 
 
 d ua Charles's 
 ! mother laid 
 :^r o\ u range, 
 
 asacted Liiese 
 
 neutral ai return for an arai i 
 ^80,000. II * congrataLiN'd 
 severe chastisement he had iiu ur 
 00 a nephew, whose father i 
 sheltered hau in exile, Ua idi 
 before Charleroy.^ 
 
 h was not Courtin wir* t 
 money affairs, but Barrillon, who came to Lon- 
 don at the beginning of Miv, 1677. l.nuis 
 saw the necessity of laiving an anscrupulous 
 ambassador in EnHand, and took Courtin at 
 Ills word, wh.a he complained ul suffering from 
 the heavy air of London, and of ta^ injury to 
 ia:> affairs which a i ruiuno-ed soiraai at such 
 an expensive Court as that of W hitehali oc- 
 casioned. He to\a k lie Irktvcv.!, la^ hfe to 
 advice eiven lam bv Charles, to wc.a ander- 
 
 * Dossiers de la Guerre^ tome dxxxvii. 
 
 %\ 
 
I! 
 
 190 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 COURT IN. 
 
 191 
 
 I i i 
 
 t t" - • t f • r* r 
 
 adie> 
 
 in 
 
 T 
 
 l'uin:.un:^ 
 
 NJiirt- of flannel, "a plain sort of woollen stuff 
 wuvt :: ill i: r Collages of Wales. They could/' 
 the kin^: told me, "be washed jUbL a^ linr^n 
 sliii li', ciiid nothing could be more warm, com- 
 f >rt:i"! '", f^r liygienic." V^\\\ when T ; rtni found 
 tin.t {inrrni-jr* war, cunn:;.,.^ lu supersede him, he 
 
 compla :;l-, and tried to ^]if)v,- 
 i !.''■ an I'* '^'UOlc :3ucini\ wi tlie 
 „-nd< 'n. t* i i': ■ j)rofession ^ >i iaw 
 ^ a pn^t scnpUiiii Lo a despatch 
 he said : ** Since I had the 
 hnnnnr to addr^^^s tn \c^^^ the above, the Duchess 
 M.iZcuiii has been in ic u> call on me, wiih the 
 1 ) iches< (n Cleveland's eldest daughter, her 
 most in 11 mate friend, who is as fond as she is 
 of amusing herself with dogs and white spar- 
 rows. The former lady begged me to offer 
 you a thousand compliments in her name. 
 The Duchess 01 1 ri niuuth has returned from 
 L akh in waters in sounder health. She is 
 now in '^^ond case. Her skin has o^rown arain 
 so iio a k Iresh thai i cannot imao^ine how 
 Kn^:; Ciia--k'- palled as he ^s with beauty, will 
 be long n. i.cr company wainw. L becoming once 
 
 1 Courtin to Pomponne, tome cxx., fol. 271, autograph 
 fost scriptiim. 
 
 more her slave. She has often with her 
 Catherine Stuart, sister of the Duchess of 
 Richmond, who married Lord Ibrickan, and is 
 one of the most pleasaiii women iiere.^ Her 
 husband sticks to her like her shadow, and is 
 ready to shoot or stab any one \vho lof>ks at 
 her. He once tried to kill her in a ht of 
 jealousy. I have never been in a cnuntr}/ in 
 which women are so prone to backbite each 
 other as in England." 
 
 At each prorogation Courtin vainly tried to 
 show what an advantage he had obtained.^ 
 He at lenorth came Lu understand that, althouo^h 
 he had not displeased Louis, he must retire 
 before Barrillon. Ere he quitted London he 
 presented his successor to the Duchess of 
 Portsmouth,^ and reminded the King of France 
 of her oft-expressed wish that he should grant 
 an abbey to her aunt, Madame de Tymeur.^ 
 If Louis granted this favour, he might greatly 
 
 1 Lord Ibrickan's family name was O'Brien. Catherine 
 Stuart after his death married Joseph WiUiamson, his Secre- 
 tary. 
 
 2 Dossiers de la Guerre^ tome dxxxviii. 
 
 3 Courtin to Pomponne, Sept. 9, 1677. 
 * Ibid.^ tome cxxiii., fol. 164. 
 
192 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 fnA-nii:it': n Lrnnr>n*s mission. Ther-'^ w:i- no- 
 
 see t!v 
 
 11 1 • 
 
 { 
 
 ' U I I I i i 
 
 i^ I r^ M i i \' 
 
 .f ' i 
 
 i . ; -^ i ' ) i ;, :. , i t ' 
 
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 ond..)!i. 'I'll'/ \^ K\^- • :.\\i j^ x^'-ar hi-; 
 
 1 O" 1 1 
 
 1 n 
 
 
 s\ • - . ! i . I 
 
 
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 nl 
 
 ' L ^ 1 1 Kl 1 1 i t .; - i 
 
 Wit la 
 
 
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 \ 
 
 \nraian * •! 
 
 1 » w 
 
 b;!-!,^^ 
 
 nanicJ Roc-u. 
 
 > ■-,. 
 
 i ,K i I a ' 
 1 
 
 ' 1 
 
 lonou-^,, ana (a.^:\'?;r ; 
 hi'n.^cli IJc \ araa ••■vall'^. 
 ^ad'»r t=) \"'-aice. iha-, ia 
 
 wno ucCciaaj lac \\a>'''^ ** 
 . a - ' "' *^ ^ f . » \ a^ . t • f- ■ . , r* , ' f * ' 1 . ■ 
 -, .^a ,. .' ^ f ,... a a a . \ 
 
 \\ Lir? \"Lia' 1' 1 
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 I ■> 1 , 
 
 i i- 
 
 a a^ »raa,*' 
 
 aall 
 
 • is- 
 
 V I a ■. 
 
 X I 
 
 k-\-ai C 
 
 t;a- I'r 
 
 • - 1 'it 
 
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 I ' ' i i i. I i . :■■! , 
 
 1 
 
 taa c-t'-aii < u 1 
 
 V ii. if-^ L ' •" : rt ai ' -a 5n\-na 
 
 a^ tM r!a' r-iti kj\ ia:. !ae. He 
 
 .Li' i i 
 
 t w ' , 'r^ 1 ii-f •• ■ L' 
 
 n ."I 
 
 
 S K ' ' M ! ) f 
 
 la aa 
 
 and 
 
 a ' ) a "* 
 
 ai^ija:-: 
 
 til. * > i. 4. , 
 
 ■ ! T ! r , • 
 
 "' ') 
 
 1 U>' 
 
 H addressed to lasa 
 iruin tabile. NevcrahaK 
 
 aa : ^^ouncillor o!' S:ate. 
 
 b 
 
 ab> ac 
 
 1 
 
 i » 
 
 f r 
 
 BARRILLON, 
 
 Paul BARkiLLua d'Amoncourt,^ Mara 
 
 L>rang-es, laa! 
 
 r> 
 
 much cle\* 
 
 
 a. laniaa 
 
 it'. i. ^ I .^ 
 
 ■AWXi lA: 
 
 h ^ 
 
 :3luad, bcbiUCr-v \\ 
 
 i 1 1 ',. i . tb ! U lit i 
 
 il 
 
 I ij '..aaa u J \' aa u a a' ; 
 
 . t i i '<■- i 
 
 wa:- la. 
 
 
 oj aaiaij ai^ contaai-: l^a' tia"^^a wiaan a(.' cor- 
 
 rupted. 1 
 
 t' iv « ■ 
 
 ) i(n\-aras them a laa' and 
 
 S:l 
 
 ; - 1 , t 
 i, i i 
 
 : aire, ana iiriiai^iu aL>vjat tapir laiai w iai- 
 
 out aa\ cuaaiunctioia. lia 
 a inbns^nrfnrN ^a i'aajis M n^'^ 
 
 ■ r-. t : i I i 
 
 
 1 I ^ 
 
 Dio*_atb ua laij i>_aliiuaL 
 
 'atf la-i in ilie democracx i f 
 
 c«)a:a 'H'aa. )rb, a\v 
 
 '.-, t 
 
 JLl 
 
 
 iveao^ue, sa a 
 
 LU'^ir heads faH wiih^ait a shudder; and wia, a 
 
 ^ Barrillon was of a legal family. Ihs father was the 
 famous PresidciU 13arrillon who died a prisoner at I'lgiicrol 
 in i^4a One of his brothers was Bishop of Liigon ; the 
 other, Barrillon de Morangis, \. , Councillor of r : a^. 
 
 The private papers of Barrillon are still in the hands of his 
 direct descendants. 
 
 193 
 
T94 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 the i^a'!!..: u.i- i^>>t, Y^' ,'..ired coolly for a new 
 
 on^- CN-n'-,il wlv-i :]:■ 'A'a^ rcrruiiirij ir:ii^nr^. 
 
 t • It' • 1 
 
 rH)iit-ne:-^--, an^l w.i- dr\- an^l iivliff/T'-^nt wli»^n 
 Ha raaiain^d iiaa,^:ity aivi aaaa'\-:-.a ai la 
 
 -^•,ii.!t'' !'\ -^i":':, '1 '^'-, 'li* \*-"i --. < ' -a I ' 1 
 
 til' i I U < . L i i 1 ■% 
 
 1 
 
 S a 1 Tv ^ U i i i 1 ' j > I i L > i - 1 V ■ 1 : ; ■ i I 
 
 l.ond' ua I la^ judornents 
 
 t'ani S' )rariL':-> ar- • a' n .." 
 rather caanau^:-: i 
 l)atravs his tra'" a-^ 
 tliair ini:->fortaiia-,. 
 
 English can- 
 
 r \\ ■ 
 
 i>* 
 
 ^ M a. ( a 
 
 •n 
 
 i\\\ \ 
 
 J * 4 ^~ i ,t » i ■ i ■ 
 
 X a vt.a,ahr !'■■-,-.. h*. 
 
 )haisant cnnipai 
 
 1 
 
 la* 
 
 ac\a;r sUrre^i, \vav;a a' 
 
 \ •. 1. t. > ill t V I 
 
 
 a 
 
 I Mr' 
 
 rhinKV.-\' earner of Maaanv'- de ><'\'i-n 
 
 \\' n ( )T-ii f^ f ' W, 1"-' b 
 
 1 ' ■ 1 
 
 Tp.. 
 
 ! -^*! vv li' 
 
 1 i 
 
 u attached liaii \v 
 
 \-, ) M ])• 'M ( . »- t n;ai 
 
 t(' 
 -a a! in her, 
 do, |. )\''" \'nn 
 
 a,iw an t 
 
 1 
 
 I ' ', _ , t u I . ' 
 
 tar ten waia t l 
 lor La h • 'aauiie, aa 
 
 fur lla 
 
 addre^^ed to iaai -ome caaraaa 
 
 occahaaa ol 
 Ian 'da ad. 
 
 ) 1.1 r>ti'oi]^ cuajciajil 
 
 ri 
 
 •v=iui-:a^ n;':i;ng 
 
 ■S. dhi:!! |.H-t 
 
 --W vt-r 
 
 T 
 
 1 j . I . I 
 
 ! > ■ : ~; -. i 
 
 Tdajre n\:\e,a" was sat 
 
 
 li 
 
 sciioui a^ lia,: oat: 
 
 Lionra.-. Tri';a' an nils w^to ^^M^ 
 
 o - . I L 
 
 a o. 
 
 aic 
 
 •i-ntlv a 
 
 ' 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 '95 
 
 ^)as a:>r each to specialize his talents, and to be 
 
 d!sa.i^:u iorward as soon as iu,: wsi;-, aatatcd. 
 J has, nccord'ncf to das requirements of tlie 
 ^^s)ar, v.^^aaaa do losMssa, ihe austere Ruvic^nv, 
 ^a^l tin.' honnuraai^- ond polished Courtin o » re 
 sent to L..uidoiL Wdioa thev had ad.,.:]i ,d! 
 sormdings, and given ididdal pictures i^i uie 
 . men and, wsaiicii who 
 and ai da^ i louse ^f d 
 
 
 !..! 
 
 
 . r 
 
 V V O i I \^'- 
 
 i!'- 
 
 I at/a ! 
 
 airrillon beean 
 
 * 1 
 
 j, >. 1 1 \ 
 
 laio-n possession 
 
 e at Cona1 
 ar < saa die unscrupu- 
 
 t-^ ^ ator into clnse 
 dcaoi-, and to bribe 
 
 a check. He had 
 of the French em- 
 
 \ iiOil ti 
 
 i- i i 1 i \_. v., \^« 
 
 e 
 
 A d)raii^e ar 
 
 (.1 
 
 m 
 
 . ^ .' i i 1., i ■. • i ! . 
 
 William of Xab^aa, da.- iio.jaew of 
 
 a^Q 
 
 ai 
 
 rdhoii (.a tifair\- V\. and Adiaasd 
 
 no great-gran 
 
 Coa-a\r aw^. the bittra^ laasru > s' lojuio X 1 \'. 
 
 Hi-> iiio pa,-'^fa. ai a aa/rtai -iraiJfcrle ao-aia-a ta.d 
 k o V' 5' \ \ o a i ' 
 
 
 \ i\- r. 
 
 i i ( ^ ^ 
 
 'ecause 
 
 d 
 
 wiai 
 
 xra. 
 
 ' ,^ ~ e 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 lUd 
 
 1 1 V 
 
 . i. 1 i 
 
 f -i; ; 
 
 
 'V ^ d 
 
 ■ ^ 
 
 t 
 
 .W jV * '^ 
 
 Hi 
 
 he 
 
 - '1 
 
 aaii ■adrs nS'i' (ji:ii 'at 
 
 ) >■ 
 
 ai. 
 
 ai oat 
 
 >r}p into a 
 
 coalition again^^i h r.uiv , o\ bria^aig out great 
 
196 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 gcnr-'als. In 
 
 ') 
 
 i i i, . iv. 1 
 
 • t' •-' I *( inn an- 1 1 ' X- .^P^t:; pt --, 
 
 and i)\" uri\!n^ a^ain^t i'ranct' all the niiiiiarx' 
 and nv-ral torccr. uf the (d\'ili/('d world. He 
 had taken the Niidtieii rexmitien to u'o to haij- 
 land, ana inaKe a i 
 Charles iro:n the h>en(di ruliance. \)\ a:>kin • the 
 Pruicr"-- Marw dau^lu^T ot Vvv 1 )uiv*- of \d)rlv 
 and ia'f-u;n' ei\'e la-n'r^:-. to i;;-- throne, in mar- 
 ria^'e \ \\v. hni^h di p<-'-ek- w<-r«' \r\\ witii io\-, 
 wlien tia-}' lrarnt;d ot tia^ pr'>eo<'-d uinon ht-- 
 tween tin' ciiann*;'*;] (^i ne/ l\.( iorniati* mi and 
 
 thf^dr r*o-;^iblo SO\*( -frien, I^'e!;!-;-^ Wf-ft: \\ dlt*.-d 
 
 ^'' '^'^d nvil-/^ ', d(;.q,(-rat(' ehoia, to detacil 
 
 1 
 
 ill li .> ■ 
 f 
 
 1 1 i ■■ ' - L M .. i 1 I '■ ■' I- '■ 
 
 \ dlaircN, 
 
 o 
 
 aMp-n in-' newr. 
 
 A'-itiifT v^aair:'--^ no;- ni-; er< ae-a > lara'ii 
 
 to :>iru^: 
 
 : I i i L-i L i '.-. 
 
 rn I !-, . 
 
 I reii^iUU:^ 
 
 ! ni t >! i i 
 
 ■ •* I. I "> > V. i V. I 
 
 L i i 
 
 niarnaore 
 
 i 1 1 .. 
 
 ■ ') 
 
 \viH Mf n.it;' Ma 1 ia 
 ■la; vi ep' »:a 1 >ar! a. 
 tnat 'M;!M-eLMen w..-> aseiess, a>'e-d 
 wia/tiaM' a woe;:; n^a at- M'^'-^n p'M;e\- fti a<"i'f':'t 
 tile inevita- !-: widi a TOod er.M/-''. and rfMni.a- 
 meat th" I'laace ol Oram'-e oa tja- Ha(a:*-:>s of 
 
 lee.av'- 
 
 \ I * 
 
 ni^ 
 
 V < . i 111'- ', i^ 
 
 r> 
 
 >. . e o ' 5 • i 1 1 -1 ' i I i i • ., 
 
 ^aeM-n r,r- t"!ip "piiirlv''-^ <")! ! 'i M't^moa t la wla^'re he 
 Wei:. Il' be ioaiuM every day. 
 
 T;a r^achess -f Portsmouth felt, a all P 
 ^ Barrillon to Pomponne, Nov. i, I'o-j-j. 
 
 •1 
 
 BARRILLON, 
 
 197 
 
 biicii a Inaii ^ual strora^ wave ot 
 
 » ; ■{ 
 
 ) il I ,' 1 1 V 1 1 1 \ ».)! 1 1 
 
 as to reiiaer qaite xaiw anv (.anH»nain nIk' 
 ^^^^"^'^ ^'ive to thct match. S!aM a|)| n.-ared at the 
 ie^tivitii'S piven in ]a:)noar of tla- Prima' and 
 idanctaa,. Pat tlie\- had hardhr Maih-d tdr ! Pd- 
 
 iam 
 
 "f ) n r e e 
 
 am sne f 
 
 .! ) 
 
 a. a 
 
 i>a! rueei 
 
 I dana'-zrijash' 
 ". a ad. crave 
 ret^ma h or - 
 
 am- / - e "* 
 111. aaaiics 
 
 an ; le MKMm 
 
 lO 
 
 \ 
 
 wa^ confinr^d to la^'i* 1 
 
 idness dP^ 
 
 . t e ,. 
 it > ' I a i e 
 
 v_. 
 
 i I 
 
 ■ • o 
 \ 1 1 
 
 ! ) 
 I *• i 
 
 Uadanie de Scviene > 
 
 laroLMa iHe :itale:aneii at v 
 
 prudes there <nd!hp^. aaidame d*- Scader\~ ' 
 
 m I'^aailin^ da 
 
 to Pussy do a 
 
 cotisin., toid la-a -aia l\sM-'ja..dlt: had. ci"ecifi\ in 
 hand, been preachinp ia ia r a al lu lii K ia>- of 
 i-oV-pann. lo a )['■.. ik- his an-p-esses and lead a 
 vaaaoi-. life. She am- at the last e.\ai-eeat\', 
 when .1 ^aia^u change for the b;-ttor {.,.A: place, 
 
 «ns Ipio ri^jrr^oh vP 
 
 oiul she got 
 diao^ored herse! 
 
 \ ■• ! 
 
 1', C T T • 
 
 .^:-ii... V, 
 
 I O i ) ( ' 
 
 mu 
 
 ^ Barrillon to Pomponne, Dec. ip 1677. 
 
 2 JM.f Dec. 1 w my 7. 
 
 '^ She took to her bed before Dec. i p, 1677, ^^^^^ was still 
 confined to it on Jan. 20, 1678. 
 
 •^ Letter to Bussy Rabutin, May 27, 1678, t. iv., p. i rp 
 It took a long time in those divs for news to travel. 
 
J 98 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 rieu to th 
 
 tiif 
 
 1 i • I 
 
 1 
 
 v.a- In 1 
 
 
 Y\m\ i'!a\-*T-. l]:id cnin^' to L^Malnii for a 
 
 tmv:. 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 ' 1 t t , • n . ' 
 
 1 ! 
 
 I L i r 
 
 . I "^ V. 1 ' 
 
 a ^ it* 
 
 i aiviie^s 
 
 a/, a: 
 
 i H f a'./a K._.i/i:- ■ L',) 
 
 
 IC' 
 
 ra^a,':-^" n sjia-^u. !', 
 
 >]ie 
 
 1 ■ 1 
 
 !nn rr -\v a ' 
 
 asseri 
 
 ! 1 », I 
 
 \ ^ ' _ 1 
 
 aiK 
 
 iiar a 
 
 kna^v '^Iv ^^aa^ r^-auaa 
 
 itinn tn iiuki laT n^-n ricrainst ail 
 those wia) \\-a::i -a t" i J.a lai" place. She 
 
 I as a cast off an^'' iliat 
 a:ua,J:t- a- ^ .{ la. S'-'U;'o head a!iy- 
 hihot, a:ia a;. = • -ah^''-, wanted t> . 
 :Teed her. T.a^tha she had to dclcjiid cUid 
 hel[i ]i r ljrother-in-la\v, Lord Pianbroke, who, 
 
 A T • 
 
 :^ r ra: 
 siaaaa M. 
 
 liiose oro^ies 
 
 a \'nnnQ- Eno- 
 
 i ■ i 
 
 J 1 > I 
 
 !\ikes of high i" aa' ahinored so 
 in the reign mI Charles, had knicii a watch- 
 m.ii]. 1 a k.ul v,a ^ tried by his p^ars, and 
 nnh- f^nmd guilty of ^^^anslaughter to absolve 
 h-;:: "' ^ the penak) of which, the exercise 
 of tla king's prerogative of merc\ was re- 
 qaired.^ 
 
 ^ Barrillon to Pomponne, Jan. 20, 1678. 
 2 /If id., Jan. 13, 1678. 
 
 . 
 
 > 
 
 » 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 IC9 
 
 I iic struggle between the i\\ 
 
 H ' i w ? 1 1 ? * a ' s N s a a r ■ a 
 
 1; 
 
 s ■• a Q o J { 
 
 jrace at ahiaa lia^-^ tina 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 \' 
 
 -. 1 
 
 L. 1 
 
 ,11 ■ i >,_ 
 
 1 ..•It •; ■ 
 
 ii'Crnr\a 
 
 and h(a- 
 
 a L \ \ 
 
 111 V \\..' ■■.:, 
 
 
 c^ii i^ati i ( a all 
 
 1 • 
 anil' 
 
 lierseli -hunned, she 
 
 rclLirilC'^i I'j LuliLiOIl LilRiar ta*; !,a"'alaXL ul 
 
 i. ^ i • L V ' L 1 i v„. 
 
 llL;i" 
 
 a::3b u: 
 
 s 
 
 Duchess ^kizarin, anci t kreak tha 
 
 t > * 1 t "^ "^ 
 
 rMicrao[-cra,'aii 
 
 icr s^Mi. tr 
 
 L.'- 
 
 Grafton, had entered wiik Arlinorton's daui'liti r. ^ 
 Bat the laiUTs addressed t(> hr^r !•'■.■ ka- C1ie- 
 valier de Chastillon, the lover whuiii aiie had 
 left behind her ki quitting France, were inter- 
 cepted ill kiaui^e and showii 10 Charles, who, 
 wishing to get rid of li^r took them in bad iKnta 
 Chastillon was a captain in the iJuc dUi leans' 
 guard, penniless, without sense or wit, and 
 |)rofessionally handsome. Ma kvcd on ia^ 
 good looks,^ nearly every night got implicated 
 in some low brawl, and iiad a mania ^ for in- 
 
 1 Barrillon to Pomponne, Nov. 22, 1677. 
 
 2 Scudery to Bussy, July 14, 1678. 
 
 s Saint-SiiMon. * De SevignI 
 
LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 :liik''i 
 
 ih-irit'ircd [)racti':,ii 
 
 Tl 
 
 ^r>■ 
 
 lier son voiii hur, arv 
 1'' ranee/ wlierr Ciiarif 
 
 a- \vA aiioWOvl lO iia\'C 
 lad tr) ha-t 
 
 
 \'\ , • t f • ■ j r' ' 
 
 t i\ 
 
 1 V,. I, i ! 
 
 tur \'?:n./taince,' 
 
 nio\"cnif'nts. 
 
 ! ^1 r"'f 
 
 r\(\- 
 
 A 
 
 U) 
 
 tnc 1 Hicni'^-^ .\ia/ann, :-ra:' naO 
 
 )X\ n^T 
 
 S f" ^ I i 
 
 ■r<.a 
 
 i, since tn 
 
 t'j Dfj as uaa 
 
 1 i i ■ ..' i. I C i * i , ; i V I , . : 
 
 kaij'cr ^l:inaia^■d i)\' 
 tia,: tnrnvjf i.)aciu::-.:i 
 I ait rai^ took carr- t; 
 
 a- tiv D 
 
 o 
 
 il'-sq ca Pnia^-- 
 
 :-> i V i 
 
 .iv^; peace wua Luiii:^^, 
 
 I t-., f ' ( ■ M s 
 
 -^^^ fn .^n f^,. 1:; 
 
 icmo" 
 
 tiii ciiOiii-uiL'^ tu lac raiiiv ui ii.i\'ULuaLc a^ a ex- 
 (aatiiv^ ia:r own bosoni friend, the M a([uise 
 
 de Cnnr^ 
 
 1 la-i a r<.-i 
 
 CCii': 
 
 ta-a- 
 
 r.ai 
 
 li.--a 
 
 a //-^^ hiOura-- la: 1 .eaoncourt. 
 lai) w i<. in a r hlteenth year, 
 
 .a '^ ! 
 
 S i 
 
 rceived, almost aamediately after 
 
 ta a knuvois was ia f lover, and 
 
 risks t<) obtai 
 
 11 ill' 
 
 ngs wuii 
 
 i a* 
 
 la a 
 
 *w \J i i V \^ lie "> "» i I '--_. i V. 
 
 locked ap k\- la a' -a a- a aal 
 
 Uachess 
 
 ^liL 
 
 1 1 i ''_ L L i jk -^ 
 
 Mazarai ia llie qualky of a prisoner. Both 
 caaa. -, escaped. When the Marquis* was 
 
 r^naar.^; a\\\i\\ she aiaaaaw, t-^ iC-: ia waii the 
 ^ Earr'llo!! to Pomponne. In 30, 1678. 
 
 {' 
 
 ,v 
 
 fr 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 201 
 
 i\ i a i 
 
 i 1, u o I ■ a . . 
 
 ncellor 
 
 ^ s J ! i 
 
 ■ f" \ 
 
 1 n see Ia.a~ 
 
 a/T arc a w.a 
 
 > K 
 
 , > ! ' a i i ^ 
 
 i^nLiiav \\ a*^ .!;■> ]fa.ii'an a'- aLa' ^ 
 
 i,M,it,' . i '■ ' li . I i i. , 01 IC \ i i v.K. I.. , i 1 1 1 j i. Li 1 v^ lit,. I i IS 1 i V 
 
 i •>■ - •■ • 
 
 afnuu K-A lo-'ncf patience! 'I'ia; [)leasiir''' of n'-- 
 inaaaaLf innocAaa lioe:^ ra,;i aiaka ap lur uie -Kan 
 ^ f a- Wi ; continaally browbeaten and insuked." 
 1 1 >he kiiew hu\v U) aiaux--^' la-r ^entimeais 
 witii \\^\\i la-ace, she \\ai> also skilled in t!ie 
 art uf depicting- her charms. " I aai auik :aie 
 wnae if iierself, ''and my eyes are an)a];a;g 
 Lui saaill. U a, 1 never open tla-ai aiaapletely, 
 which gives them a soft and tender expres- 
 sain. I have a beautifully moulded bast (h\aie 
 hands, fairly good arms — that is to r a\ , arms 
 that are rather thin ; but I hax*"* a compensa- 
 tiua lor this misfortune ni the pleasure I find 
 in knowing that my legs are perfect and beat 
 those of any other woman in existence." 
 ^kidame de Courcelles hoped to effect a con- 
 quest of ("harles when she leii Du i'oulay, to 
 iaalvc her way to England, which was then, 
 
 1 Francois Bruslard du Boulay, cousin of the Chancellor 
 Sillery, and younger brother of the Marquis de Broussin. 
 
 2 Marquise de Courcelles : Mhnoires^ p. 125. 
 

 202 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 n ' I ,; : :. said, the r^ ! 
 
 .t 
 
 
 
 1 u : r 
 
 1 » 1 
 
 Cu!i\-{:lUi;:Ll 
 
 
 1 ' i ' . i 1 
 1 i 
 
 Hut 
 
 in llla^ 
 
 c a 1 1 u ' 
 
 1 ! 
 
 c. 
 
 a^ 
 
 > T 
 
 lL)\ai 
 
 ^i'Jonie to <jn ba 
 
 -> 
 
 f* 
 
 t' ^ 1- rancp and there ^h„ 
 ^*^'— '■••''' ^^ }"^''-o ^-^i'ta::i, aiiaai she married. 
 She I'vcd miserabh wi^a ]:an a ^d soon died. 
 
 In.L Ma^Jaaiao i dir\--\ an i aiuldleton wore 
 in no humour to ; u* aa vita id r>achess of 
 I'uiLsmouth, and w^re indefatigable in goading 
 on the D.ichess Ma aia against her. They 
 went so lar a- to conjure h^^ to got t^^- Idno" 
 ' t- honaar Mr, Middleton's daughter waia 
 his attnnn aisd din 1 )uchess of Portsmouth 
 had caused access n the king's cabinet to be 
 r-fused to Airb. Aiiddleton, *' who went there 
 uaiii Miss Middleton, intent on ijleasino- his 
 majesty," a design v hich. i'l the eyes of Louise, 
 \.n.- iiothincr short of criminal. .Meanwhile 
 Duchess Mazarin i- dd assiduous court to 
 iJuchess oi \ !^a U) \ liose rooms she 
 
 1 1 -ai:: ai to Pomponne, July 25, 1678. 
 
 fl. 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 203 
 
 Went every day n^ play at rompino- games. 
 I.ady Ihde, the go- 
 
 \ ta 1 
 
 !-nicess 
 
 t I -s 
 
 Anne,^ ^\\-- also innaait'- wini 
 
 1 Hichrss. A calud aaanan,. I.iHii-r d- K^ roualle 
 
 was tlni- tArn 
 
 ddn: 1 )aix^" o\ ^d ^rlc snoko 
 
 1 ; I, \ 
 
 disliked hen Sh(^ knew da- v;ell. Notwith- 
 standing, she kept her head so well above water, 
 aft^r t^a^ Orange marriage, as to be respect- 
 lidii) used by the whole Court. The king was 
 regular in his visits ; and he spoke to her of 
 ta r\'thing that was on his mind, and received 
 aii her insinuations. The Lord Treasurer 
 iJanby made use of her to attain his ends ; 
 and she aided the French Embassy, by making 
 Charles think dial I arrillon was devoted to 
 him. Secretly, she deplored the danger of a 
 war b-'twoon England and 
 
 a nice. 
 
 'W, 
 
 hiorhest courtiers, Sunderland amongst others, 
 were still her fast friends. Pnt the lovely 
 Countess of Sunderland, who had formerly, 
 at the mock marriage at Euston, undressed 
 the insignificant Breton gir! in the kings 
 chamber, and cut up his and her garters, was 
 seized with the most implacable hatred for 
 
 ' Barrillon to Pomponne. 
 
204 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 hpf, and spoke oi \v,x as *' that abominable 
 
 1 ! 1 < 
 
 n ' I r" H 1 ' ■ ) r "i : i r \ > ■ • X 
 
 L n: 
 
 JlJlI 
 
 f 1 
 
 liluence was n ^ the 
 
 Sm; f 
 
 I uiese feuds. 
 
 
 rtacr. 
 
 O 
 
 Mtji ley was a 
 1 ii" Exchequer 
 
 arCii I \,'i,'> N 
 
 'ry i .'._) \v' L i I^; 
 
 'iiderance ^f 1 .^ > 
 
 >v...,-^t- 
 
 1 i i 
 
 s; I \-n-j 
 
 \' 
 
 la-' 
 
 • ill"' 
 
 i I ; " 
 
 set 
 
 naid 
 
 / 
 
 ■u.i 
 
 I 2,000 
 
 I - 'Hpn lip by supple- 
 
 )'--- lii th': \'-^a- i68l 
 Irea; fmni tlie Treasury 
 
 <^l'^v, a ai re\-rrtaui 
 ''^T. i icr rr-alar 
 iJn.,; a \'^,:ar. a iarli 
 merit-, a ) /\|o.ooo 
 iiK... 1 i '„_ aL. I :--iaa, 
 ,0130,668. S.i'j aaJ a business man, one 
 ^ "y -' - - invested for her and gave receipts 
 ill .1 aa;ae. One ui ii • hang-ers-on, a ceriam 
 '^^"^^'^-a i J - trafiicked lor her profit, in royal 
 paruua^ :a ar- 1 t . ri a convicts. Pnnr ones 
 - " ^ ' v^ 'I nidia planters. 
 One of tho treasur) ra^rks made an entry in 
 two columns oa ihe same page of the sums 
 P-^ ^ ' - i riaia < aiweli, now Dutchesse of 
 ^'^ '-:^'^^itia' a;i ; to '' Nelly Gwynn." ^ From 
 j una 3 to rV:cpmb.'r 30, 1676, the Duchess was 
 i-"^^^^^ ''^ ^^^^^ ^^-^"^^ i>^^ilo^ '^-^' Xell ^2,862; 
 
 ^ John Yonge Akermann : Money, received and paid for. 
 2 MS. British Museum addal, 28,094, fol. 54. 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 205 
 
 / 
 
 i ail wCbb 
 
 .300. aia: ( )\\a an only 
 
 ,a ^1^. i-:i at 
 
 in aaau' otl-i r varcclif aa-, 
 
 into secret a_.;;3.N unujra.r 
 
 .~> 
 
 
 
 -"■^ i 
 
 r^at-ngr 
 
 A. , V i \ V ill 
 
 iKa' rea'nlar nraision. 
 
 
 j! bai:. 
 
 she cl 
 
 t'- 1 J 1 ? ; ! i '■■■ ?■ = '1 ! I ' 
 
 i i K ' i / r^ 1 i <- ! \ ■ 
 
 if n^^ ii n ("'''^" i\ • a ] 
 
 
 "1 raif- 
 
 1 1 1 ,T 
 
 a a a ! >■-; n , - n n y 
 
 \? 
 
 it ti\\ci\ Willi iici' (aai/i' a 
 dcju!- mO'idaijie. Tiar- bill 
 
 a HKiii 
 
 i \ 
 
 Q.K)\\\ aaa 
 
 a: a 
 
 ill- eiitr:es : 
 
 " Madame Carwell^ now Dutchess of Portsmouth, 
 
 Dr. t 
 
 U \s 
 
 \\ cULS 
 
 • :\ rnnt of pigeon-breast and silver brocade ; breeches \ 
 ii liiingrave with canons.^ A coat faced with white tafiety 
 ai a lined with camlet ; breeches also faced at pockets and 
 knees with tafteta; breeches having ai a<c thigh slashed 
 seams, to show red and silver lace, canons idem^ idem with 
 deep frill of point i i* c. A coat enriched with plain satin 
 and watered ribbons and r.a arid <n\ li ^ dra wuh red, silver, 
 and point lace at the cuffs. A linen coi; ir embroidered 
 \ c! aith needle open-work ; silk pockets of chamois leather 
 lur cuat and breeches. Six dozen buttons of red and silver 
 rl-nth : eight ells of tafTeta fur lining sleeves and breeches. 
 A I air of silk stockings. A belt and embroidered pair of 
 garters. A black beaver hat laced with red and silver." 
 
 ^ List of assets furnished by the executors of W. Watts, 
 mercer to the Duchess of Portsmouth. 
 
 2 Gallons were the frills worn at the knees. One still 
 sees them at the Theatre Francais, in Moliere's Precieuses 
 Ridicules and other plays. 
 
LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ' ^^ \rHi .Kil had such success on the 
 e in ' 1 i;jr:;:v ," and other mascuHne 
 
 ^^r\•^■:■t'"■nt]l Cf'nti;r\' were i'rij'it 'n 
 
 n 
 
 tne 
 
 \\:r\- 
 
 'cru;>: tiic ra^e aiii-M- 
 
 t> 
 
 1 • 
 
 -ir toe: 
 
 .-, » "\ \ "' 
 
 i I t V V 
 
 * \ 
 
 - i^Ji'-y did n<<t \v,.m. die |,h-' icxt of 
 i • t) ; . 1 liicin Liicre. The honest 
 
 -■^^:-;''^^ "' -"^^ ■ ..i:;i Cirw^rii " r.vice for 
 
 the Sim- l.^^u•xx Im;-; f n- h... rr,|f -xvA Inex- 
 
 -!>nice 
 
 i V 
 
 iiica iiUi-5L nave eclipbcn 
 
 M ) 
 
 
 
 1. ' " 
 
 pres- ; . ^, 
 
 elegance th- .t:i^c luuMiiments of Nrllv. 
 
 111'- iiiavy ; :i::jions and emoluments, a- 't 
 ha^ ^ a .a A a, were fa Louise, aa i the small 
 
 ones iviT At:d. l^-!uw diese caaiaiaT-. tl^ere 
 
 '^.^^ ^' 'i-n ijastai-a--, t .i^ip:, 
 a^ure in the '1 ; asury 
 account bo^ks. M; lia,-, Chiffinch, iur showino- 
 
 an tlie back sta'r;-: a* the 
 
 u iat^hall, hcia a 
 
 \ car. Catherine ^r a . 
 
 V a a aaacenary, beauty, 
 
 .c ol Riciiinuiid, nut up 
 
 a r he pretty Bulkely had 
 
 A crowd of lesser concubines 
 
 a. -a sums a / :;o each. 
 
 i.ivi a,::-^ 
 
 rn 
 
 ki 
 
 ^^o •"' ^a)-a^aalujn ruu:a^ ^ii 
 
 nf r 
 
 T -^ 
 
 pension n 
 
 had uav; of ^' A500 
 
 lait It cannot be - 
 
 
 ■^X'l f- I ■ 
 
 a i 
 
 n - . - t- 
 
 BARRILLON, 
 
 207 
 
 i rench money ^ th a Chnrlf^s scattered 
 
 =ata to 
 
 It 
 
 laau 
 
 K ■ \ « 
 
 XW \ if 
 
 r -^ ? ^ ' t T 
 
 nl 
 
 ^suai's 
 ais wife, a seam- 
 
 asinna] mis^r^^sses 
 
 I ^- r 
 
 with such a loose h ual ; . 
 
 [^i\• a - u la liaa arrant ^ a a 
 d^ \i Jvjpment. The valet u 
 went tn receive Ua..^ ai-a 
 til liiv: [-'rench l-aiaai-N)' , a 
 stress by trade, gave th'- . 
 their allowances, la aa_ cash- box wcib opened 
 for many others. Ai! i)arr!llon's account-books 
 have been ja-i-Ma-xa^J aa the M;aaa,ry i.,- c^oreio^n 
 Affairs. One l^-araK \n thena at a-'ac; priaes 
 1-aadish patriots si,:ad t 'aaa-^.a\a-.. .ii;a aav;va' tla^- 
 stri'-r, ni' wij.ii temptation aastiaa/ Paritans be- 
 trayed their pnnvi Pica. A!...aTa.ai ha.au'V is ^.ail 
 in English eyes surrounded witii the nimbu a 
 a pure-souled martyr. li n^criv^xl ^500 for 
 each parlianacUar) session, Ironi iha ^^^^\^^ o\ 
 France.^ The friends rf Government di 1 la t 
 stay emptv-laiiidcd. Lord Berksicro wa^ 
 given ^1,000, and Coleman £z^o. He was 
 ah.^') entrusted aaiii f -00 to law members ui' 
 
 ^,ot so. The Treasury clerks who paid Louise de 
 
 - w 
 
 ^. 0' 
 
 Keroualle the vast sums already mentioned, never fingered /^ca^^'^ V a\i^ ■ 
 a stiver of French money. {Translato7''s Note.) ^ 
 
 2 See Aff. Eir. A?tg/eferre, tome c.wx., fol. 6S ; tome 
 cxxxi., fol. 146, for 1678. 
 
20S 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 T T 
 
 nnons, as his icv^cipts a ■ 1 
 
 nv 
 
 { ) 
 
 f '■ 
 
 S(^ )i 
 
 iV i I 
 
 .■^ 
 
 <ICC' 'fv 1 1 : 1 ^' 
 aine kinc 
 
 : I 
 
 d ^200 f^^r tl^r 
 
 >) 
 
 i'.trrillon grave ini. 
 
 J tiie 
 
 hands of different persons of note, for the in- 
 forn .tion they communicated to him, one 
 liundred and eight pounds six and eightpence. 
 He furdiermore spent four hundred pounds in 
 obtaining secret reports from officers of the 
 army, treasury clerks, and secretaries of state. 
 
 Before the year 1678 had expired, Barrillon 
 found it expedient to renew his largesses. He 
 was frightened at the drain on the French 
 exchequer ; and yet he did not dare, from a 
 fear of compromising a long-laid scheme of 
 policy, to put a stop to it. No bribe was care- 
 lessly given. Sir John Baber^ was engaged 
 by him to sound Litdeton, and bring him and 
 Poole into close relations with the French 
 Embassy. Poole was one of the leaders of 
 the Puritan party, and distinguished himself by 
 
 ^ This Baber constantly appears in the secret service 
 accounts of Barrillon, v/ho attached great importance to his 
 information. He was doubtless the person whose reserve 
 and reticence Pepys eulogizes in the Diary ^ March 14, 
 1660. 
 
 
 X 
 
 '^<^. 
 
 ^-r^ ^^^-L'/tr^r 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 7/^y. 
 
\i 
 
 
 BARIULLON. 
 
 209 
 
 iiib \ n lence against the honest Strafford. 
 Littleton received a \n'An^^ lirect from Darrillon. 
 
 
 niKj-Si hie i("> w i 
 
 uiiiiK^uiL, lilt: kitt'n" repnrt*"d t^ his 
 ii(n"\:rniiiciii, lu niui iwu iiicn wliu iutJ iiK-r^ 
 crrdit for natriotssni an^l :ii!>t?/rr' \'irtii'- in tlie 
 
 i Ii)USi.^ Oi LuaiillOiiS. 1 1 \Vd: 
 
 liold tr^'iu Mn:ii:i:_ai flft 
 
 winch hi' cL^k'-u li) l)rihe oDscir-e countrx' in*;:!i 
 l)er^. \vho>i: \--)U--; wouhi tc-li at a duhsion. 
 This iiitf r\-('a!!()n oi Moataa'u \\ai:> an ;, a'a: 
 
 ■ - * A i t fc, i i. 1 ■- t ; v... ■■, 4 
 
 roni])hcatHMi oi die tics winch boiinJ Ln 
 X I\', In Caiarlcs. 
 
 AhsUaa^a \ww lias l:)rot]ier n 
 
 i ..bAy i iarvev, 
 
 1 ■ 
 
 
 I anii.ais'^ador in I' ranc 
 
 ( ' 
 
 A i! 
 1 1 i 
 
 • n- M '^cr 
 
 tiic poanca.! incsi rf,4a.iait,.-a mai as a**. 
 to the rh"fach narL\', whrii he snikk:ni\- i\c- 
 nouncevi the I reasurer L)anh»\' a> iauan^" bcei, 
 fur iininv niontlis eniauasd in. Ntaa-ta' ia"'caL:^ 
 tuan^ watii rh^- CiUii't oi \ (aoaiaes. aiai liiaa at 
 a lanio wiaai liaahicncii b\- the ^tiaaia ti^.a- iC 
 
 ()i)i:)osu,o Ci. h<' ichkad in naeiii 
 
 .' n 
 
 against h raiuo,-. anu iaa,aaari-d naui nuich iiicse 
 a treat) ol nhiance h-taw^Mai Isn^iaiid and lia"^ 
 A (.anmaanu-^. 
 
 'Jliu-1. I.eais, adandoncii l.)\- Ciiaiics. raid he- 
 tra\a.nl h\ L)anb\' dt die nioinent that iie was 
 
LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 about t 
 
 ( ) t 
 
 wluiL Dfice. to p:iraU'-r tii'; actp>;i ^A \\\\:\.vv\ 
 
 tat^ 
 
 XO: 
 
 , • I I. \ I i I 
 
 Ciicirn'< t«^ ;uiir)i]-ii or nro- 
 
 tM!-iiailU'!U. I 
 
 r \'\i'' 
 
 V M i >*Ua^j u ti.) attack 
 
 Dani 'W whom iv: wa^ ai 
 
 .1 ) 
 
 II,' 
 
 ' •rii! a't.'i! 
 
 .t; ' aina • < 
 
 .,t 
 
 1 i ! L t L i l'- a 1 \ , I ^ i I i i ! 
 ; \\a,a''.' ra a 
 aaciiir-t 1' i\Aricr, laa t' 
 
 1 ha- 
 
 lii.it I a 
 
 c< >ai a lion 
 ' urate 
 
 j; in- 
 
 raJiicr- En^lan-i 
 
 tout Mate. 1a- lu-, orders, la 
 
 * a ' a a . I a L a ) a . a 
 
 an inipo- 
 
 i^nna,. 
 
 I ! I 
 
 Parlainvait W'a' 
 
 ( i ; . r 1 ("> r ■, 1 5 
 
 jarraiua 
 
 a.L \v 
 
 ni^ ia.,a : n a Lino 
 
 '.S , 
 
 atra'a^ 
 
 Cl _ k„ 4. i i . 
 
 -> ■ t t ' ■^ 
 
 t.: \ )n! !i.,oil 
 
 1 i 
 
 n>ri n 
 
 ( niriOQ 
 
 .■^ i. i. V. i v^ L ■ 
 
 ! ranged by Montaaia 
 
 I a : -' O 1 J L t 
 
 "a- Kai.: 
 
 ■ToCuULiotl Ilia ivu^^j^oii^, 
 
 aosini/ 
 
 n" I-'- 
 
 ■ 1 1^1 
 
 ion,as. at aJi auLogrcLpii U-il-r u\- 
 raiaa use o: lae kine's authora\ 
 
 '^1 t. ) T 
 
 1 r, : i'lj-i v. as mistaken in bis estimate of Holies, who 
 \s t^ >jcond son of the Earl of Clare, was created Baron 
 Pen/i! in lOOi, sent as ambassador to France in 1663, as 
 pjc'iiipuLcntiaryto the Hague in 1662, and who died in 1680, 
 before he couli 10 : jive a splendid gift Lous XIV intended 
 -jnd ii-f him. 
 
 BARRILLON, 
 
 211 
 
 and friendly feeling against the House (/i Com- 
 mons, and of the P.a-Hamenr t- : a-ar effect 
 
 bcincT eiven an rcr^uiiilioii:^ Wianli (daaa^^s -ai-ait 
 be broucrlu t< * ' • 1 
 
 n^ 
 
 t ,, i : \ ' K O ■ i- 
 
 I Kaa.;;'s trent 
 and b 
 
 V 
 
 w 
 
 raronci led 
 
 avisions 
 
 Ciaair-s ana tiis i .oooinoaL . lai. aai 
 
 wore saffi-ifMit!v projnncrad to oiaihic Louis ta 
 
 strike a decisi\c Mow in his Ccuiiiaii^ii of [67S. 
 
 ;a-- \ 1 aided 
 ted. The 
 
 * -i^a the 
 *a'i,M laL-a" 
 n - ^ i' a;na!i 
 in waiter. 
 s strucTi^Ie 
 
 i !'■ want tn ^^\"ar ?'o!']\' in that year. 
 
 1 Jtii, Ghent fall iiiaa !a;; lama-.. ^ 
 
 a fan days later, aiai Mi>;w \ww ia\ 
 
 LHitCii plenipotenuaries !w au:a-a 
 
 peace of Nimeguen. w.aa t 
 
 exaiiiplc ill the nexi inoiwia aa! 
 
 I ainire gave la at the beginnin 
 
 renins issued triumplaauU' frc -ai 
 
 anil coalesced Europe. This 
 
 iwaacc was An^ to the i^aij i 
 
 1 aigland. The English people beheld with 
 
 rage tho crippling of Protestnnt il )lland by 
 
 '^i Lai lolic power. They were cariacd away 
 
 a-ainst tlv- Catholics by one if those frenzies 
 
 ni c-arai^ious hatred which sonioiiaa - tike 
 
 hold ol a 'wl-ia ako aa oj wh-aiia. When a 
 
 aatnai i^ ai-):^sessed bv a ai oi" -.wrw I'mw, tin re 
 
 d, always a statesm in 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 ol 
 of 
 
 read\' t<j loawka- to it. 
 
 y 
 
212 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Shaftesbury, in this instance, came forward to 
 
 tiiri-jw' I'l^-I ;':; t;v" raijincf fire. 
 
 r 
 
 \>:v,--< C<v 
 
 \v\^ XOWVA f 
 
 i ill 1 liL I I lf_,. ; I, L . 
 
 
 li (M Shaftesbiir\, had in 
 
 -r Cliirles I. aeniii^^ tlie 
 
 tlii'i i.Ulii*_:LL iUliiiLl L'-J 
 
 l -1 l : 
 
 i I 
 
 int.: 
 
 iiaibT; 
 
 1 1 -. , 
 1 1 . t 
 
 [\ * * i ! 11 Ui . ^,,lj 1 
 
 ! I ! -^ 
 
 -t:-' Ml crest. 
 CcK h!\i' ::;■,'* 
 
 tiv 
 
 iM' inarch'/ \\\i^ r 
 t'liionioiis nvi..!. 
 
 
 Muiii^nants ; an ■ was "the 
 
 *■'! Lin- n. .:--\- ni-'nw \ v ri'W 
 
 -l- n-ed, in- c.i-n . r: the sanc- 
 
 nn^ri'^r^ Ch n*i'-n i^i^s- 
 1 ' 
 
 
 1 i 
 
 ' i' 
 
 well, a^ tyi b*"^ ^ucccssiv* i 
 
 to d* 'S'''r\'!' Ij' nn = cah' • i n\' ( 
 
 U . ' 
 
 I ■' \ t 
 
 ■1 Q 
 
 r-itnr 
 
 << i^. 
 
 \ncujLii) Luj 
 
 o 
 
 n, i:,. 
 
 ill i - : 
 
 Ihna-:-:. >r Cr-nnwr h 
 
 >> 
 
 ) ! 
 
 \ daun-];t.;r ui liie 
 courted, nhuscd 
 
 to r 
 
 pietx 
 
 
 1 t 1 
 
 1 i i ' 
 
 Mble niih'C 
 
 ■ i 
 
 unaee, because a i « n 
 
 (a a h,_-ta)j', • la 
 
 hrwj\' oi an ' il ; nna 
 
 i ! , \ V 1. 1 
 
 a 
 
 <■> 
 
 I a \'nnLri an: 
 
 1, V r' ■ I ~i ; ' 
 
 * V 1 i !, 1 t \ i ' 
 
 till V I 
 
 1 • 1 1 
 
 ni^ nana> 
 
 >k irn!ii pal^\' 
 
 \ \ : ] ' ai a ] 
 
 1 >T 1 tl ! C f f • »* 
 
 ! ! ! K t 
 
 ai v^iKuaa^. lie C'Ctrii/ia la*/ n^ 
 
 o 
 
 i a 
 
 anni 
 
 » I ! I V I 
 
 prenared to aven^a- Idai^'af ant <)v\]v i)'\ I ):uar 
 
 wnobe iicad lin waiiLn^a, bui un 
 ^v]a:a^l la- longed to lianhhata. 
 
 -._ i iU 
 
 ; 1 - ! I T 
 
 r 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 213 
 
 biiaftesbury was never so humble and ob- 
 sequious as when he was ai hiciting vengeance. 
 
 ivrofo to tho kino^, that all h'- wanted wa< 
 
 
 n' i\c at ilia leal 
 
 lie crmorec 
 
 siu aission 
 
 wan in i 
 
 lah.',' w iiiiesses x^ 
 Ihia^ Oates. I 
 
 ... * i. :-. t 
 
 1 , A' 
 
 rn ( ; : 
 
 the iaiio^lisli 
 
 v.. » I I 
 
 tnc assassmatiun ic ^ 
 
 t . 
 
 ni 
 
 testants. Tho people, whn wn-a * 
 iia li/iad anger at the ia 
 Louis, swallowed O ilea' fable 
 
 waat'n aaa,i uo aa"aa = 
 
 ill. 
 
 i 
 
 V ; '■■ ^ •' 
 
 a\- 
 
 \ r "^ * 
 
 ■ ^ J ;, 
 
 ac 
 
 knowled^: 
 
 'a ' 
 
 lit ^ I 
 
 r;.i 
 
 -a, 
 
 1 
 
 \' Ufa; 
 
 1 
 
 ■■ . .. •> i 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 '. , 1 1 
 
 ^u 
 
 \ 'Oiaan 
 
 
 , f ^ 
 
 crew 
 
 of 
 
 ■ r 
 
 1 » I. > i ■> i ■ 
 
 i t 
 1 I ■■ 
 
 'h' 
 
 aher 
 
 by 
 
 
 aa' an 
 
 ni >a 
 
 t i v. 
 
 '/a u 
 
 i i i, w 
 
 a 1 
 
 
 
 *> 
 
 pint 
 
 f^w 
 
 vil 
 
 ig an ; 
 
 1 T 
 
 a a 
 
 t 
 
 I. 
 
 ; t f 
 
 a 5. : i 
 
 ;r )- 
 
 hn 
 
 WfMT' 
 
 • 
 
 1 11 
 
 \ 1 i 
 
 ~\ 
 
 ^tate 
 
 of 
 
 I ai ai:^Lur\" 
 
 ' 1 1 t. i . i ; > L ! 1 •■ ;. 1 1 d i/ V, , . I 
 
 pecti-d of svni{ Maiaziiig a aai iJ- 
 
 lii i>_^-i tO 
 
 credulity 
 
 V wanted 
 
 body sus- 
 
 -I--, wa.^ in 
 
 
 W _ 
 
 1 ■> 
 . i 
 
 \ i V I i ; i i 
 
 
 
 <a "^tate, vc\h''M' ria;!aai-n Ira a re 
 
 a a accounts. 
 
 . Uir w Pi 1 
 
 Ma ' r r"' ' a r ;'s : 1 1 ra ii cr- 
 
 • 1 1 
 
 Ss.KiC)r wiajaj CiKjiiy la \ la'aaiiic:'; ', ' k,^ oa^iwdii a(.4:-> 
 scait na,h\vord to b'^ in no wis; 
 
 a ' u la risx'. I )f 'i'a ' ''^-^e 
 
 iiouulU' caa 
 writino: to in 
 
 1 1 n i I 
 
 n u, i 
 
 I \ 
 
 11 lb i)aa*a*s a 
 
 n-;.acL!' 5' 
 
 me. 
 
 ^ Affaires Etrangeres^ ! oiic rx\C fol. 53. 
 
214 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 « ( ■ i 1 
 
 Lul" LO 
 
 i 1 1 I i i 1 I i ;. ^■,. i 
 
 \\ ^: iujw i^ihju iiiai Coleman was a 
 
 ' 1 ,• T ' ■ • ■ 1 1 . - 
 
 liiU:3C \wJ) it'iiiiV i j;.;ii .^ ?i:..\ ii^'.. t li''Llnn • l(* -'K) 
 
 upon, lie wa-- char;^?.'d wiiii ma i],i\-in^ >ii(n\n 
 
 iiDrrru' at ua 
 
 ^^Mi. taa i< ! 
 
 'api^t la< )t. aa^l wa:i iai\-in- m-- 
 
 ; .■-) 
 
 f ! : ( 
 
 ktj!;i ) niniata-^ * if ta-.* \- : 
 1 ^'ai't I..H- an-aM," ^^ua lia.' I.< -ra (,/ia-t' 
 j uMicr tC) iam. " i rua''- \\a: hr no c«aKlemna- 
 ticai ii vijiiT craia-s arr- la a l)rnaa"ht la^'iiv'"- to 
 
 wnaa. 
 
 V Uli, 
 
 
 i.clii k t '. ' L ti 
 
 t , ..w-: r 
 
 u;l lijW'aiai:-) \ uu ar> \ou 
 
 ». -1 , 
 
 .'antiai to act towar(.:> u 
 1 a a-, UK: ] 
 
 
 to laaraii' 
 
 II >, 
 
 ! > r^ » i 
 
 
 betva'c la^ CijunM-i -a<'ivni [.a- craa\- inx'anted 
 
 \>v tia,; Ofi'iarta,! aii^jrna r 
 
 It IS wr)rth laaia- 
 
 )('(»; 
 
 i « ■ . < 1 . • J I i 
 
 \ s ■ I 
 
 t-f"iQ r>( •( ^ * t 
 
 I V i 
 
 a^i\" i.)i.j.-?!,a'\'a,a t 
 
 tia.: ra^aaai ca iaa^ aia 
 
 iA law. aiaJ tia.- most hcni 
 
 of leaal ((.aaim, aa\"!- M'^-iao^^u tiio -^^raato^^t 
 
 ^ ^ t, b J cl i i v 1 111 L i i C 1 1 O I c I L ■■ J 
 
 I ravnlt'na' exam ; -Irs (T 
 
 1 . 
 
 1 1 
 
 L 1 i I I I r^ 
 
 nowai taa na 
 
 1*1 1 ■ 
 
 1 : ^ i 1 O 1 i i 1 i O L 
 
 laraiical imaait\', iia:^abn m-.a >r\\ tram i' 
 time oi tha i\aaa's to tia- ra'-n oMjfor'r 111 
 io a narrati\'a ut jLa-;aacii na,a-a-r:^. C<iaaaari 
 was acca^ad e>i iauaa^ aa;aml tia.; l(-:wat^^ iu 
 St. Omer to a^-^a^-^iaal^- tia.' laaj, in rrtara tur 
 
 tiie paynajnt oi jO^uon masses. Ch 
 
 
 BARRILLON, 
 
 215 
 
 I iait lie laai a'.aa'..'Li ol au:^ ijcU'^aai «.il ot. 
 c )^a.a^ aaa tia.- iau^a Cliier ja-tica.:' piaimoi-] him 
 tV)r his t.:n:a'aL'a ia \'y'<'\\y.l t:vJdanca ts) ua:^ cllast. 
 i-{(^ al:-^<* -wore ilaii Coiemaa wa~^ to a..u' tho 
 
 -* '^ ^ ^ ' V \ 
 
 ins.li /^ 200.000 to raa- m o.-i -^ii:^ mO i aa 
 
 jir wo'^rii seal Si 
 for / 2 CO ' 1 
 
 11 11 
 
 ..i laam 
 
 li) oarr 
 
 
 1 ) ^. a ^ 1 ■ 
 
 )iiaa, ]>o^.4aarva' 
 
 kaw; ^va,-. a? .aive r^is.ai mtaar 
 ^ \ '>r was,. 
 
 r o 5 i . ( s ^ t- . > V 
 
 wild ra*f 'toOv iril hi' iau.i ^(S"n 
 
 i' 
 
 t ; u 
 
 ie>air coawave, wa^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 to a-h-atiW" iam. 
 
 ■f ) 
 
 ut tlu..* n.irv W(Te naaah..'rt'ar 
 
 
 I r 
 
 e swaa^.: i a."-^cri ijoti iia»a 
 
 ! -n 
 
 h'Oit. waacla t-vww 
 
 iX .4 » '■. •• t 
 
 n paao' lo' CcUa..at 
 tn'iv*. 1 twa si>v]ir. 
 
 i : 1 , 1 
 
 1 11 cro->ata:a! 
 
 n ' 
 
 « ^ -. * ", - ^ i= % 1 ' - -1 - - '" 1 t ' ■ w * , I ■* ■» * m \ "■ m ? ■ 
 
 1 ; ci*- i 
 
 )t t)i:tSl 
 
 ^.1) cirv,s.aa-i auaii ai .as <s.a-0- Oeposi- 
 tioiw ? Tia_: aa^>\\'..a' wa.:->, tlait iic A-^iy-.' laaai 
 . ^-^ tifl Ol. r ■]]■:, \ I [-) I'" I w -na '' sui ODi- s .a'ao i aa ^s i w 
 
 O 
 
 the niemorv. Tiio l....aasi Caiiie jastic<s ao«mt<.-o 
 tiiis oxoianalion. Coh.snaa w,:.ntt.ai to vMa\ 
 
 the Laila...Ha..: r(smioia t.o" assassaa.ii 
 
 1 '1 T ■ 11 ; y 
 
 and ohwina tia..- I )aixe oi \ ora. m 
 
 !s i rasa. I iind 
 
 aatiaaa vOi Ua^ t!as..)ne. 
 
 r T -v -, • 
 
 i noi 
 
 Ci..)Uio ia 
 
 oe 
 
 don.e ]j\ as-a^^saaiun^ C .lair 
 
 i: ^^ 
 
 1 lHaa.aori.: la..: 
 
 nianiied. tho a>sassaaita.)n. in \srtue of tins 
 
 reasnma^a;^ 
 prisoner, tii 
 
 tia.: 
 
 iia..SM: sammtM 
 
 ap .iL^^aawt liie 
 
 mr\' 
 
 • 1 
 
 kjand hmi aaatxs ana nc wa 
 
 X 
 
2l6 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLL, 
 
 sentenced io 
 
 '11 
 
 welk' 
 
 1 1 
 
 tiiirs burned ht-fV)rc 'va. 
 
 i ni 
 
 rxanip;,?.' trrri: 
 
 n; mtes- 
 
 1 1 ;-~i iUi.. :i:"5 
 
 Cv\i^)cu from (|iKirrv'iiHi,_;. aruj L^atii'-rrd r-uind 
 luin ill uir^nuu". ^ ):it'"^ d' •H'Uiifjd tii-' I )iudu,-ss 
 Mazcinn a^ th^' accon;jd*^^' of an \\ur ai.its 
 acrain-t th*: Id'(utf^taMt ]-t:a^:aui. Idi*- I )uchess 
 oi ld:irt:^in.jiith, wiai ha.d a ratia">]!c (^aapkiin in 
 hta- huasehuld/ icil Uial a: an\ iii-lafU ^hc 
 
 ^aw tnal Laiarltj:^ wa^^ 
 
 rt\ 
 
 i ' i 
 
 1 ^ ' 
 
 storm, ami riKit il it 
 
 , , ^ , a . 1 t : ' 
 \\ ( )u jU ul: iO 
 
 L 
 
 ' ) la O'- i( if ni^ 
 
 ( u t 
 
 L \ . ■-... i- I 
 
 —« m J 4 
 . / i i v..^ 
 
 to the 
 ^ la ' 
 
 tidtl Idirrilion thai r>hf C( 
 
 a H ]]( *a ) Tf 'iH'.en- 
 
 Imnn^ iajw, tiir*;'- iuna':'fu x^-aia bf. iVmto" Adro 
 Porrar>, the nii-tr(--> iA idaward lib, wa^. 
 ^-^-di^od to apjKjar !)c;i<M't- bara.inaiit and smoar 
 taat ^n«: weakl ne\aa" .^^^aiw -rt; tlkil knio^. 
 i"'Jd^-,ian(J wa^ a country of ar^-n' d^mts. Perhaps 
 
 sr;e taou^lu Her wirDe^^l a. an w 
 
 a ue I 
 
 \ '. ■ ff ■ 1 1 •■ >* f 1 
 
 I ' i. V . 
 
 \ ; ? 
 
 U !'( >' f ' 
 
 to France. *^ Mad: ^ 
 
 LarnuMn to baan^, na 1 )ec. i, iojo, " iat> b..d 
 anuther con\aa">aii' >n uad :ac.^ hiaj a^ nuL 
 
 ^ n.rr;0,n 
 
 ',' i 
 
 one I ouis, Dec. a i 
 
 i 
 
 i. 
 
 i 
 
 DARRILLON. 
 
 217 
 
 .i.l::; |. 
 
 O , • ' 1 f ' > 
 
 ! ( 
 
 K^ 
 
 a^stant 
 
 sure that she can stay in Eng-land. There are 
 
 '-" •^\' ^Jei■^un^^ who are 'aaaa-a Oa naa;-: ia-i' in 
 
 conspirino- aa ant b 
 i\ aia" i^\ b'ranc a 
 would not be a great mmiortane t 
 to retha^ to Fi'anr--- especiallx- sh^rr^ \ann' '\raa^-i\' 
 iia:5 ^avaureiJ iier, iiUuua,ii i^uru ^.ai--_,eriaa'..,i, ui 
 
 1 i far j)resence la-re, she 
 [ss 1\ ; a ■ '" C • n aa? "'■ 
 
 a- areserves 
 
 o i a' vjia mav-i 
 
 1*1 * 
 
 .lit- 1 " 5 1 ■■» a 1 . «-, . t , . , *./.»- 
 
 IS aira 
 wmuiii 
 
 1 1 
 aai sne 
 
 r, '\ ,_ ~r 
 
 a 4 V i 1 1 
 
 f ' 
 
 ' i a 1,. 
 
 i. 
 
 ""> \ • 1 T"! ' »" 
 
 lonorer, to expose herself ta Ua ra^e ai a whole 
 
 naia.';a liar pot;it!on wrajid br- ^ad indeed, if, 
 :aa- m>i lia- km^h ia\a.>ar. ^^ia..; was assailed 
 
 .lis. 
 
 c5 
 
 V.x' V n-: 
 
 s \ 
 
 aaiaai-iir and people." 
 
 The quecai her 
 
 S( 
 
 h 1 1 rs-i , 
 
 ne, and 
 
 V- i i 
 
 ! n ' r 
 
 a a:? ni i ian:jer Liar; : 
 
 to ^^\v 1 bi'/hess of 
 
 thi: 
 
 iiiu u L a , 
 
 ida^ I hibt 
 
 
 1 • 1 
 
 o;a w. 
 
 J ; I, I i . ^ I V_ i a 1 i •• 
 
 baoists. a 
 
 ti 
 
 IsC 
 
 :ep 
 
 a"> 
 
 ^ a ! as !. 
 
 !. Charles 
 
 b ranch 
 
 M ^ a a e ^^ 
 \\ ;. i I a s i a i i 
 
 
 i^a:aime im./\- were 
 * barna*ea taroug-h 
 
 b-^aaNe, la bei^ tlail h- as, adil -iielter lae pear 
 
 ,ai5 avs at tna v. m \ 'a-vor 
 
 'Idu.: 
 
 i\mo r' 
 
 f Emdarss 
 
 inaili\' CoWerea di^ava lo tiie ioae^i 
 
 1 .'111 1 ; 
 
 a I -M -"'-...- i i '.. i i L , .. V a \. s 1 1 ,. ' 1 1 1 . \, t ■•. ' i J I, V. i t . V V- . \ vJ a t \ '.**<'; a lie 
 
 1^ 
 
2l8 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 was in honoi;r Ijound to protect. He had not 
 
 ^vrn t^^'" rnuraLTe to defend his wife, who, a- :\ 
 
 Ccitiiolic, \\\t- -'I upon i;)' the Shaftesbur)" Lr_\\ . 
 
 The 111 tit;:: ni iinirult circumstances rarely 
 
 prescr\'c:^ ai 
 lowers e\ 
 
 The habil ui cnju\nv nt 
 
 V i i ; i 
 
 O til ' -• 
 
 CL i 1 i I, L . 1 
 
 r-y energy. Love of j 'casuif de- 
 
 btru\> cnira^-e. Ui.e sees in a full i.irun;j li^iU, 
 
 a cniin n enough character, that < i 
 
 i;ap!")\' pndownvnt-^ wlio sinlc^ dnwn 
 
 mtu a it' i'i . aa J ease and luxur\, regards 
 
 every difficulty \.aa dread, loses all self r^ a -t t. 
 
 and, akiaja^a liaiurally goodnatured, becomes 
 
 capable ^^f n^ naitaa- what bad act! a. fr^ ai 
 
 sheer aaJi.lraia- aad cowardice. lie .a h. lac 
 1 ^- 
 
 '•i 
 
 1 i • 
 
 lli: 
 
 head 
 
 a^ f.H i 
 
 :^ raws of hi-^ ai!-tr'-^^r-.(.'> hv 
 1 111-' iia: rl aai^ ar. ^w^iy-x a. to 
 n I a people draaiiided liia 
 
 nrm ha\'s' ua.aa, 
 
 'U^TS, !in !?t t]^ 
 
 ill 
 
 H^^ la >r (.a; A' 
 
 tjut 
 
 .-. v_ 1 1 i i 
 
 t j a^ epicurean paa^^aes, 
 
 :^-'i innocent an'"] r'^,ta^i->T-.1r; 
 
 Lfseculur , ana iaa 
 
 ni-f-n 
 
 -:-n^'r- 1.: 
 
 i a ^ r- ( ; ■ ■ n f f " ' ' "^ ' 1 » "^ f " M ft) t i "» ( ' 
 
 fa-?' \vit- 
 
 na:-ba-. \(>ij'H,!y an«:\\' ijaLiLa' tiaai inanai.s 
 vnait tha Caua...ia:> want^'d. He vn,:. a Caaholic 
 
 ina::.<;u. i it- \v.i- naa-c grui!t\' a^ ai 
 
 
 SUi 
 
 a!>^' \\aua.;sses, aa^; 
 
 .r.a-:,, ue- 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 219 
 
 cause he not only Vwis chief magistrate, but 
 because, with the money paid for Ii*- promise to 
 declare himself a I'atholic, iic ^a^ j*-0'^"R Titus 
 Oates and his laa i ka fellow perjurers, i i* 'et 
 
 them sleep beside hina aia.! -arruundca ihem 
 Willi !iis guards; \\v. ha\ i- lie preparation of 
 liuar meals; recruited, w^iin lia,/ na)ney he had 
 recei\ t a from Louis, subordinate informers, and 
 paid lani^^ of law wlio wta'o emn]o\a^d to dog 
 PapibU .uul iaiai them dov ra \\\ the bottom 
 
 o\ 
 
 r 
 
 tlv money-chest> winch tha nr^tresses had 
 
 nearly emptied, he found l,\o ^ week a r litus 
 Oates, \\:a ni he boarded and lodged in his 
 palace of Whitehall. The weoki\ allowance 
 
 :, C;a u'h.'S naid 
 
 a J- 
 
 ( 
 
 O' 
 
 was auo^mented to , 
 
 aaara^aaana/ oi \.a-~^ 
 
 a:>eb m town, 
 
 he oai i spies engaged ni discoveriaa Popish 
 
 plots. i h^* hrntpstants did not force iaai n^ an 
 this. On the contrarx, he hid ia^ hand when 
 
 it made these pa\"ments. It was ali ^\nn(^ out 
 ui liic ac^rat fund, \ain niona\' Uial ne obtained 
 
 m 
 
 1 /- ^ ' 
 
 < t , \ >- ! -I 1 
 
 Tl - 
 
 Ha; 
 
 a r- i i 
 
 >» 
 
 \ I 
 
 k : i, ■ ~ «, i. i 
 
 t a 
 
 serasflio. (~^i 
 
 a har -^'-cana oat j chests, 
 tar trackiiw' and aia'estine 
 
 ta'a^'or 
 
 field 
 
 J K^ ^^ A. K. i. \.^ 
 
 ik 
 
 Stipends, were allowed a r 
 
 and tmie 
 
/ 
 
 220 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 1 t HI ;<''ni^ lo depose ; Un discovering Papists 
 
 \\-^'X\':v\ at Cr.nrt. aiv"! A.T ''if >!-min<'' wlirrc h --.ais 
 haa j;ru:.'L-ri\- cuiiceai-J. i licy aLu received 
 
 Aiiiuii^ tile victim:, ui ilii:> biianiciui panic/ 
 v.:i- th ' ni-.t respected member m?' '■ e House 
 ^ I I. rds, and the m ) i odiousl}' condf^mned of 
 .id ih' alleored ploucrs — the Earl of-:: afford. 
 ^^- iTj- II., who know his moral worth, in- 
 ;i same reproach for wcakn' ,;^ as his 
 i: :f I in desertinnr the first Lord ^traf 
 u.,s guilt), besides, u\ iaviii ■ paid 
 P^ i-iir- fund the per i^rs who 
 
 ! 1 •- 
 
 ford 
 out 
 
 hr 
 
 swore ciw 
 Charle^ C 
 
 tiie secon i 
 
 i ^5 
 
 life. 
 
 c"! ve 
 
 J ^ Lt 
 
 ' for findmg witnesses and bring- 
 
 { I GO. 
 
 1 he I ^■chess of Portsmouth did not descenci 
 
 widi t:r; king so low a^ fn court fitus Oates. 
 
 ^ The popular instinct was right. All that M. Fornenon 
 has brought to light shows that the panic was well founded. 
 But it took a wrong direction— the king being the arch 
 plotter, not so much to destroy Protestantism, as, for the 
 gratification of his shameful vices, to reduce England to the 
 rnnk of a satellite of France, which then, to obtain the co- 
 <^a • -^" ^^ t^e Jesuits in Louisiana, Indo-China, and in 
 a : - iiirh Colonies, became more Catholic almost than 
 the Pope. {Translator's A'ofe.) 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 221 
 
 But she judged well to make peace with 
 Shaftesbury, and helped him to re-enter the 
 Cabinet. Shaftesbur\ then became the prepon- 
 derant minister. Buckino-hani ' wt^ discredited 
 iii lit eyes oi every party, and was lairassed 
 into his grave by his creditors. I ) ud \ was 
 a prisoner \\\ tlip df.'W^r. ^aad' if and eitta^-ly 
 depended on the support oi ie wise Keroualle. 
 Ifit diis great rise in the tide if las iniLune 
 tamed Shaftesbury's head, lie ihoug; a him- 
 
 self wa 
 
 eet rid once and f r 
 
 ever ( 
 
 r 
 
 'he 
 
 real chief of his party, — a la.ai a^ ailing and 
 ambitious as himself, — the Prince of Grange. 
 
 buaie uuier heir to the throne was essential 
 r tlie perpetuation of Shaftesbury's power. He 
 wanted a docile tool, and made tlie blander 
 4 up as a Pretender the Duke of Mon- 
 
 > * e. L 
 
 the eldest oj 
 
 ^a^tard"^, '^ix 
 
 Oi whom were dukes, and brought forward a;^ 
 
 hiq qoTiN whan h^ touched for the evil. 
 
 Monmouth had man\ iiauual gifts ; b.a he 
 lai 1 been adulated from his cradle, spoiled by 
 
 iiih LtUier, caressed b\- liaj aubire^ir^eb oi Charles 
 
 ami 
 
 t]a> Duke 'f ^ ilk, and corrai ti d by the 
 
 ataa,;bphere and examples cuiad wiach ia„ 
 1 The Zimri Qf Dryden's Absaloin and AchiiopheL 
 
'»->'> 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 1 ;in • thrown by all the circumstances of 
 
 r?'ar 
 
 les- 
 tu r 
 
 
 ;ua MU- i!^ ''•rtmao'e 
 
 
 1 I 
 
 a 
 
 • )or chi' { I ^ i aer 
 
 • ■•! ♦ 
 
 til- MI* <;n'-!'\M'-^ct-nce. 
 
 L '.: . V . i. . 
 
 i ; "> 
 
 to wish ;; 1 to hf^ arcepted 
 
 not ^UHK <o r )W a 
 as his la ;r. 
 
 The kinQ'. In Iii^ oml^arrassment, sent vaa-'"! 
 Lv tiia Lh^chess ui' I'ui lomouth, thai he wuuki 
 be glad t<) laiv^e some talk witli i'lrrilloii at 
 W .alula, J, a^ bu.'n >r-^ lia: cunipan)' she usually 
 received there in the eveninof had retired. 
 \^ n :i ih^ an^bas'^ador weiii, Charles told him 
 that in K a. ci France mio^ht, if la? chose, 
 T,ra<fT\'«' tM \\\v:\ \\[< crrn\m, and attach iarn for 
 the rest of ai:. lin- to hi^, interests. It \\ca> not 
 a taia- a>r mnvl'na-nt- and empty words, but 
 for rapid an:;-n. Idia King ui 1- ranee would 
 hn.*: tn decide wlieta r England was t^ remain 
 a niu:aava\ a uacoaio a republic. Things had 
 come t > -adi a pas^ t'a t hi- majesty would 
 '^ i^''' ''^ !nna^- an iii:, aand to support Ida'aiiy. 
 Unless he did so, nothing could prevent the 
 ParC.nnaii nran ad^olnt^-l}- disposing of ques- 
 ts -a-^ 'a iieace, v;,a\ and alliances. Ida.uiy, 
 Ci; nd' ^ urged Barrillon to repeat all that he 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 223 
 
 e nis sovereiofn. inv 
 
 Conjure liie ivmg 
 
 (i i ranee, in his name, to heia a course which 
 
 \k)x ilia re::>i aa' ia':^ aft. xvKad nad^r f^nq-land 
 vA upon him. auvl attacii t;a: idrr^>'ai 
 i -\ to his interests. 
 
 1 profited by the opportunity to tax 
 wiii^ palterine conduct : and wdtii some 
 
 :a? Princess 
 
 ( ao< 
 
 "1 J ! ! 
 
 III. 
 
 Id 
 
 La 
 
 ^iiarpness reproached him widi 
 Mary's D ■ a marriage. II 
 
 rt'inuiueei mm 
 
 \ w 1 r 
 
 iiuLa iti; aanding the heavy pecuniary 
 sacrifices addidi tin- King of rrna had made, 
 he iiad always reason to complain ih a lintjlish 
 ph utrality was insecure. 
 
 (dairies asked for the ftivuur la another 
 aanarsation, an account of which, along with 
 that of the one just cited, is given on July 
 
 13, 1676, in the Foreign 
 
 1,1, 
 
 archives. 
 
 The King- of England owned that tlio r^. 
 
 a i i Li 
 
 proaches Kji Barrillon were well a a^ : 
 yet not quite just. How was it possible to 
 re^^ist the Duke ei d'ork and the Lord 
 Treasurer, who wanted to usii f r popularity 
 n ar\!ni^ out aq-ainst France!^ becreii) he 
 stood out against them as far as he could ; 
 iait tin re were resistless fataliues nait dracrcred 
 Inni Ota Charles admitted that he erred in 
 
{ 
 
 ) 
 
 224 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 n(>: 1 oreseeing what the Dutch match would 
 lead to. But his bitter experience would be 
 a or^iarantee of his future conduct ; and the 
 Kinof f f F^-ance mio^ht credit him when he 
 declared thi- :ii future, nothing in ilic world 
 would del . ;i iii'ii from his interests. He 
 saw V it:i lain uiJ deep grief the shedding of 
 innocent i *i D t \^. Ve had stood between 
 the accused Catholics and the national fiirv. 
 he would Ikuc risked everything. 
 
 M n \ hiie. }'oung Monmouth, — and particu- 
 
 jari)' ill the e\"rn 
 by wine, 
 
 v. i V i. 
 
 aiL r supper, when excited 
 tiirough his mother, Lucy 
 
 \\\.U .. 1 J 
 
 iruiii J—LiWci!''. 
 
 l\ 
 
 LiiC 
 
 ^ Charles, who seems to have had a taste for Celtic beauty 
 had among his concubines a Breton (Louise de Keroualle), 
 two Welsh women (Lucy Walters, or Barlow, and Nell 
 Gwynn), and an Irish woman (Peg Hughes). Lucy Walters, 
 Monmouth's mother, was, — in 1649, when she was with him 
 at St. Germains en Laye, where Evelyn first saw her, — a 
 beautiful, brown, bold, and insipid creature. She was the 
 daughter ■ f llichard Walters, of Haverfordwest in Wales, 
 a gentleman of little means, and she came to London to 
 S;.ck htf fortune. Algernon Sidney, when a colonel in 
 Cromwell's ai ni), meant to have her, and gave her fifty 
 broad pieces (as he told the Duke of York), but missed 
 his bargain, ;ic havmg i^ccn hastily sent away with his 
 
 u/A into the hands of his brother. Colonel 
 /, i:u:n wh-jin Charles IL got her la his 
 
 regmient 
 
 ]< 
 
 \kJ , 
 
 *^^ * '^fc * 
 
 
 BARR/LLOA. 
 
 225 
 
 rights of the House of Plantagenet. This, 
 Barrillon thought, might be regarded at Ver- 
 sailles as chimerical. But chimeras were less 
 ridiculous in England than elsewhere.^ There 
 was a general taste for romantic improbability, 
 which would serve the ends of an impostor ; 
 and the common people liked the fables they 
 saw played in the theatres, about mysterious 
 marriages being cleared up, and true heirs in 
 the end, coming by their own. 
 
 Louis stopped supplies, and drily wrote, that 
 until a positive engagement was made that 
 Parliament would not be again convoked, no 
 further subsidy would be given. Charles 
 accepted his humiliation, and, at the Duchess 
 in { iftsmouth's rooms, told Barrillon that he 
 had resolved to follow the course proposed by 
 Louis, and not to let Parliament assemble until 
 
 wanderings. The world had cause to doubt whether Mon- 
 mouth was a Stuart or a Sidney. He had the countenance, 
 complexion, stature, and even the wart on the face of 
 Robert Sidney. However, the king owned him. Lucy 
 W liters called herself Mrs. Barlow. She led such a loose 
 life during the campaign of Charles, ending in his escape 
 at Worcester, that he would have nothing more to do with 
 her ; and she became a woman of the town in Paris, where 
 she died miserably. {Translator's Note.) 
 
 1 Barrillon to King Louis, July 6, and July 13, 1679. 
 
 Q 
 
I ■ 
 
 226 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 BARRILLON, 
 
 i\ 
 
 
 convc 
 
 I k t ' ( 
 
 ' v 4 C i I 
 
 c judged liKu ! 
 vucnience to him. 
 
 n V ' r]■lf- 
 
 J_ \vc 
 
 a^sador recriminated 
 
 f s 
 
 !^ f!ir 
 
 sovereicrn, and 
 
 as IV 
 
 n • - n 
 
 i i 1 I 1 1 
 
 :uuld reasonaW\' 
 
 iiU,.U I 
 
 
 t; 
 
 i 1 
 
 L i . 
 
 U 
 
 lat 
 Lxciiequf r could attoit : t • sub- 
 
 V t:i uiibiiiited generosity, i: he 
 
 enemies of the 
 rine a li ^e doing ^o helped Euro- 
 e- tj make war upon him. The 
 su-uiinfd again: I >rein Holland, 
 Inipire, wa . a wasting one. If 
 : i an intelligent perception of his 
 r^L. h wo.l ; \x\ to spare France 
 i t me eey expense. But instead of 
 mt war ie^ei e^:L:ii Lc^un L. tho KiniT 
 a:. lit made peace certainly with 
 an ; under lac constraint of the 
 en nons. waiich forced hiai U} make 
 it r n a separate luoung, and to leave France 
 sm^I ! andeJ a^ f^'a Europe. This misfor- 
 tune:' draaa.>! ta- e'r-nrh exchequer. !i was 
 no i u^rr I ossible to give heavy subsidies un- 
 
 t II i ■» s. 
 
 (a,..,„ 
 
 V_, i i >. t . 
 
 owai 
 
 H: 
 
 r*f - 
 
 I i 
 
 less for serines services. Formerly they had 
 been ^i\ xii < ai t -i brotherly friendship, and this 
 might 1 ave been cont' eed had Charles proved 
 
 staaacai in cw^ving to the French alliance, 
 
 ii. 
 
 227 
 
 and enabled Louis to dispose rapidly of his 
 enemies. However, as Louis did not wish to 
 see Charles distressed for want of money, he 
 would give him a proof of his desire to see 
 him free from pecuniary embarrassments and 
 his authority restored. iu this end he had 
 ordered Barrillon to offer him an advance of 
 ^20,000 if he would engage noi 10 convoke 
 Parliament before the month of March. 
 
 Charles expressed great surprise at the offer 
 of so inconsiderable a sum, and spoke warmly 
 about the alternative which was imposed on him 
 of either being reduced to dependence on Louis 
 or of letting the House ot Commons act accord- 
 ing to its impetuous hatred or caprice. He 
 eot the Duchess of Portsmoutli to plead for 
 him, and submitted to her in everything. She 
 had the skill t ) direct the Government through 
 the medium of Sunderland. What liitle energy 
 remained to Charles he showed in defending 
 her. r wo young courtiers. J arret and Dunquot,^ 
 set her little blackamoor drunk, and gave him 
 monev to tell them things derogatory to the 
 ladies, and in particular to the one most 
 
 1 Probably Duncomb. English names are sometimes 
 mis- spelt by Louis's imbassadors (Translator's Note.) 
 
 \ 
 
 I 'I 
 
228 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 honoured by the attentions of the King of 
 England. When the slanderous tittle-tattle 
 which they based on what they heard from the 
 blackamoor caiiK to the king's ears, he forbade 
 them to appear at Court. A cause of fresh 
 and deen a!inr\ance to him was, to find that 
 his s< r I conferences with Barrillon were re- 
 vealed by ^ inderland's wife, who feared her 
 husband mic^ht be compromised by his rela- 
 t: ; villi 1 ranee. She vowed to everyone 
 thit she v;as in a state of constant hostility 
 
 to the I ^ichess oi P )rtsmouth, and that that 
 *' designing jade" brought about interviews be- 
 tween die king and Barrillon, gave the latter 
 his cue, and that he repeated what she told 
 him like a prating starling. The Countess 
 protested, t^et all she asked w^as to extricate 
 her iiusband from danorerous intrioues.^ At 
 the same time, Algernon Sidney ^ beheld with 
 irritatinn the favour which the Frenchwoman 
 
 1 Henry Sid fiefs Diary of the Times of Charles 11.^ ed. 
 1843, vol. I, p. 232, the Countess of Sunderland to H. 
 Sidney, Jan. 13, 1676. 
 
 2 Algernon Sidney's Letters to H. Saville in the Year 1679. 
 London : 1742. See letters from Feb. 20 to April 28, 
 1679. I do not know what value is to be attached to these 
 letters on the score of authenticity. 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 229 
 
 enjoyed, and the want of energy of the House 
 of Commons, which, when her name was men- 
 tioned in a debate, did not seize the opportunity 
 to attack her. To prevent herself being attacked, 
 she adroitly looked for support in Monmouth. 
 There was in her following a confidential 
 servant, one Mistress Wall,^ who cried on the 
 house-tops about Louise's passion for him, and 
 Kj\ her disinterested tenderness in trying to 
 further his pretensions. This Mistress Wall 
 was given, as a recompense, the privilege of 
 furnishing body-linen to the queen, and 
 promised the secret function of Mistress Chif- 
 finch whenever she mio^ht die.^ These tricks 
 came out, and were made a theme for satirical 
 lampoons. The pamphleteers published ** inter- 
 cepted letters " from Madam Carwell to the 
 Duke of Aionmouth. They taxed their in- 
 genuity to place her, to the nation, in the 
 most odious light, by holding her up as the 
 sheet-anchor of the Catholics and of France. 
 She was made to say to Monmouth, ** All 
 these Eno^lish hate me, but that does not 
 trouble me, since the king tells me everything, 
 and my friends alone have influence." 
 
 1 Henry Sidney's Diary, vol. i., p. 170, Nov. 17, 1679. 
 
 2 Ibid., vol. ii., p. 22, April 2, 1680. 
 
( 
 
 230 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 The i jjchess renewed her instances with the 
 FrencI: a: -bassador on behalf of Charles. 
 
 ''I sa V \ rtrday," wrote Barrillon,^ "Madame 
 de Portsmouth, from whom the King of Eng- 
 land keeps nothing hidden. She came to tell 
 I:: i:;a: ;1 xulu Majesty would give him four 
 niiliit :h f livres a year for three years, he 
 vajiil : till r :u ' aiv engagement your Majesty 
 laL^iit propose. But without this sum he could 
 not avoid assembling Parliament. The king 
 himself told me later in the day, that he was 
 ni rii^r' I tn be reduced to driving a bargain 
 wiih \ - ^'-'s M.ijesty.' 
 
 \ \ ■ -. ' . . t ' "1 ,"-. r r' 
 
 )> 
 
 !i -- negotiations were going on, the 
 hopes 01 Moanij an cUid Shaftesbury were 
 raised. Pat Charles was taken with a malig- 
 naai K\ r, la ; ^^eemed on the verge of the 
 L,r.a. , \v;a a riis doctors gave him up and 
 aHavt 1 Ian ta lake the Chevalier Talbot's 
 
 specific, which was then a novelty 
 
 ciaanae 
 
 and known 
 
 I as a its' bark. 
 
 This illness 
 
 * This letter should be regarded as of doubtfLil authenti 
 city. It is not in any of the French State records, and is 
 only found in the MS. of the British Museum. 
 
 - The disease, according to Evelyn, was ague; and quinine, 
 or qimiqiiina^ had been brought into vogue, not by Talbot, 
 but by Tudor, the king's apothecary. The physicians would 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 231 
 
 ! 
 
 I 
 
 
 brought about Shaftesbury's and Sunderland's 
 disgrace. The Duchess of Portsmouth and 
 the Duke of York united to <:^et Monmouth 
 sent from London. He was saved from 
 exile by Louis, who feared such a stretch of 
 authority would give rise to a situation that 
 would force Charles to make concessions to 
 Parliament. He also pointed out to Barrillon 
 that the, for him, cheapest manner of proceed- 
 ing, was to foment quarrels between the king 
 and Opposition, by (giving subventions only to 
 members of both Houses ; and he continued 
 his largesses tn the Country party. 
 
 Tu diis end Barrillon paid Algernon Sidney^ 
 
 not, out of envy of Tudor, give it to Charles, until the king 
 secretly obtained the opinion of Dr. Short, in whom he had 
 confidence because he was reputed (falsely) a Papist, and 
 was told that it was the only thing that could save him. 
 ( Translator's Note. ) 
 
 1 It is due to the memory of Sidney, to say that his Re- 
 publicanism was thought sincere by the different agents of 
 Louis, and that they classed him among the political English- 
 men of his time who were not bereft of moral sense. There 
 is no direct evidence in the French records to show under 
 what pretext or through what agency the French Embassy 
 got round Sidney, and induced him to be a pensioner of 
 Louis. But from much in them the inference may be drawn 
 that he thought any stick good enough to beat down such 
 
232 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 BARRILLON. 
 
 233 
 
 the 500 guinea'^ thnt he wanted ; to Baber, the 
 Presbyterian leader the Commons, 500 
 
 guinea^^ : tn ! ileton, 500 guineas ; to Powels, 
 500 iQ^iiineas ; i Herbert,^ 500 guineas; and 
 
 "to niaiiitain iiui-irode in his employment at 
 Brussels," 400 guineas. 
 
 Notw !t'v4:L!i "iii^ these gratifications, Parlia- 
 ment continued unmanageable. Monmouth 
 crime back triumphantly to London. Barrillon 
 informed I, ;i- that an event had just taken 
 place " w iiicii uo ki have appeared most ex- 
 
 !\^ oth^^r coiniiry."^ 
 
 traoic :irL.;,rjv- m anv oin^^T roinury. " n was 
 the r;turn cf Monmouth, "who every night," 
 ]j.irrii;i»n a'i'lL:U, "sups \v!"h X-lly, the courte- 
 san w: :k. :» in ihe king two children, and 
 whom he daily visits." Nelly set up to place 
 
 a vile thing as the English throne had become ; and made 
 up his mind to aqcept aids which Barrillon artfully led him 
 to hope for. Sidney spent a good deal of money in trying 
 to get up a Republican movement. [Translator' s Note.) 
 
 ^ Probably the Herbert who became Lord Herbert of 
 Cherbury in 1678, and was grandson of Herbert the author. 
 He married Catherine, daughter of the Earl of Bradford. 
 The otht Herbert was William, Earl of Powis, Marquis of 
 Montgomer.\ vho, being a Catholic, could have no influence. 
 Herbert Earl of Pembroke, Louise Keroualle's broiher-in 
 law, was never ;ii tii^ House of Commons. 
 
 2 Barrillon t > Louis, Dec. 14, 1679. 
 
 
 r 
 
 f 
 
 herself at the head of the Protestants, which 
 did not prevent her subsequently from going 
 over to the Catholic Church.^ Parhament 
 demanded the removal from Court of the 
 Duchess of Portsmouth and Sunderland, against 
 whom the heads of an impeachment were drawn 
 up. It was proposed to execute them both, 
 with Danby and the Catholics who were in the 
 Tower. 
 
 Charles at last resolved to prorogue Parlia- 
 ment. As the treaty of which this step was a 
 condition remained a secret, it was attributed 
 to '* Madam Carwell." She, it was said, feeling 
 herself exposed to an impeachment, made the 
 king prorogue for a long period. She was 
 alarmed at the rumours to this effect, and fell 
 ill from sheer fright. She spoke of dismissing 
 all her Catholic servants, and prepared to re- 
 tire, herself, to France. 
 
 i Letters in the Verney collection at Claydon House. 
 
 V 
 
lAPTER IX. 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY, 
 
 The sudden blow which Charles struck de- 
 ferred the (iaiurr III which Louise stood, with- 
 out suppressino- it. Popular hatred of France 
 
 ran higher in m ever- n-d tii* judges were as 
 
 abject .11 pand'-nn^- ld the aniniosity of the 
 nation is th^n* had ber^n S'^rvd^ to tlv^ Oovern- 
 Jioou. i li'j ! KjCiic::?:^ l4 i''u.' l - 1 iiou th, b}^ boldly 
 standing up 'o t!d, risisfir ili* French alHance, 
 becaiio ihc uuje^t ui general hatred, and was 
 th it th^ king would persevere in 
 h^ot 'H ^.^\ the sin^j-ritv oi" liie I o-ke 
 \\h-;i ii' sought to unite with her. 
 :ia I ag;dn funnel anntlip- ir' tress, 
 who wn^ the daughter a a u ^bleman.^ His 
 brotiier sou ; at tn make his peace with the 
 Piutc. tit;:: , and offered as a holocaust the 
 
 1 Thought to be the daughter of Rochester, who, in 1683, 
 
 married Lord <^^s)ry. 
 
 234 
 
 laa 
 
 defei 
 
 : \ 
 
 t • 1 1 
 
 ' r • 
 
 1 Tie 
 
 ■■i<nr 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY. 
 
 ^35 
 
 Duchess of Portsmouth.^ She had therefore to 
 manoeuvre w^ith extreme dexterity in keeping 
 all her friends, and in not ^exasperating her 
 enemies. She entered into the closest union 
 with Sunderland. In this she scandalized his 
 beautiful wife, who wrote : '' So damned a jade 
 as this would sell us without hesitation for 500 
 guineas." Louise and Sunderland drew to- 
 wards them, and brought into their orbit the 
 supple, adventurous, and clever Godolphin, 
 who was coquetting with the i h'nce of Orange. 
 The latter was becoming uneasy at the preten- 
 sions of Monmouth. The efforts of the Duchess 
 of Portsmouth and Sunderland in ^680 were 
 directed towards keeping alive the uneasiness 
 of the Prince of Orange, husband to the pre- 
 sumptive heiress to the throne : not letting the 
 Duke of York, whom they knew to be cold 
 and selfish, play them false, and avoiding to 
 stir the bile of Shaftesbury, or to wound Mon- 
 mouth's vanity. The PVenchwomaii took the 
 audacious course of declaring openly for the 
 Prince and Princess of Orange; and \vas so 
 explicit in declaring she preferred English to 
 
 ^ Barrillon to Louis : " I believe each wishes to save 
 himself at ihe cost of the other." 
 
236 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 French interests as to seriously alarm Barrillon 
 and make him lose his temper, which was 
 further tried on his hearinor that she sought to 
 be on good terms with the arch-enemy of 
 France. But she re-assured him somewhat, by 
 coming privily to tell him that the king at 
 bottom was what he always had been, and 
 that he wished to preserve the friendship and 
 aliicince of the King of France.^ The French 
 an ■ issador, however, could extract nothino- 
 irum iicr regarding the conclusion of the treaty. 
 Ihrillon did not attach at this time much 
 importance to the services of the Duchess. He 
 knew^ that public opinion had risen against her 
 with a violence which he thouorht irresistible. 
 iij overheard tipsv bloods in the theatre^ 
 speak \:\ abusive terms of her and Lord Sun- 
 derland ; and 0:1 liiu c^ame day the Duke of 
 M rimouth's health was drunk by the wild 
 youncf m^^n about town, in all the taverns and 
 cuii-jc houses.^ Barrillon thought he might by 
 
 ^ Barrillon :> King Louis, to whom, after Pomponne's 
 disgrace in 1679, he addressed most of his letters. 
 
 - Barrillon to King Louis, Jan. 15, 1680. 
 
 3 May 20, 1680. It was in this letter Barrillon said of 
 the future Duke of Marlborough : *' He is wholly inexpe- 
 rienced in public busmess." 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY. 237 
 
 his efforts create a cross current of opinion 
 which would take from the tumultuous force 
 of the one that was growing up, and that he 
 might get the better of intriguers by corruption. 
 He moreover thouorht it of the hio^hest im- 
 portance to retain Montagu by his sister, Lady 
 Harvey, who had power over his mind, and 
 who could render many useful services. She 
 might be secured by a nice present ; and the 
 snuff-box intended for Lord Holies, not having 
 been given to him, might go lu the lady. If 
 his Majesty thought it too considerable, a sum 
 of less value than it represented would do as 
 well, for she was not above taking money. 
 Mr rapacity might be stimulated by insinu- 
 ating that she might expect further gifts from 
 France. As her aid could be most valuable, 
 Barrillon was anxious to secure it. He also, 
 he said in the despatch on this subject, had 
 gained two Nonconformist preachers.^ His 
 aim was to form a solid group of agents from 
 the different parties, and to use alike Republi- 
 cans and courtiers. To well understand this 
 policy, his "list of persons to whom gratuities 
 may be offered " ^ should be read. 
 
 1 July I, 1680. ^ July 24, 16S0. 
 
238 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 In ih-' L.t: 
 ment he ^.L\ 
 H' )\^; more C( mi 
 11 :l, hi perluL';: 
 but 1 think t 
 
 r i ! )'r 
 
 "> . 1 
 
 J i 1 J 1 i L ^_' \ V 
 
 a sum 
 
 \i-- olff 
 
 ^i" //^ fllOlloi: 
 o 
 
 |';.riisans wou! 
 be placed in a 
 
 ncii accompanied that docu- 
 i in i ^ike of hL,:,inouth is 
 ^ ""^ tlian anybody else, i in 
 being offered iiiuin \' ; 
 mder the pretext of enablmg 
 n- nn'nnn;nn,:'n; ^ = A courtiers, 
 r him to dispose of 
 K'dL In gaining him, all his 
 i : • gained as well, and he would 
 •tn ation in which iu^ could never 
 more be reconciled witli the Court, or the 
 Ih ince CI < nan-p 1 1 wever, it should be made 
 1 tina he wa. to prevent Parliament 
 king anv money, because, if his 
 majesty Charles W, does not feel his depend- 
 ence, he vhH give us t-e slip. T tiiink the 
 lK...e should be offered ;/;'4,ooo. Ihi^ would 
 be more efflcaci n^ than if we spent twice as 
 mnrh in I ribing th^ Parliament. Shaftesbury 
 directs ak lin attacks against the Court, and is 
 ^' ^ -'' b( ad oi die malconteiUb. If money is 
 .. ' - -- ' ^^''d in: tldnks he has J ranee behind 
 in:n he wiii be mnre daring. ^4,000 is the 
 lea i ti n n- hd be offered to him. The mem- 
 ber- ef til. i I, use o!' Commons who might be 
 usefully bou-iii.are: Algernon Sidney, for 
 
 e 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY. 
 
 239 
 
 500 guineas down, WMtli the promise of 500 
 guineas more; Powels, 1,000 t; lirnMs 1 ierbert, 
 
 1,000 guineas ; Baber, 1,000 i; ninieas. All the 
 
 ntlier memlmrs nann-d, in irir annexed list were 
 tested in tiie UaidA' affair, and v^i'XKt very use- 
 fn], Paber is not in k.nhianient, iint in.- mixes 
 
 I. n 1 ',. iiieii ciiiv^L walii 
 the Presbyterian n ami in ha> tin ir confidence. 
 1 [r is a nn\n from wlinpi \ 
 
 a good deal waLu in 
 
 .U i 1' 
 
 JKl It 
 
 inn': 
 
 inr. e nmch profit, 
 ■- ni}- intinan;}- v/ith 
 Xa^v^a \ lolles. Tiicrc are other laeinbers of the 
 House of Comniun.s who could be made, ac- 
 
 inlties and cennnncrtnres, to 
 Vdndinorton,^ who has been 
 
 Cnlonel i itnrn knrnet, Ber- 
 :uid ih,innn>n, who are all 
 
 dity in \.ox\^ox\. and highly 
 
 cnrdino" to onnc^ 
 serve our ends. 
 
 s= n icit'"' '*-\ I en era i 
 narU, cUki \l-'-\ ■ ^ 
 nKaxhants of tin 
 
 ted id 
 
 treasurer of 
 
 resjjecceu i re:3ij\ Leriaii::) , i iaVer 
 
 the Corporation of T ondon ; S adn verell,^ and 
 
 ui I hntkirix^ It is 
 
 the ex-go vernoj 
 
 1 Probably Sir T "^Viddringtonj who was Speaker under 
 Cromwell, but very old in 1680. 
 
 ^ Not the preacher who obtained for himself prominence 
 in Anne's time, but an ALP. who was rabid against the 
 second Earl of Strafford. Player was the City Chamberlain, 
 and the " railing Rabsheka " of Dry den's Absalom and 
 Achitophd. 
 
 
240 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 hard to say what might be offered to each of 
 them. But t re might be a fund of 20.000 
 crowns placed at my disposal, which could be 
 employed .u. -r iing to the utility ^nd facility 
 th It there would be in gaining them. It is 
 iiiJispensable lu begin wxlh a payment of 1,000 
 guineas to M* -ttigu, who is industrious, capable 
 
 inplication, and enjoys the entire 
 lih D ;!ve of Monmouth. This 
 to be remitted to him before the 
 :n! i\ \.iun I promised d iL he 
 i:." Louis X!\ . rot^ in pencil 
 1 I liie letter: '• dd ^olbert will 
 r r r 4.000 pistoles. Instruct 
 ! iiave a letiur uf change sent io 
 
 r 100,000 francs." 
 
 dsted that, in his judgment, France 
 
 \e a secret bias f r any party,^ but 
 
 1 nn^^ against tiic other, and keep 
 
 - drawn. i liub the King of 
 
 confidence ot 
 
 riH.,)ivw' oii-d:t 
 end it ^ i ^^ 
 
 Oil 
 
 give 
 
 a:i ! 
 
 .U..L 
 
 dd Barrilii 
 
 I 
 
 r^iiouid : 
 
 S^:i LI 
 
 them 
 
 it- f- ]-\ fii m 
 
 cdc:> 
 
 1 It is to be gathered from the correspondence between 
 him and the Court of Versailles, that he was reproached 
 with having encouraged Sidney to appeal to his old Iron- 
 side comrades against Monarchy. The warmth with which 
 he insists that the King of France should be indifferent as 
 to means, Republican or other, in a degree clears Sidney's 
 memory. {Translators Avfe.) 
 
 ti 
 
 
 I 
 
 'i 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY 
 
 241 
 
 France, who was destined to revoke the Edict 
 of Nantes, was led to support the Presbyteri- 
 ans, because the Prince of Orange, whom he 
 hated, was drawing close to Charies. His 
 ambassador only thought of preventing these 
 sectarians falling into pits dug for them by diic 
 Court • and with this object made the acquaint- 
 ance of their chief orators. He so o-ained 
 Powels^ that he was able to write: ''This 
 person is entirely wiiii nic, and will luiiow all 
 
 ame steps 
 
 my instructions. I have take 
 to brino- Herbert into my hand. Nobody made 
 hd]i elf so useful in the Danby affair. He 
 stayed a whole day when the impeachment 
 debate was going on,^ and only allowed those 
 whom di thought favourable to the Court to 
 go out, and prevented the others leaving, almost 
 by force.^ He is a strong, vehement, hot-tem- 
 pered, and selfish fellow. I have much inter- 
 course with Sidney. He is greatly opposed 
 
 ^ Poule. 2 Oct. 4, 1680. 
 
 3 The English historians never seem to have suspected 
 the real cause of Danby's impeachment. They regard it as 
 due to political rivalry or patriotic indignation. It was 
 simply owing to the rancour of Louis, and to all the money 
 he spent in hunting down Danby, whose foil, he thought, 
 would serve as a warning to Charles. {Translator's Note.) 
 
 k 
 
f I 
 
 I 
 
 242 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 to the CuL.il. L 
 Siinder'an 1, who 
 
 round h:;n i^ ^v tm 
 tha: ^Miu.-\' a.L- 
 R^pi:ijli( 
 bvt r:; 
 
 1 have reason to fear that 
 \> his nephew, is getting 
 
 ^: t::c I'rHicu ui Urange. 1 !.fa)w 
 
 a I- I :vor\g leaning towards the 
 
 I'aber continues lo work the Pres- 
 
 .~i. 
 
 < ■• I 
 
 'o 
 
 opf:nl}'. 
 
 i:^ 
 
 1 1 a taraucrh him la ' I have 
 
 popular preachers, who can insinu- 
 
 -> whicii it would never do to say 
 
 1 kiM' they have spoken in the 
 
 f a in. tiler ahich would not count any 
 
 -c unlass here, but i b'ch in England 
 
 L the Prince of Orancre 
 
 q, 
 
 :;, Li. a 
 
 The 
 at this 
 
 dauo^hter 
 
 i-;a\ b. 
 
 a.:,-v;j Ol J 
 
 eves, 
 
 \ \ 
 
 tsmouth had no cause, 
 to be afraid of Nell Gwynn, whose 
 lai in a died, oae had recruited 
 ; 1 laa .a; tress, Mary Davis, whose 
 : \va^^ bringing up under her own 
 Hitention of giving her in mar- 
 
 riage to Siind aa aal's son. She even suffered 
 
 eive some uiie marital atten- 
 
 . 4 t* V_ V_ i I I, W 
 
 iill^^ V.4C*V_V_il i.'^J iCL, 
 
 1 James Beauclerc, died in 1680 ; the second son, Charles, 
 born May 8, 1670, was created Duke of St. Albans on 
 Tnn. 10, 1684, and married, in 1694, Diana de Vere, the 
 last of the ' a" aa de Veres. He was the ancestor of the 
 present Duke of St. Albans. 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY. 243 
 
 tions from her indolent husband. He went to 
 inform Catherine of what had taken place at 
 
 a debate in the House of la a dx^ and, as a 
 mark of extraoi i a.aa kindness, 
 
 s.u. 
 
 ui ;:3ume 
 
 tim- in her chamber after dinnt' aad da a took 
 a 1 wii^ iiap there — a thino- he was onlv in the 
 habit of doing in the rooms of the Duchess 
 of i'urtsmouth. 
 
 The apoplectic Charles had allowed Parlia- 
 ment la be convoked tt rhe r^na jf 1680, when 
 it discussed a bin ii exclude iiih brother from 
 the throne P *a;a.n redoubled his efforts to 
 destroy the chances of the Prince of Orange.^ 
 He was oblio^ed to ^o to work throuoh agents. 
 To have treated directlv with him. would have 
 been to expose life and fortune. Montagu 
 ani III:, sister, Herbert, Algernon Sidney, and 
 Baber were his best auxiliaries. Mrs. Harvey 
 wa bold and enterprising, and was intimate 
 with numerous courtiers and iw, aibers of 
 Parliament. She recruited Hampden^ and 
 Haber — both men of weight in the Opposition. 
 Algernon Sidney, Barrillon reported as a man 
 of great views and designs, which all made 
 
 ^ Nov 28, 1680. ^ Dec. 5, 1680. 
 
 ^ Son of the patriot who stood out against Charles I. 
 
244 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 f r t'lc establishment of a Republic. He be- 
 
 kii^ i tn tiie pa:t\ : i - I :;'lepenclents and 
 
 n^hnr -"Ctrl'"::: :■- w::?' ^^MiTicd aii Uclurc lin-n 
 in tht- anti Popish disorders. They .. ^ r^ n i 
 
 ^;f-»*r,ri - 'ti Pnr1innT'"nr !i"^ iT-pi-p nowerf'^"' ^n tbr^ 
 
 Cii\' ; and iL \\ni:5 '_nving it* Sidney's rnarnt.;'"- 
 rn- nr innn I' da 1 ' was elected *^neriff liie 
 
 ^urvn^c^ 
 
 '•^ 
 
 i^.i.._. » runucia'' : ULnc iiui ap- 
 nirnnt. because la had to deal with obscnre 
 
 ■!■;'":■' \';as a n':ciKi ca 
 ail. : nive, pushinor, and 
 
 
 M 
 
 ua 
 
 ana 
 
 ; ■ i ' ! 
 
 \'. ana -a u * 
 
 1 f ' ■ ' I 
 
 ;l-^ [ur 
 
 .f • 
 
 r na:e. 
 
 He 
 
 nftr"!! brnr 
 
 die bdnaan 
 twcf-n Idir: 
 
 111 
 I'ani -.1 
 
 
 'H nf cn-rn,t \nt 
 
 
 ^> 
 
 
 
 1 t 
 
 [")aber wa^ a ind^ 
 
 Pr'"d;yterians. I ,.nnis 
 
 {•n'::^dinn W'-a!< 
 to prr\-rnt, at 
 
 a ■ \ ' 
 
 r c L (J a c a 
 
 'I? 
 
 1 I e was 
 
 ai^a: uf 
 
 Lnnr^ 
 
 T» 
 
 L i. %, * l '■■ 
 
 ;s 
 
 probable that 
 
 i\ 
 
 )f la-:nu. 
 
 n(aai!fr> tnan t*) 
 
 nvnr^n^^^ r)t 
 
 1 1 
 
 ra • 1 1 
 
 heap' r t 
 
 r;! ^e 
 
 des. 'Ti:t 
 
 ■s ^ ■ ^ 1 1 ■■ ' M ' * 1 1 n • • ' ^ 1 1 ? "i i 
 
 I ; 
 
 
 !68t, wa:> n( a ^ 
 
 >; r _ h; livtliell, Sheriff of London in i68o, and the 
 Shimei of Absalom and Achi^hophel. 
 
 II 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAbTESBURY. 
 
 245 
 
 heavy as the smallest r^ubsid- a* 
 
 Hampden and Htaln/rt r^,.-c(dvf:d aooo gumeas 
 
 ic kin<jf. 
 
 eaca , i i^a_'^^r, i i n 
 1 )OSn( )\v<. ■*] and „ \ : 
 
 i I * i 1 i I ■" >.. 1 , i I ! ' ; 
 
 al)ar. Hi!!. 
 ' auineas 
 
 5 Mnn ; i »' ^n n^ 
 
 i i i i ' 
 
 
 I i i ' 
 
 1 urn 
 
 , ■'-'-- i ^-^■■'^■^')^ vuarawaia .^a<a,a.; v^n'ta:, i u.ca, 
 ana Hide, 300 guineas ^acli : ora: } )ncro^, resid- 
 ing in 1 I-lstein, a ad a im-id di' Lord n)cauu\ich, 
 
 one I.e Pin, a clerk .a' a)anderland, i \u nnaa-ab, 
 *' who sometiine's eave valuable 
 
 n i n ! < 
 
 to 
 
 ijaiun Uu \\ an n bpani^a ao-ent. too 'aa 
 
 * . "^ a~-' 
 
 alsci '' ajr huits anii !a:ivs;" ana 1,000 eui]^-.;~> 
 
 Louis \\ 
 
 -. !' 
 
 ' 1 ' 1' , I 
 
 obliL't 
 
 to 
 
 n a, t 
 
 C3 ^ ^^'^t> 
 
 ^'\\ nroroaue Parlianicnr", He knew to 
 
 ! t \ -f ^ , ■ 
 
 by pleasure, 
 
 ia;cona% Louis 
 
 wh u degree he \va^. 
 
 lUso I eared a ia:cuiiciiialiua ^a^ nib canann-^^a 1 ic 
 starad up, therefore, the king agaiii-i die 
 Caaiinuii^, aia.! egged on thi. Canaa.4is 10 
 a-i:rar-.:^ upou the king. A;- liu' larca a! Oppo- 
 
 *> 
 
 av in the most iiaali-jMni drotestant 
 
 ^ Sci Les Etats de Barrillon, inserted in Affaires Eijan- 
 ^erc^, Angleierre, tome cxI. fol. 33S, and tome cxlii. fol. 170, 
 froiii J ^cc. 5 to Feb. 13, iCSi. 
 
246 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 r-'achci's \\\\o le^i 
 
 l-iie, I) 
 
 'SS t I i 
 
 secLS. iu: ^uh\'efit.' ^iv -.1 tar 
 
 t^ ' atia-a-: Uv- Crown. 
 
 ^ri-iia ■:;ih was not ai the 
 secrat of lia-; Vx-->\yA-x\-v:\ aa^i R- a-ablican 
 
 nn]ic\a waaaii waa-^ iH-jiia waa"! L^'a'^ ww-- rnm 
 nianciiia t^ aarsecute la-. i»\\a: I'rijtestaiu ^.ub- 
 ^a'ta ^^hr 1 nvaa n*"''l alie wa^ a;t ■a'^na""'" n'ni 
 
 \\ ii-aa >ai: HiLil^uaLi lu ic^tuiu Lial, 
 
 Ciiarir-,, and a\.- a-toaisheu a = 
 
 ■ ' a . 1 ■ ) 
 
 I. H '_a i t > u i 
 \\ laa'-clf 
 
 nta 
 
 
 aou 
 
 
 i ■ > 
 
 i ' i, V ! i 
 
 •-^ ! ' K i ^ 
 
 i 'a>s\' aa^.i v ar'^a;a''--, :-ra' ar^a'-ia^i'' 
 
 1111 . - , , 
 
 sru:: nail oaaii -laU a waiaan.; ii-oai r rance, 
 
 tiUit Loui:- wa^^ ia)i sati-a^-a vaai laa' cravliict, 
 
 tuiii taat vat, la? uaj aaa M-.--aa(a" waai ara.aw slie 
 
 lia^l d(.>nt^ her utmost to r^^tat-r' caaad iat^jlH- 
 
 o-ence lj<.:t\vtjiai tiia kaa^^ ul i-rdnct: aiKi Lnof- 
 
 landa ikit l>anaa>M] while cicka^ ^"aacdeino- that 
 
 
 i^ 
 
 M\\ i 
 
 cind 
 
 \ -. .. I ^ 
 
 la a saaaiii 
 
 ' \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 pffana'^ 
 
 ( i ' a\a 1 ta i i * >! la... 
 
 la' aaaaiat laa' 
 
 waiirua^'" las waix' i>\ 
 
 a )rar i u 
 
 » I i ■"-. 
 
 aaaa; ^.-A 
 
 >»na, liu\\aa.^^.aa aia.'at''a a^ ;.aaa^ 
 
 iactic>. caiiunat'a In tcii ^aai < \-t rMiUaa/" and 
 
 o 
 
 caij n^t apaear to an -[v^rt t 
 1 Feb 2-, 1681. 2 / 
 
 
 It sun- 
 
 t 28, 1681. 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY. 247 
 
 plicity with which he opened his mind to Lord 
 Montagu. He ofav( a this n iMeman a second 
 bribe of 2,odo guineas, and .vas soon after, 
 under a clumsy pretext, asked for i thirdd In- 
 deed, ai a vacrue ekicubration a a\ ai ■ a cock- 
 and-bull rtavour, ah tagu told the ambassador 
 of Louis that he would -nrai be able t^ ran- 
 dcr hi^ dLijesty the King ^a kdance services 
 of not less importance than thn.- h^^ discharged 
 when the interests of that so\cia 01 demanded 
 the impeachment of 1 )a!iby. Hal 
 bind himsek 10 do nothing muio, 
 entire payment were not guarant 
 his proposed services were, a o o; 
 because, if he disclosed di lai ar ai 
 would ^^'^^: tn vppia irivolcKis ai I 
 the Kincr of France. Xavei tiodess. tiaa a 0- 
 of a nature to place England ai a ^hnation 
 
 utiHzed 
 
 la^ could 
 
 idd and 
 
 , .. , . 
 
 e.i O) sa\^, 
 
 lurely, he 
 : eyes of 
 
 which would iuno uro\enL uv i . 
 
 o-> 
 
 On findinor that 
 
 was no lo! 
 
 n ~ ro 1" 
 
 as a secret service ageiiL, Louise de k loualle 
 struck up a friendship with the Duke of ^h ih. 
 
 U i \ 
 
 <\v' had a oorc^^ntage (ai tia 
 Q-ot the orrant, \n \ a tue e^ 
 this income, confirmefl Ma: akc; 
 
 1 Sept. 22, 1 68 1. 
 
 1 r 
 
 '■~i . 
 
 and 
 derived 
 
 \ > 
 
248 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ( ; ; ; t 
 
 ng, and with the other oii the 
 
 1 H-^- ^^f ^^.^rk. iii:, brnth^r Mc-an v..-!i;!.- 1 kirril- 
 i^>'.i ciiiu intj Pi.;.:t: tn u range ^ worked, each 
 <~''T n:- rvAii ])ehair, the House of (kMninons. 
 
 >iUiiL'^:3ijury aii.; .U' -nniuutli fanci'^ni in-;\' could 
 t"-^' HI til' .r |.;ar;i-ans, a;iu u^- K.-.ubhcans 
 
 I'inuin^ hiin-i-:i liiuible to deal ..iiii lii-.; cu:]]- 
 phcab'-; \'. ^-ij iA Liii': -"ue wo\'f"'n arnnn.'-1 ]i*m 
 ^. iuUif/^ 1 i, NiiUiiii llclI aiinseli \wiiKu*i i'c:>ur\'c 
 
 to Lo:;i'^ X 1 \ 
 
 I 1 
 
 ■ i "> i J \ 
 
 lus dof'bty ail til-' Fr-iudi inone\- liua, came 
 
 n.i i icd 
 
 (c,K..;\-cu. .uce gone on losing itseii i:i a nniiiber 
 ol lif.'Civf a-.. i Cf- cacc n;-^ ^■juaaiii ^.sidh crocuccd, 
 wai- ^^Llddea uiil c^aaplete. The iJucheSb of 
 1'= 'r^--ca.'aui ,^<,n.ai r'/a. r, cred her seren*t\' r)^sia*r*t 
 u v.ai^^ uia-a- uiis lull thai .die sumniuncd 
 
 1 To understand to what extent English patriots were 
 ( oirupted by the Prince of Orange, see Ban illon to the 
 king, ]iwy 7, laSi : •• Ih^ i]^^i ^^ ^,.j.^j^ (Duke of Hamil- 
 ton's son) has i. -: }l: accepted the 500 guineas which 
 your al .jesty peiaiatcd me to offer him, because he wished 
 first decently to decline offers made him by the Prince of 
 Orange." Perhaps he wanted to see wlietlier he could not 
 get more out of the Prince. 
 
 I 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY. 
 
 2^9 
 
 to London Henri Gascar,^ a French painter. 
 Another French artist, RanilMarv, was author- 
 ized b}- Louis Ai\ , 10 170 ajai rxr^cute at 
 A\^ia Isor- paintings which ius laaiann- M.ijesty 
 
 wished h!!a to do. No mark cf confidence and 
 ^^^---^cceai vvas spareei in na,, Kai.^ ui' i- ranee, 
 wno \va^ ainaidy preparin;;^- t!ie campai^'n ia 
 which he meani lu UiKc Cuarlrax aii i Lax-ai- 
 bnurcr. a!vl wLo wrolta, by bie hand of \\\> 
 secretar)^ Ku-^u i^wnu wai^ aathurized h^ annate 
 ]iis na 'ting, so thai it would pass Inr in- .\\\i.)- 
 graph), to pron(n- a request ninLia in liie place 
 <'i Ciiarles, he would i:.i\a^ a^'---r -aiin--/ h 
 was to a^k t]i(^ K-ng o:' nin:dan- t- ov-'at Ins 
 authority to put i stop to the ja ^secution kj{ 
 Connt Koenig-marck.^ Thia allJr throws a 
 
 1 Gascar, born in Paris in 1635, died in Rome in 1701. 
 There are two portraits by him extant of the Duchess of 
 Portsmouth. One represents her with a Portuguese head- 
 dress ; the other, which has been engraved, shows her 
 defending .'gainst a cupid a bird that is in her lap. Gascar 
 ]>ainted aKo Henriette de Keroualle. The oldest portrait 
 of the Duchess is by Anthony Cooper, li must have been 
 done soon after she first arrived in England, Cooper having 
 died in 1670. There are also portraits 'by Kneller and 
 by Lely. Gascar's is at Hampton, and Mignard's at Ken- 
 sington. 2 Q^.f^ 26, 1681. 
 
 ^ iBarrillon to Colbert de Croissy, Nov. 24. 1670. 
 
250 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 str 
 
 i i 
 
 ■r> 
 
 lish manners in the rei(jn 
 
 of Chn.r!.'-; IT. 
 
 I.; !, I'.lizabetl; ! ; dauijhter of the last 
 
 V.'x:\ ni Xcrt'unnberiand, li'i 1 i^ T: married at 
 
 \:v <xy' ni tw^'lvf^ h.) Lur i <^ -^j:le, an^i was a 
 widow ;:i t!w tollow inj \ ;ir 1 Lt husband was 
 har-ih' in ti^^ ..:im\-'- \\;un >iu.: was abducted. 
 t -a! I r liMlland with Lady Tai- 
 -lia-\' iiaa r^rnrtcd her !■. j x'acht 
 lia^'d [■ a- !aa\ 1 he old 
 
 ••■1 ]->r r] n II ,;] ;;-| n J ( ' 1 T' \'f)l;fn- 
 
 . ■ 1 1 v.- i 1 V I ' _ i 
 
 pie, aa^ 
 
 
 t' L LM 
 
 r 
 
 _w. ? . ■ i i I *" ' "^ '^ 
 
 J L » 1 VV i >-^ I <_' S 5 
 
 f / . »-> -1 ■ ■ 1- >• 1 - 
 
 .4' X 
 
 
 ^ J 
 
 1 
 
 \\ iio luu 1 aa --taa 
 he was 
 
 Tin nne,^ ' f Longleat, 
 
 . /' I0,000 a \'-.a'. 
 
 1 ) . . t 
 
 n no la.^t* 
 
 1 ' 
 
 I tat. 
 
 1 \ i . y \ 
 
 Ivi J 
 
 she 
 
 she availed herseii 
 
 a;r a cogen; r^^asoia a^ 
 i ije. Ladv U-ic was 
 - * a :ais ; and a , 
 i' ceivcd and sold, 
 » ^^''et the 
 
 itaa 
 
 it i ' 
 
 .^ 
 
 ,-(-1 -j ^-. 
 
 
 1,11 
 
 T ' 
 
 I r V J a 1 i a \ a a ^ 
 
 »»1 i ■^ .■;? 
 
 ,id 
 
 side wiieri 
 
 hi 
 
 
 .^ U' 
 
 t v., L I U . L 
 
 S 
 
 ^ ai' at L-;v- t( • escape 
 ir^_'/La^ appeared at licr 
 ^*\'e evidence, and 
 
 ■ ' ' aa" \x tjiu buieainly 
 
 1 i 
 
 Hat tia"-o na.at;] 
 
 •> 
 
 Ta., , 
 
 ^ '['..-: Issacb; r '!' I ^ryden's Absalom and AchithopheL 
 2 Barrillon lo i ij iving, Affaires Eiravgeres^ Afiglcic ;r, 
 tume c\lvi., fol. 343. 
 
 SUNDERLAND AND SHAFTESBURY. 
 
 2;i 
 
 beino^ in L nralon, 
 
 w 
 
 (T 
 
 along 
 
 Pall Mall, at seven in tiu « \c ninor, attacked In 
 
 " ^ ^ '" arm^'nl mr^n, On^^- ''! ih^xa ari^a at 
 vaisket-balls, which c-najrcJ iar> hod\ 
 
 
 n ! n '^ 
 
 Count de Kcnn'a^ni: 
 
 ., ,.,a. 
 
 ■A,^" 
 
 
 nne 
 
 ui' the iiiarderers. He iiaa aspired to niarrv 
 
 i. ^ 
 
 Lady Ogle/ and wanted lu l)e ax-nged oa 
 
 l/h\nnc iur snatchinor har aja Tin- Luaat 
 wa . the lover a' Sophia Da thea, Llectress 
 
 ul i1aao\- 
 n ,. \ \. : .. 
 
 Lin 1 ' u(, ^. 
 
 t ' ^■■, ( 
 
 i\:ia,ina 
 
 ata 
 
 tn< 
 
 t K , i .1 
 
 iL I 
 
 Orleans, ;^^ i^rnicess 
 
 Itlactress k.* 
 correspondencn la 
 
 Kan:j of [o^ance aui-ra^rv-] to >a\a" an a^-a-"!n. 
 \\ ia.j a ; a. w as, once Li iti t i 1 1 o 1 1 iii c » i a i .. ^ ■ 1 i va 10,1 
 !ns behalf, impossible to liam:'. d'ia" la'o. 
 
 • \ 
 
 S( 
 
 I ; I i 
 
 was so 
 
 .aiaia'wa in tn.: 
 
 
 General taaa though in 
 
 if euilt WR^ 
 
 1 -■■> 
 
 no prooi 
 
 acquitted. The heiress wno, 
 
 fon^'tof-n, was twice widow = a, !' 
 [ when she was :^na 
 
 L i. . V. v_=^i , 
 
 •1 4, H., t i i 
 
 (ai-n uaalt}', 
 .aal lie was 
 
 a. 
 
 I ; V • , 
 
 i '.„ I 
 
 iifteen. 
 
 1 Swift, in doggerel verse, accused her f complici- ' 1 
 Thynne's murder. She avenged herself by, on her knees, 
 imploring Quewi Anne not to give him a bishopric. 
 That dull but amiable monarch said, a good man could not 
 have such a bitter enemy, and refused the see to Swift. 
 {Trans /a tors Note.) 
 
 \ 
 
252 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 The cS''AXV\ ''I 1.^^..;^ \\-a:. a.ccr»:n: ilished. 1 h- 
 ii''i(_i I: !'i;4'./iiie Ml L.]': \-e ■ ' ' W'- -:.,{■{ w<-^\v''n round 
 i^:r. Ciiarie-. ijccaiiu- ina't: ane more attached 
 to ii:> r-\'en-teni:^'orod mi -tress, wo') ]i:id 
 
 \\"f 'illil' 'rt::0 out WiUi ililil lUO StOl'lil (j! UlC 
 
 lU' hencefoih of exer- 
 
 ?»".•, 1 
 
 (' ' ^' '1 ' U I ' O ' ^O '! 
 
 Oart\' cina \ 
 
 ! :> 
 
 or 
 
 i leaded the Vv'-wch 
 
 .'^ Lis. 
 
 1 ; . ! i 1 ' ' = 
 
 i'- :_ O ! ■' : 
 
 t ho 
 
 [H 
 
 
 C3 
 
 1' iMnct: ...ma li 
 C(,>IlIui^:IlC'• III her iDfcc, liui" '^h(' did lO/i i^ar to 
 
 It had i^'-fjii lior dearr-^t w'-a: tn r^tar 
 l;"rench Court, the bCena ol '^ " ' 
 
 1 0) tae 
 
 atirjns, to biiHir ta^a'a a^^ tlv ni\-*ainte or i:;** 
 
 s 
 
 Ivni;^' oi hai^iana. .^aa ua:^a>-^i oi icii ij)U!s 
 o\' Word i.A niuatii aa ;die had dna^- t^ reduce 
 taa laati^ai railajii t^) ij" tlO' -.ai-hii^: ^-1 h ranee, 
 and to a btata ui ti arable subjection. liie 
 jH/riod iji iier \a-a. to hhraa..'- was ono of 
 spltaahid triaaiaa aiur ^^raiUied pride. r^ac 
 traanphcd ai oa- aa^-t hiaiHai^t Court hi lap 
 
 w'i ua r , aaii ai nua 
 
 , aiJ:^e 
 
 wao) aa..: 
 
 rnitaacai 1" reaica laci 
 
 hnowai har pO'U-, h amble, rarl i,/;.- 
 
 les 
 
 u 
 
 pon. 
 
 
 RETURN TO FRANCE. 
 
 Co \RT.F^ aiai aa^ I hjaao'^s o: 
 irirat*:-. 1 Irom caaii utraa' l'.. *i' 
 
 L i ■ 
 
 lji'\ 
 
 Of ai u laa'! 
 
 ! 6^2, th'? k] 
 
 I]-'' u'omo' 
 
 C'! 'aatior ] h.:t hafnr^ '~^' 
 
 I i? 
 
 tn ma* iUiiive 
 
 ir a< C') '"P- 
 
 ■t r,nt Kill'' w -"5 < C": "> 
 
 lul tu/ draw ni ad\~ 
 
 .iruo" I as ' aacU'ter oi la/r ; - -a 
 
 01 
 
 sion \v!aaa was to laH cia^^ at tiio (aia 
 
 i i i LU 1 1 1 1 . ..-n i o I i i u 1 1„ u V «^ i 
 
 "i 
 
 I(:'ttsws from tile K'l 
 
 1 a '• - ' i .. i I ,. ' 1 ( I i 1 V i i i. i J V I i • ._ i ; I ; 
 
 to LOS. a a. ia/r tia.,,- favour cenoyoJ h)' tia; h^haa,'SS 
 of Ca,'\^'lar!a, ai \h 
 
 awaau'"-', laaiaax" l 
 warn ^ao aaait t 
 ij J I la • (iiu -(aa" ^lie <ii:-i > 
 
 "1 f • 
 
 ' .■ y / • ' 
 
 a In 
 
 lOi 
 
 !h: a a~ 
 
 ? • --f 
 
 S , I \ 1 ' I 
 
 o , n "> 
 
 and ( ia.u'i 
 
 ^. o^ Villi i I * • i. -'"'^ i 1 t ,i i i T' 
 
 irtun sr^^uiKaia' aooiii i 
 
 t 1 H i J t > 1 "* 
 
 f ' * a 3 
 
 i )ai I in* sa 
 
 "^ M^'>]a,'\ A-r sc<a-..-t -^i'r\ Mas. f^sl. C^. 
 ' March 5, i6a:' 
 
 ^ Barrillon to King Louis, Marcli i 
 
 253 
 
 I 082. 
 
^3+ 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ' lie i.a:^ charged me to supplicaij }Our 
 
 (a ian \ a'ivate attnjr- a^ ' 
 
 i aa. ersalion to an : a^ x 
 
 ^ ! - ? ■ 
 
 - abject, 
 
 W ilr 
 
 •' ^no;a 
 
 " f ' ! ■ \ » 
 
 /a n- 
 
 ]c>t\' ^aa, > 
 
 a wiiiairaa li^e domain oi .\uhig-iiy 
 
 from thi: l/ruuai u^ ^:-\'f i: m l^cr. liai i ::au!o 
 liiin a 'a tiiat \i..r Maiest\ a ould orive her 
 
 1 -^ , L I - . L t r-iil. 
 
 a'ix'cn 111*/ na 
 iniun!aiia.ai. 
 ivna,'iara i w : 
 tr/rr-a--, Ti- 
 
 a^ :Diaj\\ii ^r^ uil, cua^^Li^iiii, dia^i \i\ 
 hjr \^aa- ?\La'--!,\-'s iat^ roasts, a.a i 
 
 i iC:^"^ 
 
 ;-v-tul hint< aa-1 pieces of 
 
 ^~>lie 
 
 '\ 
 
 He Jvuia yA 
 
 I* 
 
 (nemies < : 
 
 che^ 
 
 ^N i 
 
 1^ ^ris- 
 
 lanuia ;^ :\a:^ ovX mai ^-^at* is 
 
 a'niH'^'' to a iMiv^'' to 
 
 Th- Da-?heRS ^^mbarkcc! at Crrvaiwi':^!! on 
 buar/i ci Xiivail, uai-l \\,a~> ixlUal up purpo:^ai\ lui" 
 her. and laada 1 at i n-a-ue.'' She was received 
 
 u^ ci S(i\'<aa/ian al Liic 1' raii>_.i ^-^uuri a'ai aixaUaa 
 
 'It -^ t ( \, \\i \ - ^ ' ■ , 
 
 ) a 
 
 1 
 
 l a 
 
 / , 
 
 \ I. ' ^a* Li. 
 
 ' i ina :i said, ai iacppe ; Godolphin said, at Calais. 
 See Goduipiiia a* ijuibirode, in a letter preserved at Keele 
 Hall by ': K \ ^'^' Sneyd. 
 
 2 See correspondence of Preston, the English ambassador 
 
 to Lu.a^ :\1\'., wii.^a i- .a Xetherby Hall. 
 
 RETURN TO FRANCE. 
 
 255 
 
 inn^riu LUailes of her uauaipi al reception, and 
 
 he h,i-naa-n to .aaan-ss tu Tajuis "li!> best 
 
 t 
 
 ui' uic kin^ 
 
 \\ i\ i< > na ' 
 
 i n.ahess of Ibalnra ^a; 
 " 1 in re has never 
 
 tr.Mtia^aU she vwri-. 
 
 
 '»^, 
 
 . T 
 
 w 1 1 ness. 
 
 \ \ a* 
 
 ^n a niijii uulidaAa ^nc went 
 
 ta \a-n na: LapaLines ni ni'- Ka-- "p. ! lonore, 
 thr r'onp monk-. \vin> \\a,,aa,: told bch a/'linnM of 
 her inieniionj canic unt proLc^rnuncil])- Uj re- 
 cei\'t' liaia \vlt:i crr)KS. lio]\- wnt^aa :\".\^ nun-ai-a. 
 The\ i^'i_ai\aa h(.a" 
 queen, and iina,na ina," 
 
 ..ial i.ib U Sin: i'Klcl Uia. 
 
 11 
 
 (av! K-i,aaio- so niiuni 
 
 .■=> 
 
 \. 
 
 n.P 
 
 i"-' '■'''- '-^'^ 
 she spent sorn 
 
 an m 
 
 a. nan]), hn,«.; 
 
 . ♦- 
 
 
 Uii tin..: ant" 
 
 : oi 
 
 -a -a na- 
 
 An]d.:u\ nr; 
 
 . -;-< ' 
 
 a . ■' ■■■■- - ■; i ' ^- , • 
 
 ^-. h / '• \\ - = -.. ! ■ > ; 
 
 ■ ■ ■ * 
 
 th 
 
 , V 
 
 (.: W'.i 
 
 J , 
 
 U 1 J ^ 
 
 l, u 
 
 Kin ni tan,' n]a.!(,.nt" i.^ 
 
 s I . I ',. 
 
 "\ T 
 
 Conntr^^-; I 'I ki.arna'' 
 three weeks, ann i 
 tow lids the middk: ui 
 Ikauany. She showa d hn 
 
 ]:nrr 
 
 i \ ■ t ■ 
 
 
 ' r s p f I 
 
 ' n 
 
 -rcr 
 
 .ir 
 
 aiK 
 
 C nrt a month 
 
 DusieP iicrbUii n n. n iii\c:riiiaj' ilie 
 
 ^ Ea'its inedits de St. Simon^ t ir ]i a'^r 
 2 See the Preston correspondence, at a nJierby Hall and 
 at Keelc IL ;. 
 
256 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 fortune which she had amassed in Knoland. 
 
 it wn^ 'i^-al at th- ■pno-li^,'i C.-r.n i 
 
 \^ 
 
 i 1 1 <_■ ! iL 
 
 lil 1 ' )1 f ■ i 
 
 ^t 'CUi'il.C:-*. 
 
 York tru-t 
 
 ! - ■ t •-\ , , >-' i 
 
 whose deatii 
 
 1 ( i -> ( 
 
 "! r !■( 
 
 '1 r ■ \\' 
 
 .{ r6o,ooo to 
 't.^ o!i i-.L/hino- of 
 - Ill :(.: ( MHcerned. Barrillon 
 \n lodcre \vu\ monr-i' in ;:i 
 
 die 
 
 f ni; rums, in t^ie name 
 
 iH' 
 
 ( 
 
 1 i I i ' ■ 
 1 o 
 
 i «- t I I ; 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 ''''- -- '-'1 LuLii.^u ivcruL.alle 
 it^ r 'flex action '-i I.ond'.n v. hen 
 
 uH.-ared ih-r- ai liic uiid of' July, 1682. 
 
 usiy," n ui-illon 
 
 'aa^^e. She a ad 
 
 i t •„ I 
 
 T1 t 
 
 
 1 
 
 treated lu 
 
 1 • 
 
 i i i a u a u,i ; 1 1 \ ana 
 
 sa 
 
 tiaj In.ikc 
 
 ui 
 
 > a> '■ 
 
 V * ■'' 
 
 sa* iiv t * s 
 
 I f » I ri 
 
 ( iM 
 
 d'^ Xf \ 
 
 ■ 1 »! 1 1 
 
 Cu\ 
 
 7 ! i 
 
 -d rha ( 
 
 
 1 ■ ! u ; , i ,, i L ^ * , f 1 a 
 
 ^ t a nunia^e paid 
 
 k^ -arisldne, gilding 
 
 i' iiu uJjject." Tt 
 
 i'al ; and tia- (ij/'d 
 fat,':-, traaa^ no Irai ^^a' ^aw h*-f' Jm-. ...n',. ,■.*•:, ..^^ 
 
 Mer pow-r becana- !ncont--aaJv \ ark ;a-r cool- 
 ness ()\ i\'i\x^x ,ina aa:-'a.juaa' a^- \t'-:-"Mi^qnoss 
 ^^■"■ni t- aav'* k--a favoiiraiu)- judged a=a die 
 
 ^ Barrillon to Colb'i a M f; r')82. 
 
 ' Jul) -:a r -. 3 Oct. 18, 1682. 
 
 & 
 
 RETURN TO FRANCE. 
 
 257 
 
 political men in France, ha kia a> himself sent 
 
 k'i- waaaj diat la/ ia.a la- lullcr^t conlidence ki 
 
 lajf 
 
 i i 1 '■ lit, V I 
 
 i /. 
 
 )!naaLa 
 
 d so k.ai 
 
 c^ 
 
 
 . 1 i , 
 
 1 1. 1 1 i i . 
 
 tlioiaau it was du- 
 
 c '. ) 
 
 v^ •-. M 1 . ■"' L i i 4. 
 
 \aian 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 ^e 
 
 i le 
 
 aa'. and that th^TC was to be 
 
 r\o suspicious 
 
 hang-ing- back from an 
 
 •C>"';3 
 
 \ hcLSj aaii 
 
 ae recom- 
 
 mended. It b-canir" dangeroiis to cr 
 
 the 
 
 P 
 
 U 1 I i i L, \\ '-J 
 
 lU i \\aia waiD lu ai_ iajiiceiortil 
 the link betweeai two kings of great nations. 
 The Dutch minister, Vanbeunemyraa k anicd lo 
 his cost how ill-advised he was t ; ; tand in 
 her way. He thought well to eall attention 
 to her familiarii) with Barrilloii, vdiose access 
 to hrr at ak ia^ars showed a corakaaice and 
 a close iauau,i^\ which couki laa-ki-v' lak to 
 give umbrage to the Kin ;• of Fn viand's allies. 
 Louise i-joi^ offence at his remark, an^i com- 
 plained tn tiie king of his want of respect for 
 her. Vaubeuneno-en offered lurrnallv i > bee 
 her pardon, and to give her any expla a tion 
 th a would show how^ far he was !ra:a ai aing 
 to oftend a lady for whom his Britannic Majesty 
 showed such o;reat reijard. iic was evaa will- 
 
 ^ Oct. 20, 16S2. 
 
 s 
 
258 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLH, 
 
 ;:M ^^' r;^" ^'' th^ roonii t the Duchess at 
 
 \\ ilI^•!iail and t> ^ apologir.*- liirrc. 
 
 I ii'.-^ MiHjcii !a r-'/.i niMi^^cJ IKT ladies U) be 
 dfjcrciitial tow ird:^ tia' ia\ajiirit'.a ()ne of 
 Catlajiaiir's maids of iioiiour, rdidis Toniplf,' 
 had the boldne-s to >!)*ak ill of tiio Diadio 
 
 :hb 
 
 boioro Lad\- (oMiwaw who nicanl\' and hiini- 
 bl}' ran on to donMimct' her. The nuidi'S--. 
 wno had the Laii < >t tr'ar>, wept and coin[uained 
 to the (jiieen, \\lio dei>ri\-ed ^Ii^^. dd-nipit- kA a 
 (quarter's saair\'. 
 
 I iie I)acae:3:5 abi/.a"ai wa^- t^x* nb^rrx-ani tt) 
 renuuii una* ai^cif )Un ')t th" naaadian la-ieiit i<j 
 wiiicn 1 
 
 .< 'U;-)l. :3 
 
 
 -■J^h a ;^^H'd ^race t< > a secondar\- rank ni the 
 
 ^'-■i'-^i^^a. She souo'lit a rriniOf ■la-ation *n 1 
 
 
 W't *[e • 
 
 epaaaaain 
 
 witn i)ersons wi eas\- murals, i .hjiv 
 
 ^^'dy tv.!.^ things wideli (U>tnr])ed her 
 serenity. Her inccar^' wa-. iiul 
 ^•q^-^' tu ia-r eatoaises ; and. !aa' hu-'aiai n.,t\a]uy 
 wainUraWii ner pen:Diun, c^he de|"aid?-d entn;'-iv 
 
 )n Cliarie-^' 
 ^r':ierrira 
 tni; exi )*,/n:>L: ^ -A : nana . ; 
 
 s generos;t\- 
 
 tian \b 
 
 1 .e." i\an 
 
 t ' , 
 
 
 HI 
 
 iau\ , 
 
 t h 
 
 a ' 1 \ • ■ e ' 
 
 ^ Ixtter 
 dated, Oct. 
 
 1 Verney's possession at Ckiydon House, 
 
 RETURN TO FRANCE. 
 
 2^9 
 
 I 
 
 ^'i 1 ranee was again pressed ij make him orive 
 
 her an annnitv. Charles snaieaaited iLa-ird-n' 
 
 L< 
 
 o toil iii^ in.,i:3Ler wrait cUi tHjiaaai 
 
 t s: i 
 
 conHa- on h'aa if he extaaed \\\> a.aa-ra\- in 
 
 behah ol liif,; k)acia.!ss i\kiza.r;]a wrr* had ra a. 
 recei\-ed :\i\\ rendtiance lor iwx) \</ars fnaii 
 h ranee. Siuj ahnnst sunukane )iisl\- a--art-vl die 
 and)a:-,^nu.k)r that she had not era\'?-d tia- ^o^-a 
 OHiei/'S oi i.hara:s, iiecausc^ sla* jdaaed ,ia ia-r 
 ho|)es in lia.' boant\" arul [jrotectioii of k.i)ai>. 
 
 \-i\^'- other cause of tnande to th^- Daalass 
 iNkizarni, wer^ tin,: im[jortimitie 
 
 C3 
 
 i\' r*'taniro an 
 
 i c i i 
 
 ^^iaj so wa'ea,b.aaai 
 
 wauca :^ae wa-^ ;ain.fu. uait iaa- >aLaalion ol ka:a'':> 
 
 mistress did ih^i ai-i)in- aavr, ( k- erevent her 
 
 Iroiii beino- ili,- ,i\>\,xx <a na: most rom.aiuc 
 and iriir^iori.tte adoratnea An^'r the Tkxace of 
 
 . o u ; 
 
 her 
 
 
 two da\'s 
 
 "1 ^ • i v 
 
 up- 
 
 -til O/l 
 
 a t\\ f \ears, absorbed ai 
 liie id rtnoruese A^ascon- 
 
 cellos,^ who did not see that die blindness 
 
 nan an obioct of" ridicule — 
 
 Ol his ]o\'e niad 
 after Mvaiia 
 
 "c^ > 
 
 v\aa.) ra.oaec 
 
 u a ajr i.er sake the 
 
 *■ J; 
 
 iFeb. 9, 1682 
 
 2 Dom Luis de Vasoncellos y Souza, who had been in 
 London from 1667. 
 
:6o 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 poiiLcal Intrigues un i:ie success ui 
 
 .ircd am 
 
 1 1. 
 
 1 1 
 
 n f • ■ ) ' 
 
 . .: i ( 
 
 ■ L \. t. t V V - i. i 1 A . ' 
 
 L i 
 
 [■ reiiL;;;;:an, hi/r own 
 
 I .. , ' I • ■ 
 
 H » : 
 
 1 ; ■ ■ 
 
 r ■?' 
 
 ixf -ri.). 
 
 I n 
 
 x'ol.: ;■ '■ 
 
 l*:r S >i )[], W Ihj 
 
 
 iL 
 
 i -^ L .:v:\\iiUjr do S()i>-oiis. hctu.r knuwii do 
 PririCc Eugene do Sci\'(,)\"-Cari^'nan, canaf,^ to 
 London and lei! in !u\o wiUi ins aunt. Haron 
 de Dainor. son of one of tlic generals of Gusta- 
 vus Adolphus, was al-o captivated b\' licr. 
 riie\- iiad botli attracted attontion |j\- tlu-ir 
 hectoring airs and tlio L:rcat lonnui of tlioir 
 bworeir^, winch dra--od on tho pa\cniont a:-. 
 ^*^e\' -:rodo along. 1 ho\' ^row joaiou-. of eacii 
 other, and ion^iu a ou'-l in wiiicii Hain^-r was 
 1 no conduit ann:-^d vm: Court of \^v^ 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 hanios/^ \'''-\>-rr 
 
 \ . i i O 0-„ II. 
 
 e\'cs C'\ a arari: 
 
 ..a^uob w^^Miaorou ai in 
 doing snr- execute n 
 
 M.LL[..mQ anwi.u.n, when i mice Eugene killed 
 de Bainer wn^, tin- mother of a son and three 
 gruwa-up daughn r^. The second daughter 
 wu;. :\bbess of [. , n-- \ oungest had m.nried 
 
 tne nLn'nm^ llo D-llefonts in i68i , .md the 
 euu ri, ..em in- nun r wanted, in spite of her 
 a\'ersion to a religions lifre tn ta-o' the veil f^ot 
 
 ^ le Sevigne, Nov. 26, 1684. 
 
 h 
 
 RETURN TO FRANCE, 
 
 261 
 
 the Marquis de Richelieu to run awa\' with her 
 
 ir-ni m- (.. 
 ana n n -; > 
 elsewien'e, w 
 
 nU.a, 
 
 ; i i 1 V 1 I I i i i 
 
 I oi ol^'. AKnie ol L. 
 
 I O 't ' U L ^ ■ .'. : I . .• > . I e I a 1 V I 
 
 tne \'oun: 
 
 lio V > n i I i 
 
 connnnn 
 
 an eUvS anii i )tiii 
 
 weis 
 
 o ( ■ n ' ) r 
 
 Grenoiain la ld*.ip|je, ani! An^'']">, n^ ti^ vdietiaT 
 he siiouid consent to tla.' nn:nnww-o of tla:^ 
 fugitive's. l)oth tannlics were for hating th(mi 
 get married. Ihit the Duke i\Iazarin went on 
 askinu; theoloc'ical consultations ; and tlie run-- 
 awav cotinle we>uldi have been oijlin'ecl to n'o on 
 as lovia" and mistress, if tiie king had not intr;r- 
 ieredd At the end oi two xaea'^ tin! >rrui)n- 
 
 1 «,_/ I S 
 
 IS ~^ 
 
 \' Dioas iathor was forcal to nive his 
 
 con-^i-nt 10 marnnno. 
 
 but siieiwr'd Id 
 
 nw r^eeciar 
 
 by rei n-^nv; to gwn:^ a dr^wiw (>t 
 -oo.ooof File k'na sijncd r. n:n^.!( 
 
 T 1 ; 
 
 o tiian 
 
 ^n the hfst 
 
 ev^er uranted leu" iiu.: abuuelion at a ncnee:' from 
 her convent.^ Hut the jvikits of \v']A iib^'ni\' 
 contru.cted wh^n ;d]- w.r- an, oiiliaw pre\'ornj.^J 
 . do Richeiiend w n<- from <ettlin^ il^rxn 
 
 A 
 
 qni'^o-.'. ii' ' nuo^anrl, fora'anng h«^w ho ;nid 
 Lai ill her to u^e ^aaihn-dnener-.^ eioirmed inn" m 
 
 ijan. T683. 
 
 - IrvNGEAU, Sept. 5, and Oct. 17, 16S4. 
 
2^2 
 
 LOUISE 
 
 i 1 1 
 
 f:i.IWUALLE 
 
 i 1 i 
 
 1. 
 
 I i H ^ 1 1 j 1 
 
 i ii* • 
 
 1 
 
 U 1 I' Ml 
 
 nl 
 
 la'-fMH 
 
 T 1 ■ / , ! 
 
 i I 1 ' i 
 
 WiiiCll nIk 
 
 .i\\ .i\ , i >\' ( liirii lii 
 
 (>\'''V till' wall/ 
 
 1 iif- m^'tn^T was in(»rn!a'«] at laa" daii-htia-'s 
 afhaaitiii-''^ and at Prina<- iui •<■!)' ■'■, (!ur| She 
 ta]kc(l oi cnila-arni- a ( oiucntnal lil<-, aixl oT Ik i' 
 sa!utar\' saijiicss and divju^l wiili cvcrv tliiri". 
 Saint li\ rcniond, in (*I<a'antl\ Imiicd stan/as 
 pamt'-d Iv'V hiack nv-LuKhoK ^ iVoni which she 
 cvcntuall)' fouiul a solacr in (ha'nk. Alcan- 
 wliilc thr pas-^ion for <^Mm1)h'nL^ took posa-s^ 
 siun ol her, and w.is a caus" of cha-'i-in lo her 
 poetic adorer, wlio speaks of 10S2, as the vcar 
 in whicli tlie preponderance of the I )uchess of 
 Port^nioiitli became dehnitive, and li(a' rival's 
 kna: lor basset _L(ot to an inc an-abk- h(a*L;ht. She 
 parsed her nii^hts at the carcbtabk-, where she 
 lield the bank, and Un'j^oi Maurice her ]>urfoon, 
 C1io[j ha:r do_c(, Pussy her cat, and Pretty lier 
 parrot. Of Roman origin, she was accaised of 
 anci<ait Roman vices, which she mixed up with 
 modern French and luiidish moch:s of sinnin'j. 
 In tlie davtimc, she searche-d fcjr Oriental 
 curio.^ilie--. in the ships that liad fre^jdy arrived 
 from India. At Newmarket, she was up and 
 
 1 Dam a AC, A|-ri: t, i 703 
 
 i 
 
 A'AVY/AW 'JO FRANCE. 
 
 263 
 
 ^aa oil ho!'',i a ., i( \s , at h\'(" !;i !!;<• iniaaiifV'" 1 )\i 
 rat \i\-\ A,\\ ■, \ \\iVi- wx \r I h<- <■ \. ih na iil-, * .1 1 m t 
 '•ni-. and <»j heln"; Jo'al.d in (la* (ro\\(i which 
 ''U'Ja d to ',(•(• the he)i";,e;, Oil ihe coai.r. In 
 the ev<aiin;' l]i«a-c was the llaal'/e and Sh.ik 
 spf-aro's pl.i\s, wkn< h, as w< T .r, ih<- kaadch 
 dr. una of the p<aio<k Sanil k \ r< niond th(»ii'ahl 
 Ledioir,. .Mt(a' tho pla\' eam<' tla'oyarr sup 
 p<'i', .iiid then bas,(t. ,\bidame .\bi/aiin had 
 at Newinark^a Ina- rei-ulai- conil of ladies. 
 Resides Lady Har\'-v, she was walched 
 wilh admiration by i\bid'anoisclle l>cv<a-\va-<-rt 
 Nassau,' whom she called Rotle, and em[)loyed 
 to serve at lier toiktto. The other kiii 
 lollow(a"s W(a-e .\b'sd« inois<-ll< s (!<• Hra"<-|on'- 
 OiaanCr, and de la Ro< h<'LMnllie!n, the novelist. 
 I his _i;roup of wonnai did not att< mpt to cross 
 ihe path ol Roin'se de K(aouall<* after lier 
 r<Iuin liom PiMnce. I b-r pow<'r was thence- 
 iorth imdispiit'al and indi;.piitable. 
 
 ' I );im;'1i1'T i,\ I'liii'c Loin:, ol N.i )',aii^ t Ijc jitilcli am 
 h;i .'..nlot to Wijih li.ill. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 EXD OF THE REIGN 
 
 The Duchess of Portsmouth also held gam- 
 bhng tables and a bank in her rooms. But the 
 excitement of cards did not entirely absorb her. 
 She pia\'ed at the more dangerous pastime — 
 amorous intrigue with Philippe de Vendome, 
 Grand Prior of France. 
 
 This French nobleman was erandson of 
 
 Henri IV. and la Belle Gabrielle, and son of 
 
 the Duke de Vendome and Laura ?ylancini, 
 
 sister of the Duchess Mazarin. He came to 
 
 London in 16S3, when he was twenty-ei^>-ht, 
 
 had a bright wit, was singularly handsome, but 
 
 did not pass for being brave. He slipped out 
 
 of a duel about the Duchess de Ludre with 
 
 M. de Vivonne by ridin^:' off to the country 
 
 and slid out of the army on the eve of the 
 
 battle in which Turenne w^as killed. This 
 
 descendant of Henri IV. was received and 
 
 retained in London by the Duchess of Ports- 
 
 264 
 
 1. 
 
 » 
 
 EXD OF THE REETX. 
 
 ~ 3 
 
 mouth with a tenderness so undisguised as to 
 excite the raillery of the whole Court. 
 
 The watchful and crafty Barrillon did not 
 like this.^ He saw^ that the kini: took um- 
 brage at Louise's fondness for the Grand Prior, 
 and that now and then he showed himself 
 suspicious and ilbhiimoured about him. But 
 these fits did not last long. Prudence should 
 have made the Duchess of Portsmouth order 
 the Grand Prior to return to France. But she 
 w^as so happy to have him with her that none 
 of her friends had the courage to tell her what 
 she ought to do. To advise her to separate 
 trom de Vendome w^ould have displeased her. 
 Sunderland feared that the king's suspicions 
 w^ould become angry convictions, and bring on 
 a rupture. Nevertheless, although she did not 
 banish the Grand Prior, she continued to find 
 favour in the eyes of Charles.- The leading 
 ministers kept in close intimacy with her. 
 Her enemies were alert to do her mischief, but 
 she w^as no less so to defeat their mali^'nitw 
 Sunderland, in spite of the fears he expressed 
 to Barrillon, took care to be on oood terms 
 
 ^ Earrillon to Louis, June 17, 1633. 
 2 Eoid.^ Ji-ine 28, 1683. 
 
 f 
 
.rr. 
 
 LOrisE HE KEROrALI.E. 
 
 with M. de Veiidome, whom he asked to dine 
 at his house. The suspicions that Louise was 
 playing the wanton with her countryman, did 
 not prevent Louis from keeping up with her 
 an autograph correspondence, and charging 
 TiHadet, his Lieutenant-General and Ca['tain 
 of his Cent Suisses, when he sent him on a 
 mission to Charles, '' to remain in constant 
 relations with ^Madame de Portsmoutli." ^ 
 
 That envoy informed the VJwv^ of LVance'" 
 that, on reaching London, he called on the 
 favourite, and informed her that he had been 
 ordered to tell her in what hi'-ii re-'ard his 
 Majesty held her, and to assure her that he 
 desired to give her proofs of his friendship in 
 all sorts of occasions. She received the mes- 
 sage with signs oi the deepest respc'ct, and 
 pra)'ed the Lieutenant-General to sa\- to his 
 ^Liiestx' how unfortunate she esteemed herself 
 in not Iiax'ing been so tar al)le to prove to him 
 her Lrratitudt\ and Imw sorrx' she was that his 
 Majer^t}' had been obliged to contt.:nt himself 
 with L'ood intentions onlv. 
 
 UIV 
 
 ^j, n-^ ^ tcin 
 
 C ( 
 
 - Aut.-i 
 
 I j'i 
 
 iCiiC! (j! 
 
 .. tMl. 124. 
 
 ', . l^f'iir' :, I-Jfiin- 
 
 'cTzi 
 
 , .-//,'.:/: .-7 ;v. I'jW 
 
 iiC ( 
 
 :u;. v-^y. 
 
 EXD OF THE REICX. 
 
 ■r,- 
 
 Charles beheld, with no unmoved counte- 
 nance, the Grand Prior's visits. Not that he 
 dared voluntarily to show his displeasure. His 
 will was flaccid, and he was too conscious of 
 that limp state which throws worn-out epi- 
 cureans under the domination of their mis- 
 tresses. He, however, tried by peaceable 
 means to c:et rid of \'end6me's odious ])resence. 
 
 To this end he asked Barrillon, through 
 Sunderland, to forbid the Grand Prior to visit 
 the Duchess of Portsmouth, in whose rooms 
 the grandson of Henri W. and the Ik-autiful 
 Gabrielle did not appear for four or five daNs."^ 
 But this absence made her irresistildv attrac- 
 tive to him, and he renewed his attentions. 
 The kin^", finding this out, thought it a reason 
 for expelling the Grand Prior from b^ngland. 
 Barrillon undertook to break to him Charles's 
 intention in the gentlest wa\' possilde, and 
 thouelit to make liim go awav (luietlw kbat 
 I\L de \'end<^me declared he would on]\- leave 
 
 wlieii tile ^^-ni-- 
 
 i\ i i. i . 
 
 liiniselt orcUTtil bin 
 
 1 b\' w« *r J u 
 
 mouth to iro. and requestiMJ the ;uiib.i>-a- 
 demand for him an audit-nce. Barrill 
 
 (•r to 
 
 prevent a storm, (H)tainei.i. after much 
 
 i(ni, 
 
 1 1 1 - 1 
 
 .( ) 
 
 i.are 
 
 u I.oni-. X')v 
 
 r.,^- 
 
26S 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 
 ^. ' i 1 
 
 tor til-' draih: 1 
 
 i i( 
 
 t<) ^r-r-'tk to 
 
 his Mair:>L\- in hi:^ chain! w-r. 
 
 Tiicrr he at- 
 tempted to jii^tif}- hiniscir; l)iit the kin-' declincil 
 to b.old con\'ersation on th.e snhio'ct, and would 
 not rescind his decision. Idie Grand Prior chd 
 not make any |)r(;[)a rat ions for leaving", wanted 
 Ikirrilion to refuse to intimate to him the order 
 to c[uit England, and, althoui^h menaced with 
 "he disjdeasure of Louis, refused to tear him- 
 self from Wdiitehall. 
 
 Charles sent for the French Ambassador, 
 who pra\'ed him ncU to imposf: on hum the 
 harsh necessity of telling- tlie Grand Prior that 
 he must quit the countr\'. After Ic^ttiuL^^ the 
 matter draL;" some da)-s, Lieutcnruit (iriffm, of 
 the Mousehold Guard, intimated t(^ M. de 
 \ enddme that if lie did n.ot leave in two davs 
 he had orders to arrest him and [)ut liim on 
 board a packet which was to sail f)r Calais. 
 'I ii(j distracted l(:)\a:r still held out. 1 [r ofiered 
 to ^o to tiie country, or to q'o to France, prcv 
 vided he were cilluwed to come luick to bui^'- 
 land. At the secret entreat}' of Loui-.e, who 
 wanted to avoid a scriudcd, P)arrillon com- 
 municated these propo.^als to Charles. P>ut he 
 remained tlrm to the messai^e he had >ent b\- 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 269 
 
 (jril'm ; and bo iTie Grand Prior sailed at the 
 end (ji Xox'euujer lur lloUand. 
 
 The {rieudb k:A the Duchess of PortsuKiuth 
 breathed agam lreel\-, and she lound rcdief in 
 the absence ol tlie lancv lover. She had been 
 in terror lest the Grand Prior should think she 
 was ]da\ine' a douljle -^ame, and show the 
 
 X #' i.rj> <_e> 
 
 letters lie had received from iier. He was as 
 much stimulated b}' ambition as love to stick to 
 her, he hoping to derive great advantages and 
 consideration Irom a liaison with her. Up to 
 the moment that the ship in wdiich he sailed 
 left her moorin.gs, the Duchess of Portsmouth 
 was in dread oi a public scene. 
 
 Louis Xl\h, ot wliose foreii^n policv the 
 Duchess was still a necessary agent, helped 
 her through this scrape. He ordered the 
 Due de Yenduuie to wadte to the Grand 
 Prior to inform him that he was free to return 
 to the Court oi Pd'ance, Vv-here he would meet 
 witli a b 'Iter reception than his l)adi cop.duct in 
 Ln-land iiad uiveii him a rii^ht to exi»ect. 
 
 Pile Grauul ^b)narch liimsell instructed Ikar- 
 rillon to let Maidame ele Portbrioiith know how 
 he h:idi sent Cri>iss\- to warn lier lo\"er, tlKit if 
 e\-er \v:. ^aid a v;c.>rd to her disadwuUa^e. he 
 
} ' 
 
 2JO 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROVALLE. 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 wuiua iiujLsr iiis rcstMitri-nt,' !!«• -poke to tlic 
 same ctfcct to the iJuc d- X'ciivL .iH", so that 
 the kid}' mi-ht ktd a^^urcd she would not be 
 in k>auce an object of raihery or slander. 
 Indeed, Louis expre>st'd his will so clear!)', 
 that the Grand Prior never opened his lips 
 about his Wdiitehall adventure, which was kept 
 so dark that the Due d'Orleans, wdio ol)tain(xl 
 some inklin^r of it, either from the kino- his 
 uncle or th(! Dc Vend(*)mes, f^mcied the object of 
 the Grand IVior's passion was one of Charles's 
 minor concubines. He would not have paid 
 any attention to the matter if he had not been 
 amused at the audacity of a for^'i-ner in brav- 
 ing a king in his own State and at his own 
 Court. 
 
 I he Duchess oi I'ori^in^ *uih, in Ivr r<:]atir:)ns 
 witn tile (orand i'rior, liad f a-nie^l 
 opinion of him tluit. nutwitiistandi:] j ti 
 ^A Loui:^, bUe tearod an 
 of lier i'-tters. 
 
 ne^^7 Wa^, ^:^> I H;i-:^i>Li:ne' 
 
 liagu^;. and sa\-ing ii'- won^o i-'ouni to i,, ,. ., ... 
 *^n oTw^'r. at lu:r m-eonc;'. was ^^Mit to ]^'-i from 
 
 ^ Dec. 3T. 1683. The Duke of Vendome was eldest 
 brother ot" u.c Grand Prior. 
 
 mi: ' lit 
 
 a iy)'^ 
 
 W L 
 
 niaue 
 
 W hat >ii'f :n^ ohcU' '1 ! h^ -x up^ ■ \ 
 
 ' ' » ' • 1 ^ tie L i I V._ 
 
 ! 
 
 271 
 
 hoff 
 
 1 JT ' \ ' ! t \^: 
 
 ' i L i £ \ 
 
 Ver^ai!!-'-. to orocred t 
 breach aniLKiNsador was instructed, that if he 
 showcvl liimself in Eni^land, Kim: Charles was 
 to be encouraged to use his authorit)' in having 
 him arrested and expelled/ so that the 1 )uchess 
 of Portsmouth was to be exposed to no further 
 annoyance. In due time the Grand Ihdor ap- 
 peared at Versailles, and thus ended noiseless!)' 
 an affair which had been a cause of deep anx- 
 iety to Louise de Keroualle.^ 
 
 Charles, during this period of his reign, 
 received /^'oOjOOO a year from Louis. The 
 receipts were signed b)- Rochester, wlio alont% 
 wdth the Duchess of Portsmouth, was in the 
 secret oi this transaction. Me u'as a lu'other of 
 the Duke of York's first wife, ddie I Hike of 
 Rochester and Louise were on tlio l)o^w under- 
 standing With eacli other, and Uie\' thi-oc direc- 
 ted, all tile aifan's ui the R^A'al t.nnih-. Wdien 
 tile kiuke ot \ ork was looknig lor a nialcli lor 
 'Ci^X dauiiluer, tho ik'incess Anne, he 
 
 , jn t ilo 
 
 was charired to 
 
 si^ ^ hinb )rzo i^n 
 
 hie 
 
 coUsUitevi iiie loUiaio::?^ 01 ioiLsinoULii 
 
 ,,» p.,,-^. 
 
 cho!c<.! of a husbaiiii 
 
 QI1 . » 
 
 a-crrinn,! 
 
 I'ruict! t 1 
 
 I t • , . ' '.. T •« T 
 
 00 
 
 : '. ' 1 I 
 
 i H 
 
 a i 
 
 i 1 i C 
 
 f,"^ 
 
 2 Jan, 1681 : Feb. 18, 1^^8,1. 
 
f. 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 likeness c^f t'V' 
 
 I\. i 11 ' u 
 C5 
 
 Princess to Copenhagc!!^ liK 
 
 iJ_:iiii^rk replied U) sending hi^ iniiiia- 
 tirr s -t in brilliants i - ^h?- D ichess.^ In I.'n- 
 don th^ ^if: /.\i:> c:^LiiMaU:d at 1,500 guineas. 
 
 rocco came to 
 
 When the ambassadors of 
 London, it was not the Uueen or Duchess 
 of \'ork, but the Duchess of Portsmouth, 
 who entertained them. She received them, 
 surrounded by all the mistresses who were 
 admitted to the Court. These dames, — the 
 accomplished Evelyn spoke of them as 
 '* cattle," — were as splendid as flowered tabby 
 dresses, point lace, and jewels could make 
 them. They blazed in diamonds. Chocolate 
 was served to them all. When Louis Ouatorze 
 ordered the Marquis de Preuilly ^ to sail up the 
 Channel without deigning to send a notification 
 to Charles, it was she who undertook to show 
 the kinor that this was not to be taken as a sign 
 of want of respect or friendliness, and that his 
 best course was to make believe it was con- 
 certed between the two sovereigns. Otherwise 
 those who wanted to detach him from France 
 
 ^ Barrillon to Colbert. 
 
 * Affaires Etrangeres, Angleterre^ tome cxlix., fol. 401. 
 
 ^ Barrillon to King Louis, June 21, 1683. 
 
 |i 
 
 '^■// / ;v//V////-/<^/- 
 
 ^ 
 ■t 
 
 f pi 
 
END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 273 
 
 would see in it an opportunity to weigh upon 
 
 [Q.an on 
 
 4-1,,, 
 
 cnnntr\*. 
 
 
 as a colleague. 
 
 lairrUiUii, waiu wa^ ^ij aai'vjit aw-I ci\Ui\\ treated 
 
 W niai I la/ i^ ;'aa.a-^s .A laie 
 was rnarriiH.], she a--k--d iaai wiicUier ta^: Court 
 o\ \k i-aiUes would not sea a a special envoy 
 to lia: a^eddinor ? 11' ira^wered . \\ju and I will 
 
 o 
 
 sufina M) pay all the compliments, and ir would 
 
 In.' .L aastake lor uersoa^ ai uar -aUKah^n to ask 
 iwi a special Embassy to be sent." 
 
 Hie good anvaT>tanding between tii-: ta-o 
 au aaia:a:i u.c^ heightened b\- a aixairable tara 
 ia public opinion, wliica was hrmrrlit about av n 
 blaaaurai ■' aK..a. r)urav.: uid iruasides of ar^jm- 
 Well aaa fanatical ra'eacla/rs, lainiinq' aatli sliame 
 ;aai nalienatiua at the debauchen uf kin^ and 
 la aaa. .aai the coiaj/aaa in \v:a:ai Kncrland was 
 held a.arriad, ■/■ -n-'nrv/d i^y.::-.-ih--\ a- a-r^a'-'-aiialc 
 Ciauh -, who, they discovered, wa. aa Man of 
 hia aa.d die boil ol' !^Tdition. The iniauities 
 (M aaa and his Court were rotting the hbres of 
 la': [Kition. and brinofingf God's disnl^asnn upon 
 a, a^ -hown in severe varans-. i/ruUuiged east 
 winds, the ereat fim. the niataua snaiiapox, and 
 the disrespect into which tiuj nunc a a.ngland 
 had fallen. That tiiere was a plot, is estab- 
 
 ' H 
 
274 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 
 But the names nf the plotters are not 
 
 MJ W' -i! i-:!V ■;'/;;, 
 
 t^ irn; 'ir:it- ti • pnncipal member c! :;: t ir) 
 , a;, a the judcres, \".;l: ihuir habitual 
 
 ^'uii iui'i liiC lillI'' ^ ! iness 
 
 i ! ) -^ 
 
 ~ ■ . i V i i . w , 
 C I 1 ^5t L 
 
 J 
 
 
 f' ? 
 
 ■!n 
 
 
 ^'^ . ,' ! • 
 
 '^'laftesbury 
 ' i'*:'' li bcene, ai^l .\1- 
 netieadf',!, T;v arrest of 
 Heved ihc pciiLi:.an- f l I rench 
 ^^^ --- ii" : : a :rong rail yi nor- point f^,, \^ 
 advt ivirics. Charles had turn, a arainst his 
 eldest son a;: 1 spoke l\ iiicallv about him/ 
 l-^Ti (ir-\ aaJ been among iliose tried, at- 
 tainted, ai: 1 condemned lo death. After his 
 exocin'nn the King's hear' na h- d and he 
 '^^^•-'^ ^^^ it >• re his confiscatr-i estates to 
 ^'^'' ca aai' n of the unfortunate nobleman. But 
 the iiiiiv alien wi the Duchess of ruri^mouth 
 P^''-''-' - tl^e desired act of restitution; and 
 '-^'^ ^v^^^ -i ' tu obtain hr herself and la r friend 
 R-chesl a- 1 ,a;aa of aii that had belonged 
 Lu Lura liro\-. Rochester and GndoipUin were 
 '" -t:-r -a : a : -. t I - ichess, who judged 
 --- ^ apprise the latter oi the secret treaty 
 >viih i r a ce, and of the different subsidies which 
 
 ^ Barrillon to Louis, July 12, 1683. 
 
 - Ibid., Affaires Etrangaes, Angletare, tome clvi. fol. 30. 
 
 -' 
 
 ■I 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 
 Charles had received from Louis XIV. She 
 vent a lea lu do herself th^ honour to write to 
 the King of France to answer for the intentions 
 aad rondaci of Codolphin as she would for 
 her own. 
 
 Barrillon sometimes grew la sliv • under her 
 yoke. But neiiier Charles nor Louis X I \\ 
 showed impatience under it. One day Charles 
 called aside the French ambassador/ and told 
 him that the Duchess of Portsmouth and her 
 sun, the Duke of Richmond, were the persons 
 above all others in Uie world whom he loved 
 the most, and would be deeplv obliged to the 
 la aig of France if he agreed U) reconvert the 
 estate of Aubigny into a duchy for her, with 
 the reversion to her son and his future issue. 
 " Is not this outstepping all bounds .^ " wrote 
 Barrillon.^ ^ X^ .ui English duchess, she has 
 by courtesy the same honours in France as a 
 French duchess. But that does not satisfy 
 her. :^he must have them in virtue of letters 
 I lent and as a right sit on a tabouret when- 
 ever she may go to pay her respects to the 
 queen at Versailles." Louis did not regard 
 the application in the same light. Barrillon 
 1 Earrillon to Louis, Jan. 14, 1684. ^ j^^^ 21, 1684. 
 
 \ 
 
2/6 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 .1 7 
 
 t t ' -. ■ • 1- - 
 
 ters 
 
 p--'/:it 1-.) xv-\\c tile \),v^.\y of A i i i >: .• n \- wcrr^ 
 beiii.^' in:i(.U' out/ liiis ni*\v:> \\\i> rrr^-i\-!>.: 
 
 u-'f'i t^,. p.,.^,,,-t ,U: 1.,,. ^ ^ .,, \\':,;, .1, ,]] \\*u. ., 
 
 ' • • ^ ' ^ I- . . ' 1 4 i, 1 1 1 -.'.-- L ^ i . I i , . ! ,-1 -■> I L V. \ i 1 i i L \ 1 i a. i 1 . \ V lit'.. 
 
 \^^v:x'\:-'r. Ijrniijhi it to Ciiarl--. tlvTf. lo: was 
 
 *^i v^ i i 
 
 to V: 
 
 
 ! 1 
 
 L i i 
 
 I )u.Ji'--^ iA Purl-r^v 
 
 alKl W 
 
 1 >. ' 
 
 1 ♦- 
 
 .^ 
 
 
 4-1. 
 
 il? 
 
 ^-M 
 
 ir R K 
 
 C ■■ " 4 ? ^ .- 
 
 \ \ 
 
 1 f » »"> 
 
 she A'l 
 
 rrH.t]] to tt'ii It 
 
 out. s""-.-; vr r:\xQ A the 
 
 ii"! ^ i\ Fnorland in 
 -hu was the real :;uvcreign. 
 i:i November 1684, public 
 Lii : i'j;^o cruno lu a. full stop.^ The king was 
 loov r o ;t ^A ;o r room. Inquiries \\ « e made 
 ^-ruoaiuK- oo.uo her state by the differ* nt 
 auibassadors; and H; rra' n was constaniK 
 a-io::_^ liuw she was, in the name o\ the King 
 ( i I ranee. Her malady was an opportunO) 
 ior Inni to v-'ani inn iresh nrivileo^es. She was 
 uneasy^ lest iier son, he being a foreigner, 
 should not be able to inherit the money she 
 W..J invested in Trance. Without delay, Louis 
 
 1 Th King to Barrillon, Jan. 21, 1684. The letters 
 patent are in Les Archives Naiiojiales, tome xxviii. fol. 150. 
 
 2 Barrillon to Louis, Nov. 15, 1684. 
 ^ Barrillon, Nov. 30, 1684. 
 
 I 
 
 
 , 
 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 277 
 
 issued letters of naturalization in favour of his 
 
 vor)' dear tun.l 
 Cinirlt;-:, Lennox, 
 
 1 1 
 i i 
 
 s \ i 
 
 consm Ofaice 
 
 1 nn... 
 
 i - 1 i, i V V, 
 
 ■A 
 
 KJ i 
 
 q:; wo m as Ins no^tJoT w 
 pn vilei^es, naniciuses, ajnn 
 ( nnlemen w re entitled 
 
 1 ) ■ ' 1 
 
 i V i v.. 1 i i I i.\ ) i. L^i t 
 
 n ' ( 'n 
 
 
 
 
 idncrdom of 
 
 iin- riches heape 1 up hi the a' artments of 
 the Duchess at Whitehall scanJcili.:ed the 
 Engiisli, :^'ie was always building and pulling 
 down her rooms at extravaQ-art expense. On 
 rising in the morning she received In her loose 
 undress gown, surrounded by young girls ; and 
 sitting before her toilet rnlro r she gave 
 audiences to courtiers. She had that orift of 
 n.di.r^: 10 Bretons of both soNies — a splendid 
 head of hair, which a maid combed out when 
 she was receivinof visitors, liur sanctua!'\ was 
 reached by galleries and saloons hung with 
 exquisite French stuffs, and with Gobelins 
 tapestries, then newly hnented, representing 
 the twelve palaces 01 ne great king. Inlaid 
 cabinets, tables, desks, and • ndets, Japan 
 screens, finely carved timepieces, massive 
 
 ^ Registered Jan. 22, 1685. See AJ^. Etr. Angleterre^ 
 tome cli., fol. 230. ' 
 
7S 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE 
 
 pieces of silver in profusion, ornaments and 
 rare pictures, .u first delighted and dazzled, 
 -rA th' n surfeited the eye. This magnifi- 
 cence stirred the bile not only of Puritans, 
 but of men of t'l - world who still retained 
 some honest feeling. They reflected that it 
 was not oil/, the wages of a wanton, but of a 
 traitress, wli* . wh'-never her Royal paramour 
 embraced n r, compassed how she might 
 bring \v.\\\ and th counLry he ruled into utter 
 servitude i) liMnce. The queen's rooms 
 seemed plain cnmnared to those of '' Madam 
 Carwell," whose wardrobe was as fine as her 
 other belongings. The bills run up by her 
 sister, the CouiitLD:^ ui Pembroke, whose luxury 
 was on an inferior scale, give some idea of the 
 style ill wa'^a Court beauties at Whitehall 
 dressed. They were incurred in part for 
 gloves, ribbons, and other haberdashery fur- 
 nished b\- one Lesgu, a shopkeeper of Paris, 
 an ! jaquillon Laurent, his wife, and are in the 
 French national archives. In the last three 
 months of 1682 this couple sold t ) Lady Pem- 
 broke '' twenty eight pairs of openwork white 
 gloves, with orange and amber scent, and 
 one pair c.i gloves costing thirty- three livrcs, 
 
 
 I i 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 279 
 
 trimmed with ribbon, gold and silver at the 
 arms, and herring-boned in gold and silver 
 on die back of the hand; seventy pairs of 
 gloves embroidered and fastened at the arm, 
 opening with strings and bows of point de 
 diajuant ribbons ; twenty sashes and fringed 
 ends, in various embroideries and brocades." 
 The Earl of Pembroke dying, the gloves are 
 no longer perfumed with orange and amber, 
 but violet and hyacinth. All the fans are 
 mourning ones ; and gold clocks are worked 
 on black silk stockings, which are fastened 
 up with feidlle ni07^te and silver garters. The 
 fonta7iges in golden crape are falling cravats. 
 They were called after a favourite of Louis 
 Xy\^, who enjoyed his admiration for nine 
 months, and died giving birth to the fruit of 
 the amour. At the end of the twelve months' 
 mourning, flame-coloured bows uf ribbon are 
 placed over the button-holes of some of the 
 p-loves. On others there are flame and silver, 
 or gold and blue. Some of the gloves are to 
 match with a rose-coloured tablier, or front 
 breadth of the skirt, surrounded with '' silver 
 clouds." When the Countess quitted her all- 
 powerful sister, to live permanently in France, 
 
 X ^ 
 
2Co 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 
 
 > \' 
 
 V . a '•! I 
 
 n-^ 
 
 :hartered to uanspori tiie 
 
 Kneland. 
 
 ^V i u 1 il-'f li'O'P 
 
 bul ^'1 ladinor speaks of chests iii!^ 
 
 b 
 
 nv 
 
 ^ u;th 
 
 ^-'■''^■^'' ^^^'-^ W t.:.;-.:i flannel, wiui calnnets, eueri- 
 
 ^^^^^^■^^ i--':;n-^-^-]as^, frinics. And such small 
 
 iia!aji\uHa';r\' a^ u. na: 
 p-^^ aia i a^ adies : a i 
 
 ;i n'-*v ?■■ 
 
 i 
 
 poun 
 
 H 1^ 
 
 (ji l)r--t 
 
 ^"^ -a\ laK't^rr,, aiivi 
 T-(a4 1-, 
 
 ta el . 
 
 ai'c pixaaa 
 
 
 1 
 
 An a 
 1 
 
 
 '- n i i , ■-' - r'{ .^ a :'>'Z'.:'.\\ . 
 
 aa-at!ons : S'a-'-at'-^r>n dozrai 
 1 -^-'"^ o^ siia >a)Jan-:^, thaa)- 
 aui:^ oi Mokn coffee, U:^\^s a^.i^s ^f <rau=, a 
 chest ot ia;-C'Aaa.:, a i^u-^c; ciie:,tUil of Liiook 
 t':aa-aato a'aa candlr>-, a large chestfal f^f >pices, 
 Hicluding ci.,.aro, aao-. ^in^or, aaha^-o-. and 
 
 •- i . 
 
 t -I 'I f^. f^ 
 
 fa die bill of lading oi die shia in 
 
 ^XiiiKii tiio laoy iierseif -afa. W'- n;a._ 
 nacldace wr>rth taa/aty inousand francs 
 
 a 1 
 
 1 ! i 1 
 
 r. I 
 
 ;'•■> 
 
 K -^ . fa^ .,.],. 
 
 ill 
 
 car\'oi.i SI 
 20,000, aad 
 
 ^K.l^^^'S >>il \'(,a* 
 
 bowir^. (aUUia; 
 
 i'S'a* 
 
 /'^v;a a iidniaLure of 
 
 aasafi r"<;poct;\-ah' :, 2,000, 
 I :\cral dozens of 
 
 -aa salvers, 
 
 nuffers and si aa ira\'R, 
 
 i I i a I a a a a I 
 
 C J 
 
 Oi.-N a>.| r1*-''Ta 
 
 ^ 
 
 c^r, ; ) ^ a 
 
 cia-colatn mugs, spirits of wine heat as, 
 
 k^ 
 
 ^A^i9 C>i^ r//£- REIGaY. 
 
 2SI 
 
 disli covers, disli hcaicrs. The Countess's bed 
 is o{ crimson Genoa velvet, hung in brocade, 
 wah a aliite grouiil tn \:\n rod pattern, and 
 satin linings for the curtains, head-board, and 
 canopy. I da^ cov(aJ a is rS needlework point. 
 The other bedchamber furniture i^ composed 
 of a grand aa 'a' t in old Chinese laquer ; a 
 Chinese incense-buna^r in old silver; twenty 
 ra!'e and precious tapestries ; a very rich and 
 gi oa_sque screen ; manv teapots ; Chinese and 
 Japanese curiosities; rnach other household 
 Uaaiture; coaches, chaises, Sedan c' sirs • a 
 whole set <af kitchen utensils, wiia pewter 
 platters for die ser\ saia-, jaflL 
 
 \^nluptuousness reigned at Whitehall, wassa, 
 
 a . * . . a , . . , « , , ..a a' - a . 1 ■• * r t^ 
 
 ^-^^■'-^-^^a -•' ^■-'- i is/aca laaiCHaes a! a rancois 
 
 i )aperrier, ta^ a.) arota; aoii^a sung L\- children, 
 
 the sleep}' Cisirias was to !a^ s^-aa 'a v^c ras,aal 
 
 galler}', reclining l^auveen his tia-ae faviaastas, 
 
 who were in 
 
 L i 
 
 oS/hSii oi \' 
 
 womanhood. 
 
 ! I 
 
 .4. A. 
 
 ■ ^ ' "o- , -^ oa . t ■ ?■ ■■ V 
 
 ia\-o. 
 attired 
 
 a a a ^^ a 
 
 \oaa iuo /.. 1 a i a 1 \ 
 
 
 s 1 
 
 a a ' : a "! T "1 a 
 
 I .- 
 
 ' s ' T a ra ! 
 
 r~*n o f , a a a , I /--vo 
 
 s.jaaa^sia\' 
 
 I ciuaa oil 
 1*1 1 '1 
 
 ".-!'. a' ' ' ; L K a i ; j .'■ '* 'v ,' ^ ; I 
 
 On ■■) >; 
 
 waa candles, ii was in d;a W hitehall galiof)' 
 
2S2 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 that he passed his evenings with the Duchesses 
 of Portsmouth and M :zarin, in the winter of 
 i68|-.^5. There h.id been premonitory signs 
 of a break-d{ n c f constitution, and a more 
 t:;a;i oraini y aversion to mental effort. His 
 '' ^ 1 I ; -; s more than ever spared him 
 tile tr )uble 01 i insacting State business, by 
 niiiiaging it all \^:^.\ Harrillon and the corrupt 
 in::iguer> who at last accepted her as queen 
 la all bat name. She held the reins of such 
 government a- there was ; and the King of 
 France no longer felt that Great Britain was 
 :a! obstacle to his ambitious plans. He was to 
 strike another blow in the end of March, which 
 wuai 1 give him solid supremacy, not only m 
 I 
 
 :< I a' < .) ■ 
 
 \sia, 
 
 
 aca. 
 
 It 
 
 ^ a:a ' taai ai a a aa months more Holland was 
 to b^ a i 1 aah j r. )Viace, and all the Dutch 
 colonies to pass under the dominion of Louis. 
 i)a: in^^ w^-k of a single statesman, liowever 
 in aubirious, politic, and powerful, is always 
 fra-Ha and at the mercy of an accident On 
 tia: evening uf i cbruary 12, 1685, Charles, in 
 rising i a. 'tadrav. from the grand gallery and 
 u> dissipating, suddenly lost consciousness, and 
 iell. His ai :e was contorted, and he eave no 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 2S3 
 
 sign of recognition to the courtiers who pressed 
 around him. Blisters were clapped on his head, 
 his arms, and his legs. He was cupped between 
 the shoulders, bled, and emetics were poured 
 down his throat ; but nothing 1 -used him from 
 his torpor, and he remained still unconscious 
 until one o'clock on the next day. A hot 
 warming-pan was then placed on his head, and 
 his jugular vein was opened. He was again 
 bled at four o'clock in the other arm, and the 
 blood flowed abundantly. 
 
 Nobody was prepared for the catastrophe, 
 and great were the tumult and confusion. The 
 Portuguese queen was clamorous in her 
 distress ; and the courtiers were fussy and 
 officious. The Duke o^ ^'ork coolly summoned 
 the leading statesmen who were not his open 
 enemies, to prepare to assert his rights to the 
 Crown. Servants ran hither and thither, not 
 knowing what to do, and having no one to 
 direct them. A- fa* tha French, they were in 
 consternation. The only person who showed 
 any head, or heart, was Louise de Keroualle, 
 who at once sent for Barrillon. 
 
 '' I found her," he said, in the account he 
 transmitted to Versailles of this blow of destiny, 
 
284 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 " ill o-rr-^r '^^if t. 1)1 instead of bemoaning; her 
 
 own -a 1 ci;id altered position, 
 
 ing fall, 
 
 she t^> 
 
 1, 
 
 me into 
 
 inipend- 
 
 said 
 
 SfoiniT 
 
 of England i-> 
 
 IK. 
 
 cannot deccn 
 
 r^ ' 1 > -/ -r' 
 
 n o ' ■^ ' 
 
 himself :i\v)ut i;.^ 
 
 t ^ 11 
 
 t. . 
 
 >S = } 
 
 . i '. 4. t . 5 
 
 I ; , 1 . ! V { ^' ' [ , I ,1 
 
 .u- rA;abassad'..r, 1 ..:ii now 
 u :i secret, although its public 
 
 i nst me ni\ head. The King 
 iu ue: h iU ';n ^ 'f 111- heart a 
 Li r- lie 1:3, :>.uiuunded with 
 ops ! There is nobody to tell 
 : or speak to iieu * UuJ. i 
 c'litv:!* he-, r- ii;i. Besides, the 
 - re rnnNte:U;\'. The I ^:ke of 
 : .\ :ih iiL- re ei affair:: to trouble 
 h kin '^ 'Conscience, ^o and 
 cui^.ii'eJ )"ou to warn him 
 ■'' uching, and ih:it it *< Iiis 
 lu::^:^ kj\ linie, hi:^ brother's 
 
 1 
 
 
 . ;i 
 
 ■^ O ' X ' 'T'^ ' 
 
 I leuiibe probabi) were mixed. 
 ej- :-> C itholics ; and then, le 
 
 *■ \\ei-- eex;^)es l-^r ('e eT's to die 
 i:;-- Ciiercli 1 1 i^.:ne,■^ ii maybe 
 !e hoped to win tlie esteem and 
 ^arei ui ihe lU.Le ^j\ \ -.-riv, lu whom the 
 Creen • , ;e- ei th i m'- * * f devolving-. Be this 
 a. it ei !\'. Barrillon hastened to the queen. A 
 
 i a I i i e 
 
 ;' ' t .T-,r,<; 
 
 n T 1 
 
 c->' 
 
 285 
 
 priest was discovered who had found favour in 
 the eyes of Protesa. .i RoyalisB i e^ the sword- 
 cuts he had inflicted on Roundheads in the civil 
 war. Me was taken lu Chaffinch, the minister 
 of the king's amorous affairs, and introduced by 
 a back stair and secret corridor U) the bedside 
 of the dying monarch. He took for granted 
 everything the Church required of the king, 
 and gave absolution. Ga i!a fifth day of his 
 illness, Charles died. An hour after his 
 decease, his brother, now James IL, went to 
 see the Duchess of ruri^ai ai and assured 
 her that she might tru>i ai la. Iriendship. iHe 
 had in doing so but one simple object in view 
 — to get lajiia-. X i \ .. la leaaiiae the subven- 
 tion that he paid the late king. The Duchess 
 also placed her iiopes ia hr-aira a1a>, \n :e:-\ver 
 to a prayer transmitted a\ lir medium of 
 a a'rillon, t1iat slie ini^ait hope to be Iioiaujred 
 by his protection, wrote that ii would be con- 
 tinued to her. This promise was the only 
 bright spot in her overclouded ^jraspccts. She 
 had sore need to ask for his assistance, which he 
 was prompt in giving. '* I have 1' .rned with 
 surprise," he wrote to ^ his ambassador, '* that 
 
 1 March 2, 1685 
 
286 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 T T 
 
 the new K'ng- of England had deprived the 
 Duke of Richmond of the office of o-rand 
 equerry, notwithstanding the manner in which 
 the late king recommended this son of his to 
 his brother." .\ Louis held the purse, James 
 humbled himself before Barrillon, and multi- 
 plied his visits to the Duchess of Portsmouth. 
 ile openly declared^ that what was said in 
 )lland about her would only have the effect 
 of making him pay her greater attention and 
 go more often to see her. It is true, added 
 Barrillon, that he has been twice to her rooms 
 within the last few days, and has given her 
 numerous marks of confidence and esteem. 
 I am happ) lu find that she is be^innino- to 
 think her prospects less dark. She has ac- 
 cepted the reasons put forward by King James 
 for not leaving the place of grand equerry to 
 a boy of thirteen, who cannot fill it for many 
 years. In thus yielding, she hopes to be well 
 used in the settlement of other affairs of major 
 importance. She is now tryino- to o-et herself 
 confirmed in the income of / 19,000 allowed 
 her by King Charles. Lord Rochester is well 
 disposed t A iris her. She has pressed me 
 1 Barrillon to Louis, March 8, 1685. 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 2S7 
 
 to let your Majesty know that a mark of your 
 esteem would be, in the present conjuncture, 
 of decisive importance to her, and that she 
 would thereby secure incomparably better 
 treatment. I have told her that I am com- 
 manded to render her every good office in 
 my power, and that I have even defended 
 her interests warmly in speaking to the king ; 
 that your Majesty has given her and the Duke 
 of Richmond the highest dignity that you can 
 confer; and that her past services would be 
 remembered, even though your Majesty had 
 never promised in writing not to forget them. 
 I can see that she does not, apart from your 
 Majesty's protection, hope for much more from 
 France, than for a sum of money to pay her 
 debts and to buy a dwelling-house in Paris. 
 The King of England has told me that he had 
 obtained the promise of the Duchess of Ports- 
 mouth not to rear her son a Protestant, al- 
 though he must be classed as one, and that 
 if she keeps it he will do everything in his 
 power for him. 
 
 The power of the purse was the uppermost 
 one at this juncture. James and Louise were 
 hungering and manoeuvrinor to obtain French 
 
2SS 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 Maiestv and the late King _•! .^^^^^ 
 
 a close 
 
 money. She knew herself to be held in horror 
 
 b\ th' Hnglish. in 1 ih : the pensions which 
 rcmuiaed to licr, aivl iicr share of the revenue 
 LUiiies, couK! iiv i be paid for a long time. 
 
 '* It is eeneraMv rumoured," said Hnrrillon, 
 ' th a the Duchess oi ihrt mouth and Lord 
 Siiii ■ r' in : w r- t'!- principal agents in bring- 
 
 Hno-land 
 ndmof. This is wh\ t :v \ are 
 Ijoth h;Ut:a. L\- lii- whole cotintrw Th' I iachess 
 a|a rchends attacks n her in the next Parlia- 
 iiiciiL, and -;a: wi^bps tacrefore to hasten awav 
 fiaau Hn Hand before it has time to meet, iiid 
 t) r- t'r • t~' France. She is not satisfied with 
 the tr<..ita; at she has met with, and makes 
 no lt at secT' t - f lier discontent.^ His Bri- 
 taiaac Maiestv allows her a pension of three 
 tiiousand gumeas fa" herself, and two thousand 
 [Juac -a i\'r1imond. She sent him 
 a\r: all the ti\ thousand to her son, 
 bacatise sht would not trouble him on her 
 
 ^la: has, besides, two thousand 
 L a. at uf Liie confiscated estate 
 , which, however, is to belong 
 
 
 L- » 
 
 1 \T"\ 
 
 KJ i 
 
 1 1 
 
 to tlte Dak- of Richmond when he h of age. 
 1 Barrillon to Louis, August 13, 1685. 
 
 END OE THE REIGN, 
 
 289 
 
 Sia claims the right to go on drawing from 
 tw-ntv-five thousand to thatx tltousanil oounds 
 a \ r a from the Irish taxes ; but she has not 
 yet been able to get herself confirmed in 
 the enjoyment ui this income, \\ lai a was 
 granted her by the late king. The disgust 
 s ) WiUbed, along with tlv withdrawal from 
 her son of the post of grand equerry, has pro- 
 \wkcd her into using plain speech; and she 
 complains that the services rendered ai obtain- 
 ii^C money for v.v^ pxoon'^rs 01 aw Crown of 
 
 
 laigland from your Majesty have been for- 
 cTotten." 
 
 Whether James was too ungrateful or the 
 Duchess too greedy, it is hard at this distance 
 oi lime to say. But eacli had a well-accentu- 
 ated vice. The Duchess returned u France 
 w aa ai a aglish estate worm ^5,000 a year, 
 exclusive of the money she had irarested in 
 France, or of her haaiLiaia la r -wels, her 
 ^2,000 a year during iva an jnd's minority 
 out of the confiscated C^rr-x lands, or the 
 250,000 francs ai gold la a she draa laa in- 
 stant Charles had drawn his last bmath. The 
 |H or Ijreiun soldier's dauo-hter, the naiuaie maid 
 m' honour v^^ Madame ii rrieite, assured!} was 
 
 u 
 
2ro 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 I ■^irturc 
 
 
 I 1 i ■ 
 
 
 f 1 \ 
 
 "yy : 
 
 i i .. 4 V 4, 
 
 .1 \'i- 
 
 A- Ixiiio;, wiio told 
 
 L i i 
 
 
 i 4 i 1 i L 
 
 embrace 
 
 HeaK^.v, 
 
 In i:iT son, and exlvi'i'-l 
 : tr ; ■ rclio^ion. 1 n. > iio 
 wish^'d hull tu do : rind slio hoped llu. tiio 
 Kiiu ot' .P'rciiici: v.'i>tdvi, uucr, find occasion 
 ''-t- til'- wc'dv i^f rr>-\TTsion beofun bv 
 .ini'j;-. il*,;r a'U'uil niuw.a ui thus iiciL- 
 
 
 i\ la J' 
 
 if.„. 1 . . i 
 
 •ut 
 
 iKircii^ r ndered her 'lUcri line 
 
 I' J Li i 
 
 M^ 
 
 t ■ ( ' ■ 
 
 
 
 f de^radine a a a 
 
 1 
 
 ark'd a: Aivryiist. 1685, and 
 d iw \ ersaiiles. 
 
 WdK'H, -ha aa:ia-d da.- baicrli^h shore. i'aia^..aaa 
 
 i o 
 
 titteen \t a' 
 aancT^roiis m-ra] tnri'-r n-A -r^rviiado t? 
 France. XuL la.ii James's pahn itched less 
 for Tv anaj's hvres than that of Charles. Bat 
 
 fanatical mind and his base 
 a t a speedy close, and 
 
 . 1 1 i 
 
 .it i i ; / i " 
 
 [fr= .rt 
 
 Ut a. 1.0;.^ . V i \ . Li.) a>^ 
 
 ■^r 
 
 airone oi 
 
 
 1 '1 ' 1 • J T 
 
 ! ..,' I L i 1 L. i 1 • i v.. '- I , - I i ,11 i \\ i i ; •-. i I i . ' ■ 
 
 i- 
 
 saaaiax' a \' aria a, ov-jiwn^ 
 
 a 1 < I o - 
 
 a* *a i 
 
 ! ' 1 • ; t 
 
 
 irp 
 
 \ 
 
 i! 
 
 END OF THE REIGN. 
 
 291 
 
 The diplomatic strategy which so marvel- 
 lously succeeded for fifteen yeaia> in pcU d\ zing 
 England, and placing its goveraa a in 1 
 foreign woman's hand^, does n )i seem 10 have 
 been often repeated, \dllars, a avever, boasted 
 of ha\dnor been its inutator. KemarkmcT^ that 
 the Elector of Bavaria was brought into 
 daa orbit of the Court of Vienna b^- the 
 Countess Von Kaunitz, he egged on that 
 prince to draw the young Countess Vor^ \\ din, 
 a lady of the Empres-, lu alunich. She came, 
 but she was so stupid that the ^buaiais de 
 Villars soon found she would not help him 
 to break the chain in which tlie Countes^ \ a 
 laaaaiz had bound the hd. ct a. A voung 
 Italian, named Canossa took her place. This 
 
 ^/ 
 
 emce. 
 
 enchantro^^ had =^tndied galiantri" h 
 
 and was more beautiful than c^iuj iaid need to 
 
 be with her great cleverness and experience. 
 
 ^ Memoires of Comte de Vogue, published in 1687. See 
 analogous intrigues in the iSth century, in Le Secret du Roi, 
 par le Due de Broglie, tome i., p. 368, and Loiiis XV, tt la 
 Czarine Elisabeth^ by Albert Vandal, p. 62. 
 
CH "> '"TER 
 
 r 
 
 I'm 
 
 her Li n 
 
 I A' RETIREMENT. 
 
 lic:5^ 1 Portsmouth had still fifty long 
 
 ia' ' before her. She survived Charles 
 
 H r\'- and, after outlivinof most of 
 
 ni|H)raries, died in the reign of Louis 
 
 X\ nni'd a generation ^vho knew her not, 
 .; 1 \v ii .^e eyes wuic lurned towards other 
 nf ri" :n th la tlmse on which the courtiers of 
 i.uui:^ XI \. orazed. Muaiauuth was the first lu 
 go dowa r)i -ver. H plotted against James 
 IT., a! ! was coldly beheaded. His widow 
 married L r! C i awallis. Jame- H dethroned 
 by his daughter, found a refuge at St. -Germain 
 en l.a *'. llaj Duchess of Cleveland, grown 
 old, laa c I linuing irascible and a gambler, 
 became a \adow in 1705, and married a second 
 ti^^-a in h^r -ixtv-fifth vear, Beau Fielding, 
 ah ) 1 ici\c d lalse to her and ruined her. She 
 (lied la I 709. Her son, the Duke of Hi fa iid 
 
 H 
 
 Duke of Grafton, born in 1663, created duke in 
 
 2g3 
 
 IN RETIREMENT. 
 
 293 
 
 was allowed to keep her pension, which has 
 been handed down to his posterity, lie was 
 killed in fighting for King James against 
 ATarlborough, his mother's paramour, at the 
 siege of Cork. Nell Gwynn 1 a a short time 
 was outlawed by her creditors. But James, 
 who had promised Charles not lu let her starve, 
 paid her debts, often made her presents, cleared 
 off the mortgage on her residence of Bestwood 
 Park, and paid for her funeral and grave. She 
 was buried, in 1687, in St. Martin's-In-the- 
 F'ields. Her son, Charles Beauclerc, was the 
 ancestor of the present Duke of ::>i. Alban's. 
 
 The blood of Charles H. runs in the veins 
 of many peers of the realm of Ureat Britaind 
 
 1675, with, — for a youth with a bar sinister on his arms, — the 
 strange motto of: ^^ Et decus et pretium recti." Married 
 Lady Isabella Bennet, Arlington's daughter. 
 
 1 Of the children whom Charles II. owned, the following 
 grew up : James, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleugh, son 
 of Lucy Walters ; Mary, daughter of Lucy Walters ; Charlotte 
 Boyle Fitzroy, daughter of Viscountess Shannon ; Charles 
 FitzCharles and a girl, children of Catherine Peg ; Henry 
 Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton ; George, Earl of Northumberland, 
 and Charlotte Fitzroy, Countess of Sussex, the children 
 of the Duchess of Cleveland ; the two Beauclercs, sons of 
 Nell Gwynn ; the Duke of Richmond, son of Louise 
 de Keroualle ; Mary Tudor, daugliter of Moll Davis, and 
 
 i 
 
294 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 'f 
 
 1 ii^- Ijjchess 
 
 arin shed iioods of tears for 
 
 ishmeiii iA >a:..t 
 
 t > \rtemisia, 
 
 i:c iriaiblecl h-r head luurc 
 any of !ier other lovers. 
 
 iL'Url^^t^ii )car:5, .;!:>! died ni 
 1600 whhout fv r Inving- quitted England. 
 
 K\av; 
 and w 
 about 
 
 
 id, wao coni'virf'!] h 
 
 1 w 
 
 ii ? 
 
 i k "^ ' i i i i J 1 I 
 
 the 
 
 A^e. 
 
 1!^ 
 
 
 i a r corpse, 
 
 ^yed Lu obtain it. H ■ took it 
 
 '^ ' • a \ :, from one estate to 
 
 crav^^ a. a aiporary sepulture at 
 
 liesse, where the country folks 
 
 ' '^'^■'■^'^y-^^yci- nf a -:rnt and touched 
 
 1 ta a chaplets. He ended by 
 
 V^^^'^Z^ it ai th ^ana- t-mb with h- r funous 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 'vl l^ 
 
 i- ^, i , "> i. 
 
 l: : 
 
 ai a- I'L^ileo^e dc Uaatre Nations, now the 
 
 ^'- '^e o^ t^ fa -t-e. The Duchess trans- 
 ^-i^^- ' a^i :juaereign charms to her five o-rand- 
 ---aa at' :- th- Dr aLr \ Xesles. who. .'th the 
 ^^^^-^ a: I MM. i received the power to captivate 
 ■■ 'o^ ^ '^ ^ idest was declared the mistress 
 
 married to the 1 r; ,: ] 'crwentwater; and Benedicte Fitzroy, 
 
 ^^''^'-'5 - ^' '^^tei Dieu de St. Nicolas at Pontoise. 
 \ ' '- •' ^ . n ai'jr Henedicte, who was said to be an early 
 trim n :-c a; 1 .1 ui Iki. :.•■.. M.iria and Lord Jermyn. 
 
 IN RETIREMENT. 
 
 295 
 
 ( a Louis ^ 
 
 ^ ^ ^ 1 735» some months after Louise 
 
 uc K^'I■■i)aa1le's death, ana \\ .w a. an-- laiGr 
 M\ the second, who was etap- a hx 
 
 cut 
 
 the lia 
 
 wlin 
 
 had 
 
 a- 
 
 p 
 
 the fifth Barrillon become the air^eoarable 
 friend o\ \ladame d^ Sevigne. and died, rich, 
 iat, and old, in 1691. 
 
 Ti' Duchess of Portsmouth had the morti- 
 firati :a uii arriving in France, tj iind her sister 
 HI in interesting state, and forced ai own that 
 she had privately anuiacd the Marquis ue 
 Thois, governor 1 Idois.^ The young Duke 
 (I K diniond entered the Catholic Church, but 
 \\\i- in a tor that the less corrupt an 1 vicious. 
 ITn relapsed to Anglican Protr-tanLisin, or 
 rdiaar lived and died a godless life, and was to 
 its end plunged in drunkenness and debauchery. 
 In in being one of the handsomest young men 
 111 h noiand h - became the nio^t hideous old rake. 
 I jH" Duchess of Purt>iiiOiiLh went back to 
 Eno-land a year after she left it. Whether this 
 
 iopeared suspicious i 
 
 lO i^UUl:3 av i 
 
 or 
 
 1 The five granddaughters of Madame Mazarin were the 
 ijuchesses de Mailly-Nesles, de Vintimille, de Lauraguis, 
 de Flavacount, and de la Toumelle. 
 
 '^ See Dangeau, t. i., Feb. 5, 1685. 
 
296 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 whei'if_^r, :i- ^a'n: 
 
 S* imn avers/ she dar 
 
 i If ' 
 
 tairC luo Irc^.-lx' {.A 
 
 M-.-;;a]]^- dr ^i a,ailt-rH >; 
 
 i. an 
 
 orK,i-./r wa^ Lfix'^^n u. 
 
 * i .( '^u \''' • a- I ! ' a r. i '.\' a a a . 
 
 : ::re 
 
 de cadicl lor iiar 
 
 K. t La' 1 V^ . I > 
 
 i ■•■'*' i '' % . ' • '! ! - 
 
 ■ \. K. -%- % i. ■ ^ 
 
 •Xi.c. i ;;- aaaala n^ 
 oa Loav'ois' de>i. \'.a;a Cuiirliii 
 
 i ! / i L^ >.. a " i'^ vi 
 
 iiaa iierai in iauit 
 
 ^ N u Li U la J I :::? i 1 C 
 
 v'^n so, it would be a 
 
 iin-L.i-.a tu au lariiua- la a. t 
 
 •11 r 1 
 
 i 
 
 u 
 
 I ); 
 
 t(j Ui-)a*jnfjar 
 
 
 cachtt, and adnait 
 
 c^auaa'-auan, trurn 
 
 '\-a:es 
 
 siie rencic 
 
 'aU. \' 
 
 *' 
 
 ki;: ^ 
 
 , i ^(JLi i.->j 
 
 tr.) \' 
 
 
 ' ' *'. a ; 
 
 a-n-^'! tlia 
 
 letn 
 
 C 
 
 
 i )Mr]Tpcq 
 
 t') a 
 
 
 .-.uila 
 
 re 
 
 
 Jie issued i-raauv 
 
 sai:^n-^]. 
 
 I itT ninaa: 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 :^ t > <, ,> a j 
 
 ( } 
 
 ia K i :- 
 
 r'';ati'.»n> 
 
 -i 1 i I. i. V 4. V. 
 
 t '1 
 
 a o o - u ^ 
 
 o ^ ^ >, n c 
 
 
 1 Countess of Piannml^c. 
 
 1'- -;na T^ 
 
 1 - J i „ 1 •, I ; 1 . . i ; 
 
 nianai i • t vveen her niece, tiic 
 
 ctHvi tiia bon V)\ j f.a 
 Har cnrr(oaonil'aa:'' 
 traau.U \\\i^ uttan diai 
 
 ina n 
 
 .-^ 
 
 ■c. 
 
 nK and 
 
 j I. 
 
 1 5^ 
 
 ana >;!;• 
 
 tc5 V n I )an<j:eau. 
 
 ~ jJaneeau ana "^a 
 
 :-nnon differ in some points on this 
 
 M: ;i i^ not 111 full agreemeiit with 
 himsc", m • .„ /({//t/jr y/zft/z/j recently published ■;. Hachette. 
 
 intervic '. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 / 
 
 IN RETIREMENT. 
 
 297 
 
 tions obliged her to make humiliating explana- 
 tions. On January ist, 1689, die )oung Duke 
 of Richmond presented himself at the king's 
 coticher, to speak in f:i\a>nr f)t his mother. 
 Louis told iaai that he knew both of them too 
 well to have suspected them for a mom.ent. 
 However, to draw certain revenues, they were 
 obliged to pay their court to William of Orange. 
 
 The Duchess of Portsmouth eot ii 
 
 Ci i i 
 
 
 .dney, 
 
 Algernon's brother, to remind him of the 
 a\' nin^b he spent at her rooms at Whitehall, 
 and how she intricrued h r liina arainst Mon- 
 mouth. Rut thp Revolution of 1688 had upset 
 many of the fortunes asmted out 1 the reve- 
 nue b^' Charlf^s il \\\y:\\ ])< r inronic oat of 
 the Posi ( office return:., which die Duchess of 
 i-ornnnoutli thought so snro. wa^ suspended. 
 ;oaa was informed simultaneous)) lun none of 
 her English pensions would be paid until farn-'- 
 
 orders : that her apartmeiii: 
 
 \ \ 
 
 !n.uh with 
 
 • ni 
 
 il' 
 
 nmptuous furniture, inai bet-n i arned ; 
 
 1 ■■ t L s 
 
 m 
 
 lal nt r w.i- U\ in:;. 
 
 I ■" a , . f 
 
 kahn 
 
 o • o a 
 
 England, w ua 
 
 comer. 5iie 
 
 ! ; t 
 
 : 1 ii)sconded trom ia r t 
 
 a* ai^ Ina" I^a. a\' wher(- ia* \' 
 
 aai 1 t Louis, that she could not doubt of 
 
 on'- folly; cuui dait, belie\in; ho had gone 
 
 I 
 
( 
 
 298 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 over to t!v^ i rince of Orange, she was ready to 
 d;" 'h despair. 
 
 i 1 -^ u -ni'r \v:i^ all the more r-:^1, because 
 Louis had .^ranted the youncr scamp a pension 
 
 f L\v'?nt\- th'-^^i^aiid livres — wiiicli. di a deeree. 
 uiisoled iii^ niuLii'_r lur the los:^ kjI d'-r Lno-- 
 lisii ' /'^^ : !:!! nt ,, Id t 'd^' t misfortunes were 
 
 ( * 
 
 V- 
 
 "w • <J 1 V 
 
 :u -n. iicr, tiic King ui !-!\uicedid not 
 abandon her. He transferred to her a pa-t , f 
 tac p-ra^i- a which acr son had abandoned. 
 
 Ira: a a ame she devoted hersed' t the 
 aianagement of her estate ca d\-bigny, and 
 exerted i a- ua: benefit of her serfs what ai- 
 flu-nc- renrdn'-d to her. ^wine to the 
 
 sistent j) 
 
 France r^ 
 
 'Ui 
 
 ladies 
 
 r iiage of Louis, her position in 
 
 ained a good one. The collections 
 
 -neravings of tbo principal Court 
 
 a\ - included the likeness of the 
 
 1 Five engravings of the series, executed at this period, 
 represent tht D chess of Portsmouth as Venus, and her son 
 as Cupid, against whose arrows a Spliinx protects her, Chez 
 M irrictte, Kue St. Jacques ; in a loose undress on a couch, 
 Chez J'.:r;v, u rdi'ciir^ Rue St. Jacques ; an imitation of the 
 l.receding, R B. del, chez .V. Bonnart^ Rue St, Jacques ; 
 toymg with a giove and perroquet, Chez IT. Bcmnart, au Coq ; 
 with a ( iie(the mostcliarming of any), in which the Duchess's 
 i la^ is shown, with her head turned round, Chez Trouvain, 
 Rue S: Jirques, 1695. 
 
 IN RETIREMENT. 
 
 299 
 
 Duchess of Portsmouth. But her income fell 
 off rapidly. William of Orange grudged her 
 the smallest sum. In 1^0;- she obtained leave 
 to go a , London, and Louis spoke wdth much 
 kindness on the subjectd William, who divined 
 the object of her journey, and had no wish to 
 let her fill her purse with guineas, sent her word 
 that lie would prevent her landing. 
 
 So, she was obliged to face her creditors. 
 Procurators' pens aai caa slips of parchment, 
 which bailiffs served on her ; and her chattels 
 were on the point of being seized paal sold. 
 Louis again saved her. By a decree signed in 
 Council, he ordered her creditor^ to desist from 
 pursuing her for a year. dv d a d.a period 
 elapsed, there were fresh writs, followed by fresh 
 petitions to the king to iirLcrranc, Ihe state 
 of the Duchess f Portsm : dd^ affairs," d was 
 set forth in an order of Cuuncil, ''does not allow 
 her ,a ar-sent a^ discharo-e the debts that she 
 
 r-> I I il i ^5 
 
 ha^ coiaracted au- which < 
 darassing and pursuing iier 
 ua\"^'^ fpcoarsp to a is aa.a:;-'a\' s 
 huadd\- a> bapplicaa,.: aaa ai aa-^ 
 to -ia\- Uiese pur-idt^ - and wd; 
 
 ^ Dnngeau, t. iv. \>. - j 
 
 -,ta her 
 
 (obliged U) 
 
 1 1 ' 
 
 rea'=^. ai c- 
 
 #"■» 
 
300 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 or an\~ 
 < ' ■. ; I, ; a ; 
 
 Li i' ■ ^a; 
 all \' <' M 
 
 1 ui th<=^ said i ^;r!iess's petition, his 
 a t ninr:! ii as prorogued and i i'oro|[{ues 
 
 \ -if, eiiaai^ September 9111, i "jOC^ 
 I tia \ aat> -: lalned i y such creditors, 
 
 ■naai ;na\- h^^ v.aia;a d^a tiav'" tah^ai 
 
 di- ddijr:.iy toriud^ aii dia creditors of 
 
 1 Hiarajss •"'aravy that pcaa^a t^ mrike 
 
 r^..^ ni aar laianLuru, a',|uipages, or other 
 
 t<i h'aa under paia ^-f nallit}' 
 
 'a\'aa-at (u .a' costs and 
 
 c 
 
 '.It 
 
 aa:-; ; 
 
 J ( - 1 1 
 
 
 ( ) 
 
 f t 
 
 r u c '.^ ' 
 
 ,.. . i i 
 
 aaa da- 
 
 5 
 
 ■ J t 'M 
 
 i-er^. 
 
 ' ? 
 
 
 
 \" 
 
 i. . ' ■; »■-* 
 
 ' ; f r ^ 
 
 :r x'^Mf 
 
 a 
 
 a^ 1 
 
 • ■ \ ^ - ' 
 
 ■^ ' ^ 
 
 received 
 
 C 1 
 
 
 \vi ail 
 
 ; ; n 
 
 HI id'- >. 
 
 -uii w a - 
 
 a.i, 
 
 ^,; a 1 a 
 
 SIKh 
 
 .Snf *■ 
 
 I..(uas 
 
 *■: r 
 
 a I u nj (,„ i ! ^aa r < 
 
 ,1-1 'n 
 
 
 
 lice, 
 
 ( ) 
 
 ^•■caiat}' (A ^a iiriniiaaaa, uaui^ciciajiis. 
 mK' t'> wrd'- to \ya-,\, tliat: t!v^ present 
 
 r^v-^il'.,. \ji i 
 
 t n ^ ■ f 'it* 
 
 1 1 
 
 iiiaii^ liiLi iiL*L aiiuw iici" to aa 
 
 aa tia^ 
 
 debts, a 
 
 (n:t lu Liri\a a\\ai\' r 
 
 K-....1 
 
 cr< *i a t !jrs. 
 
 M " ; 
 
 I ia i"^ 
 
 a e 
 
 Identical oracr> ot ynancC in 1699, in 
 
 ident*'-'^1 
 
 d)ct. 5, 1 701, on Oct. 2. 
 
 (HI DrC. 10, 170.1 
 
 Li 
 
 a.-.: 
 
 / --■ J 
 
 ' ./'';'aaf\v X:i:i, n.il.i J: Fiafice^ E. 
 'a-a> ^-- ^:,'3i- 
 
 
 IN RETIREMENT. 
 
 \o\ 
 
 1 706 the unfortunate tradesmen were able to 
 find protectors, and began t ■ d naal tliem- 
 
 selves befuio uic Council irarn adan^ ^ ui the 
 royal authority. The Sieur> (daipiia I illet, and 
 Lefevre proaontad iud;aico^ L>Man..: to a t^nd 
 of 130,926 livres, U) sols, ddia I >aa;a ^-. aad 
 pur a-ai on" by paxan- an aa-aain' 
 of 160,000 livres, la coverabie ai 
 on da^ rents ca Aiiliayn). ni da.- 
 20,000 livres annually. i he order 
 did not deien to look intf» tdi^ c 
 
 1 a 
 
 total 
 
 ation i A 
 Councib 
 
 • - r \ t 
 
 ord\ took coo^nisance ui uu: ii ira:.hi d lady's 
 
 prayer. I'he wars k-hveon Franc-^ an,! Rng- 
 
 I <.: i i i I, : :? a 1 i L o-_i m 
 
 I J o J , \\ o 1 a 
 
 drawn a-^ai 
 of 150,000 
 
 a" < i a r 
 
 iC-- {: aaaj'^ai \ 
 
 ars a !)ension 
 
 /Airs, 
 
 
 1 , * \ i. i 1 u i ». t. i, '-.^ 
 
 . siie 
 
 W.l^. Da kiaa. 
 
 aa> h(/r rank. 
 
 1 1 
 
 ^ ' ' M ^ 
 
 .lit. 
 
 
 I Ai.:AKl 
 
 \ i \ 
 
 Li 
 
 n > 
 
 t a i.-i 
 
 man 
 
 t ) i aat 
 i 
 
 
 M 
 
 iiKaana wn 
 • 1 1 
 
 I. .' i i 
 
 it 
 
 I tn.r aUjaUaoi oi in> .Ma!^-r.i\- 
 ' ^ad.l iaO\- m liio cnioyniant 1 
 ail :-dia iias assi;.^aird tiaan. ' 
 i^ouaci! iO-cidod that the crecjitors to naaan 
 rents of Aidiiijnx' wan^^,; C(jn\a_.oa. ^d ai ta^' oic : 
 
 ! ; ; f ■' 
 
 1 
 
 Ar-'/it: c) A\uf.^ 
 
 " i 934' ^-^" .:o j uai 1 
 
 i -'J* 
 
302 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ti'.'n. (.)[ ic\ooo ill' i\'y a xviw inrric^lit \'''ar=^, wrre 
 
 V.iA to hv 
 
 ill L i ; . 1 1 1 1 
 
 A i N , 
 
 wlic) ci.jni'j^.i as laia^f^ a sum. w^tc to 
 
 > f 
 
 n 
 
 l! ?- 
 
 lain^". I 111;^ ni\.;cr (ji Lcjimcil, a> uKuiibiDtriit 
 
 \ •• 1 i. i 1 i i V. 1 i L 1 1 J V. I \\ t L >> V\ i I i i i U I L U i -. u 
 
 : -a a 
 
 to ihf -aid 
 
 niauc '" ill cn-a'T to faa-urc la^aai 
 1 hiCiior>^ for the pax'na-nt of ia-r d 
 was anraiaa' ^^niaiar (a'Jor 
 \'oars. iicainnina (HI April j ^, 1710, 
 
 S{a\'a:r'-. rm- 
 
 1 V a ! t '. ■ I i o I 
 
 1 i!< 'fC 
 
 two 
 
 ',-> 
 
 1 ho aTatitiklo of I.(aas for tia- 
 
 t 
 
 aaaol >ach a hjiia tina 
 
 I »ro\'i> a]->i\' onix' 
 
 i 1 1 1 ; J 
 
 with iaai. idio 1 )uciaj^> was not onK- pro- 
 t'COxi a:^ain^t hor cia-( liters, i-ai ai^ainr^t tlic 
 States ot laattan)' and tlu: adiiiinir^tratioii of 
 tho Crown I,^o!naiia 
 
 Tho I )aclu.:S:. had. in tlio lie annin'"' of tho 
 la.^^t cantarw tho nu'o oii:co ot ''"'hoI tortiinc to 
 he "ovictod tor n-ar,ons of [uilihc utihty." d1i<! 
 pour manor h-ai^t: 01 hia' tathor, ovca^Iookin- >■ 
 tlie [)ort ot Brr^t. was C(.)m|)ri:^od in tho o\-ic- 
 tions which tho croation ot arx-nals, rope- 
 walks, and naval stores wcaild necessitate. 
 Ikit Lotiis XI\d had decided that the price 
 of the properties situated at Brest, in the 
 borough of tlie Reconvrance. waas to lie [)aid 
 ^ AiJi. Xat.^ K. 1937: \'.. i'/5J, i'j!. 57. 
 
 IN RETIREMENT. 
 
 303 
 
 f^w 
 
 r 
 
 tia" e\"c*hai of the owners, bv t-a 
 
 V 
 
 .' ii>4. L'._ ^5 
 
 ' r- • 
 
 
 .^*i ia^LLciii\ . L iie\ iii.L^_i. a^wO lo iJi.i\, 
 (ont^^sted the valuaii !i-. The 
 
 Ih.ichi:-- of Pori-ni; '.it;! whose patenad nainor 
 the borough c>i lia: R^- ■> 'Uvt -asco ap- 
 
 wais m 
 
 1 
 
 1 ■ ■! 
 
 i M * - < i T > 
 
 / " 
 
 to lao 0.' 
 
 ,- (-- 
 
 i 1 .. i. a c e ;:> , 
 
 ana i,awa::i.*a, <ai ordor ot lia,.- Lo.aica ./aaatmu 
 
 .-> 
 
 ll- -r :; o i -^ -> /;;• I'r < \y\\ \\)U- 1 O" ' 'o • 1 ' ^\ rh^'O la ''' 
 
 tile ^tatt/s ot iamaaiiw 
 
 k 1. X \ 
 
 a!, aioi a new^ 
 
 
 nr 
 
 .f 1 1- 
 
 to: 
 
 '• 1 " 1 . 
 
 pa 
 
 obttunoda i he trouisuror cd iaattanx 
 commanded to r*^"^^' it on i 
 
 1 a was 
 
 for 
 
 '. . ei.:n 
 
 1 • •> 
 
 iX I 
 
 1 • 
 
 a M t h 1 •. '*• t- \- 
 
 which coxajred iuh resia )n-a)aa w aian rajt to Lo 
 
 imi w 
 
 aied b\- anxtinia: 
 
 \\ 
 
 a a 1 i o i V, .a t^i L<,.a 
 
 N 
 
 ha\-e determined. Ihit tia^. lancuonarx 
 
 not laiia \\\ u\ 
 
 xaiaditx^ oi tae command 
 
 receua: 
 
 •, i 
 
 lie fell 
 
 .ick c)n the ueti lions 
 
 other kuidowners near I3rest, who stood ina 
 a^aiinst an\" one claimant bein.[ paid in lull 
 while the other creditors ware o\\\\ partial!}' 
 satlshed. This ditticuli}' wais settled b\' a 
 further order to pav every one in full. 
 
 Tlie Duchess had a sharp appetite tor public 
 
 i 
 
 1 For all the proceedings m this :uoir see Arc/nrcs 
 Natioudlcs, Feb. 26, 1704, E. 741; 242: July 6, 1704, 
 E. 1927 ; July 1, 1704, E. 746. 
 
3'='4 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 
 in Willi.: :'i .Aubijns 
 
 th'? functions 
 
 i"i (J I 
 
 r 
 
 ;]1 ri'P\"n' 
 
 {"• r, ince 
 
 TfU n n' saiC 
 
 1 
 
 i.^r\ \'■~A^^ 
 
 larni-s oT 
 
 f 
 
 
 1 1 • "111 1 • 
 
 ann cinini'-a tnn ^'xriu^ivt^ 
 
 ^> 
 
 ri^^ht, in \nrtn'- 
 
 sell lii^:^'- runnti^'iis/ The Counnn, to w 
 
 2 
 
 . to 
 
 * n "-- n c 
 
 ■ 'J iv^-^"i ni 
 
 I 
 
 ■; n-r ! n.-()ur. i ^ni n 
 
 nn.;" any - ^M u-a^^;" tlnnt nelped 
 to NWc-ii iu/r inC'Mn". slv^ \va-^ s^';nnii\ la-a^h- xy^ 
 v\y}j- ali seigneiirial obliq;ati» Ma-. I'ia- CiiaitMa 
 of Aal)i^..a:\ i'-l! nut ^a r^nair. Slin nl'ai'lf^d 
 Lw^iL 1 . '. V vi.~' i • .'. Li . ..- v_ 1 ■ ' ,. 1 1 I'- ) Kcci ) 1 1 an, i ua:^- 
 mac!i a> it wa- an appanage wa'cln in trie 
 
 K.. \ l„ S i I L' i i i '.. 
 
 > ' ^ . t 
 
 1^ ( . t - f i r* f f , 
 
 n) a a: iv 
 
 tiaa'nlurc, ija Lmj: 
 
 ijuCLaiUiiia cxiun'/t. wuiiiU. 
 
 o 
 
 nnmain. Sa*/ roaid not, 
 
 
 necess ltn 
 
 ia, [;aj ciaii 
 
 
 \ « > n. 
 
 
 :L^ 
 
 i I V I V 4 i^ 
 
 i a^ • i ti' \i wa,-. aca*'! itni i 
 
 1 ! 
 
 iwara:- 
 
 r- 
 
 ■a tn* 
 
 tla,: i:!''-^' oi tnc Lji-'-ai 
 l".xc;a^xa'n' \vn- 
 
 \ ; n a "1 
 
 
 1 tr 
 
 H ) V 
 
 the Daciaj: 
 
 •a;; )\\ 
 
 a 
 
 ii niln arr^'-ar. biie 
 
 -i: 
 
 ail V *!.: 
 
 1704, E. 746. 
 
 , 1707, Arc/i. Mi/., 1 
 
 / / 
 
 fi 
 
 /N RETIREMENT, 
 
 305 
 
 again applied, and not in vain, to the Comp- 
 troller-general. 
 
 After the death of Louis Xi\., ])eo-o-in(-^ 
 supplications were sent up lu the RegciaL, who 
 augment-d ^ar pension fron^ i 2,000 to 20,000 
 cuaa liirii lu 24,000 livi-es} Sac was ihca 
 wiam) converted — a penitent '\n d* nr, and ob- 
 liged a> ]i\'c eaa..!ri-d m tiii- aoaaaa-. d1ie ser- 
 \a(n;;-^ ^la ■ *'• 'riaia'f'- . , 
 bia^ was the all ' h)\\ * 
 w^^K- -a a rememd-f' 
 
 to int.. 
 
 r la'acii cause waicn 
 na-aTe'=s oi alaades, 
 
 1 low I' 
 
 r, ^he had 
 
 \perioncc nia to trn-t to 
 
 \ V nen ^^a'..: ~-ttW ia<.,: nriaav'i.ti trash 
 'a'''^nr\' romni'''' on s]ia n)ro''osed i^"' ^t 
 \>\^ii.-^i\jtk .-ji a_/ ^4 iv_i Dc conurRai,.(a 
 vornna-at debentam. aia,] pi 
 
 pension- 
 
 id' n*(nl^)a.Jn :3n*_/aiva 
 
 a o-o- 
 
 4 i i 
 
 Reennt 
 
 lu blOil 
 
 o 
 
 I ^ ' ; : 1 
 
 u 
 
 *' M Pierre Gruyn, the keeper of the Royal Treasury, is 
 hereby ordered to pay in ready money to Madame Louise 
 Rene'e de Penancoai ^c Keroualle, Duchess ui i uii:=inouth 
 
 and Aubi^ny, the sum of 600,000 livres. which have been 
 'accorded to iicr !a- tia:- kinjj. to \y tan .,<.s\ca ;n buying a 
 lif: annuity, payable out i la Majesty's Exchequer, and 
 tv! laplacethe pension of 24x00 livrt\s unio w. - r)artially 
 granted hci by ihe late king ana part-ally b\ a a-cni 
 
 ^ Dan^^eaii^ Jj^ine 20, 17 18, t. x\ii., p ^20, 
 
 X 
 
\i 
 
 ^ 
 
 500 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 Majesty, in consideration of the great services she has ren- 
 
 cl-rc 1 France, and to enable her to support her rank and 
 
 i :i 28th October. J ;ji. — 
 
 Philippe d'Orl^ans."^ 
 
 'O" 
 
 : I): 
 
 
 1 LJ I 
 
 \ Portsmouth's son, the i iuke 
 
 1 :. '■ 
 1 'v 
 
 ' { \ \ -i »■; f. 
 
 aere 
 
 M.^rqi]!^.- d-:: I'hois, ^^: tiint lier end wa-^ ara,r,- 
 anu ii.i.i a notar. tt^tched to h^r hou v 
 Rue de \\,r^:!;: -, un May 12, 1;.;^ 
 ''seated in a:i arni-chrrr in a '^r- ):••'''-•!- u- 
 lo''^<^' _: uii the garden of the sai i ii : i, -;ie 
 ^ ii'jf will, and died on Mnx' 24. Ln^n^e 
 : ii :r lime years, and in ihaL liine never 
 •^ ■•'ic;n}'' >; .- there founded a con- 
 hosp tai nuns, who equally divided their 
 t- I Lwcen the education of the youno- and 
 Uic cari ui the sick. She also spent ^^■< ' 
 
 
 .\ I \ \ \ 
 
 vent i 
 
 1 i < ' i V 
 
 in di:'a>ratinL.' chm-ches. 
 
 October, 17:; 
 
 1 i iC 
 
 Weill Lu i'cxi'ii tu Luri-UiL a doctor, ana 
 
 \' 
 
 ' )V ::a r i a at the age of eighty-five. She 
 
 ^va.. laaac^: ai the ciairch of the J Ktrefuot'e-l 
 ^-^^^^■-^^^--^--^ '^vae:r. there was a chapel ui' ihe 
 
 ' : >:^, Bibl. Nat., t. 50417. 
 
 - ,^rch. Nat., t, 152 ; 6. 
 
 ^ jyc7r?/r:' :^^ I runce, Nov. 1734, p. 2533. 
 
 
 IN RETIREMENT, 
 
 307 
 
 ^■^^-■•^' ^<;^^u:x, aiiu c^tiii were proud ei' being of 
 her kindred. Louise's English descendants, 
 who hved \x\ Enfrlaial o-i rat- \\-j->^q of ji-r 
 double iniquiL)'. neglected a sjy aiai t^rab, but 
 made iaavte to eai^e" iett) i)ossessiun oi the 
 *-d' iA Aebigny. li-> Ci]:ite.a..a .n ilu.: rei-n of 
 i-^-aa:^ \\ i.. \v:\< I'-nt 1,0 the i )iea,a.'^s of l.ein- 
 ster ay her brother, the Duke ui kicaaiund. 
 Tliat ladv wa^ then iiaj wif^-^ of yi, Oailby. 
 ^ae took with her to Aubigny lier sua, Lord 
 lohvaal Fitzgerald, who spent some years 
 there in his boyhood, la ignore a a 1 tar lory 
 i^( la \- it came into his relatives hands. 
 Aubigny was taken from the Rii hia ad iaaiily, 
 when fiefs were abolished b) lie Revolution. 
 Rut the pension the grasping Dia^hess of 
 Portsmouth extracted from the unpatriotic 
 aaiarle^ IT., and which wa=^ sequestrated by 
 W iia.iai of Orange, was restored a* her son; 
 and the British Parliament which thinks 
 ^i, J 00 a year enough lu reliexe tac distressed 
 families of authors, artists, scienri-ts, and 
 other benefactors of their couau), continues 
 to aai\ the Duke of Richmond ^19,000 a 
 year ai virtue of the secret r\ aa rendered 
 Louis XI\d by his ancestress Louise de 
 
 I i 
 
3o8 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 iVl-ff n'U: 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 h r-'i t" 
 
 U V„vi. i L 
 
 i 1 
 
 f !' i 4 < ■ "1 (,,' t. 
 
 ,11 
 
 ;i;-i 
 
 1 i i f - !' 
 
 .fT nif 
 
 :n(sr\- to 
 
 ! 1 r 
 
 1 1 
 
 Hi) « 
 
 I , 4 i- 1 
 
 -liii ow 
 
 V„ ""5 
 
 rii 
 
 s 
 
 r ; 1 r i u - 
 
 r? L <. I L 
 
 ('.A' 
 
 ■ TT 
 
 iblinj" th 
 
 to conquer 
 
 la i i* 
 
 A 
 
 ti 
 
 (Jon 
 
 1 L c; 
 
 :uK.l to 
 
 Hi 
 
 n 
 
 Tt 
 
 i . i L 
 
 r?^''] [■ 
 
 
 I 
 
 fttt 
 
 cv 
 
 I I 
 
 % ■ ^».v ""^'. 
 
 ^ I 
 
 \ ,i 
 

 li..\i,.Ml.M "1 
 
 . I I I . I * 
 
 SIGNED m 
 
 \ f 
 
 i'ORTSMOUTH. 
 
 
 
 
 is original autograph letter is preserve*! in tin* Prcn 
 
 \rchives, (G' Controle general des finances). 
 
 m 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
H 
 
 Ix <Tivin(r the following- letters, tlie Trans]<itor 
 thouo-ht better not to attempt a translation, 
 because all that shows ci total absence of educa- 
 tion in them is untranslatable. *' Le style, ccst 
 rhomme;" and, perhaps in a greater degree, le 
 style, cest la femme. Louise de Keroualle has 
 no style whatever. She spells like a serving- 
 wench who has taken to gallantr)-, and, apt to 
 write love letters, is not mistress of her pen, 
 and shows in the inability to say plainly what 
 she wants to express, a disposition lacking 
 •frankness. Although orthography was not 
 fixed in her time, there was a current mode 
 of spelling among men and women of gord 
 breedin<^. Well-bred women, in the seven- 
 teenth century, were well read and were ad- 
 mirable letter-writers. Nobody knew better 
 how to say just what she wanted, without 
 
 jii 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
<* 
 
 312 
 
 LOC//S/-: /V: KI-:ROrALLE. 
 
 surplusage or baldness, than Madame de Main- 
 tenon. And who was ever more skilled in 
 using elegant language for the purpose of 
 saying nothing, when she had to write a gooo 
 deal and appear effusive ? This is shown in 
 her letters to the Princesse des I'rsins, when 
 that diplomatic lady was directing Philip V\ and 
 his wife, or later, trying to inveigle that king 
 . into making her his second wife. Madame 
 de Sevigne was so spontaneous and frank that 
 one can almost see the workings of her heart 
 and brain in her letters. Madame de Montes- 
 p^an gave the clear, sharp stamp of a coin to 
 the ideas that circulated around her. The 
 Princesse des Ursins and the Comtesse 
 d'Aulnoy were at the cotirt of Madrid what 
 Lady Wortley Montague long after was at 
 Stamboul. These women were prepared by 
 severe mental drill in youth to be the bri'dit 
 •s and unconscious chroniclers of their time; and 
 belonged to sets priding themselves on scholarlv 
 taste, which then took a tinge from Spain 
 and a strong colour from Italy. Madame de 
 Sevigne was at home in the Italian poets, 
 which she read in their own ton'uie and in 
 the Latin authors ; and she was at once a 
 
 LETTERS OE DUCHESS OF TORTSMOE 11 ! . 3x3 
 
 bookihh, a brilliantly sociable, and a business 
 woman. She called ignorance, by which she 
 meant non- acquaintance with the standard 
 books, ancient and modern, of her time, an 
 *' ugly beast." The library of Hortense Man- 
 clni, Duchess Mazarin, was, when she was a 
 refugee in London, one of the subjects of table 
 talk at Whitehall and St. James's. Ninon 
 d'linclos, the enchantress of three oenerations. 
 divined in her old age the part V'oltaire was 
 likely to play in the world, and gave the first 
 impetus to his literary career by leaving him 
 her books. 
 
 The brilliant French women of Louise de 
 Keroualle's time, save Mdlle. de la Valliere, 
 were viaitrcsses fcmuics — a term for which 
 strong-minded women is not quite an equiva- 
 lent. They were women of initiative and of 
 genius, which is always an independent thing, 
 and bears trammels uneasily. Madame de 
 Sevigne's genius was governed by her mater- 
 nal passion, and strengthened by good sense. 
 Mesdames de Montespan and de Maintenon 
 were, in the bottom of their hearts, merely 
 ambitious of governing the ablest and most 
 self-willed monarch of their time ; and they 
 
M 
 
 LUCISK r>I: KERiU/ALI.r. 
 
 succeeded — one by her wit and her imperious 
 temper, and the other by her strength and 
 :oolness of head, and her reposeful, simple, 
 elegant conversation, and her craft. 
 
 A little later, two of the illegitimate dauQ-Ji- 
 ters of Louis the T^ourteenth turned out to 
 be the most accomplished rh\'mini^r lampoonists 
 that ever used the French ton^^aie for a ril)ald 
 and malii^mant use. They |)OSsessed tlie sju'rit 
 and the form of the cliausoii in a no le.ss 
 dei^^ree than I^eran^er. Hut the\' ix diluted all 
 they touched, graceful anei li-ht as tlieir n.iuse 
 was, for they went in tlie way of the old 
 Princess Palatine in _n.rossne<s, and luul a 
 pruriency of feelin-'- for which their eri-dn 
 accounted. Their L;rand position Wcis, I ma\- 
 here remark, due to the examj)le set b\- Charles 
 11. and its action on the court of X'ersrulles. 
 Those accounts L^iven 1)\' lM"ench ambassadors 
 for the private readini^ of their Kinir, of the 
 i^^oini^s on in the seraglio at Wdiitehall, and of the 
 P^n^dish king's prodigality in giving pensions 
 and duchies to the children bred therein, doubt- 
 less helped to break down that respect for wdiat 
 was seeiuK-, which live-]\-n and otluu* Pui^^lish- 
 men so much noticed in Pouis the b^jurteeuth, 
 
 LETTERS OE DUCHESS OE POEISJ/Ory-J/. 31 ^ 
 
 and contrasted wdth the disrei^ard for decenc\- 
 of the merry monarch in saddHng his ladies 
 and their offspring on the nation. May not 
 the desire that Louis so often showed, to hear 
 -ill about the corruptions of the Englisli 
 court and the shamelessness of Charles in 
 giving dukeries to these children, have arisen 
 from a secret wdsh to find in his bad example 
 a pretext for leiritimizino- and enriching- the 
 ottspring of Mademoiselle de la X'alliere and 
 Madame de Montespan ? 'Plie existence of the 
 sons and daughters of both ladies was kept 
 lonsj- a nnstery. ^Madame de Maintenon took 
 charge as governess of the MontespcUi lot, 
 wdiich were hidden awav r.t Issv. P-^vehn. 
 wdien in PVance, noticed the care taken to keep 
 them out of si^lit. It was onh' wdien the mind 
 of Louis was saturated with letters about 
 Wdiitehall that he thouelit of leoitimizinij' and 
 
 <^ o .^ 
 
 heaping appanages on his illegitimate sons and 
 securinef the most brilliant matches in Prance 
 for the daughters. To do him justice, he did 
 not seek so much to enrich them at the cost of 
 the countr\' as at tlie cost 01 his eklerh' and 
 eccentric cousin la (irande Mademoiselk?, or 
 rather, at thai ot AP de Panzun. a (jascon w c.o 
 
316 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUAU.E. 
 
 T • ^ 
 
 I i V_. ) t I I i I 1 » ( t ■ » 
 
 L L I 1 i 
 
 
 ;;-;]Cino:;q cS \^\ 
 
 ! i U V. , : I I C 'J i 1 I 
 
 i 
 
 i 1 ■,_, 'J > ^ i I 
 
 n ; ^ 
 
 '[ues- 
 
 tion, 1 iir evH cr.niniiifiic.it'niis nf t'l'- rr-i-ii'ii 
 
 cllll iJcl'-':''<U.Ujr > 111 l^UllLiUl 
 1 
 
 i inaimcT-, of their 
 
 roM-n to l;Ci:-\'o, tlK" 'M.n,i m 
 
 'i'i^" inU-^i^ai to \\li;c]i li:^:.;!-'/ ca'vA Lolli^,e 
 d*^' K ■.o'uuaL''. War- t() h'^ Ti con^^cious tnol; aivi 
 h^-" f-^^'- anoail'.n, O) {;*' // ,- //;7oa//.t /./ luieux 
 enl !-eUuiic tu Jim-i r . >'o' had 
 
 in 
 
 1 ' O* s 
 
 ■ n ^^ 1 - ■ 1 1 i . - T 1 ' 
 
 .ill'. 4 >'.,K, l(i{ \\V 
 
 
 i i'-'Li'j L'i Liial b \ 11 i 
 
 paiiiy iMf id-a^ wiiich made some '>r i.lo.' mo^ 
 fiaiani 1' i^cnCiiwoaiLai ui iior a.n' r'a<a ni the 
 ^'■"^ftv oliacs of Coiav:i!--, aa I aaa. rar-.l> =aal 
 otli'^r ui^oiaata):!-. i-^ a-Mr i>ossuet discourse on 
 '^ ^--i a.'^' i'a-w-a:' tv: /a:'a, ^ >r Bourdaloia- 
 
 ? •x^.a L 
 -^ |H.-ii^aaaaia^ eloaaraice in t-a- laa,,.- ihn-o 
 uaaan aa f'a.aaaaa lo -irengthen thera:^caaes 
 l'.a' a ia^'a',:r \\\-- io' arax-^i; "Idie bi^- anra\v]*'o- 
 
 ' - c> ; ' " , '-^ 
 
 ■• 1 ■ - , . ... 
 
 n a 1 "^ ( i \\a' o i ? 1 r i > r t : ^ • w • ,■ -i • i ^i * ; * i c • i t = • » .■ ■ o-. 
 
 cauaa.' as 
 
 spr 
 
 >1]:n'r 
 
 <;-> 
 
 1 i„ i i ai V * ' 
 
 ; i > i v\ 
 
 > a a ^ ! 1 a a . O ' • I 1 
 
 ct i i •.t 1 i .5 1 i i J a i ^ V !,„ '. .' a V '■ ij t^ I 
 i > s. ' . ' > i ,.a i I ' V,. .\a ^ , ; i L ,.1 :i ! a 
 
 .1 I i''<a]l ! !'* of t |]< > 
 •'''■. 1 i. i a I . . a L a I H. 
 
 ^ l^'aina] ^wMwvj Ill's 
 
 '' -1 V L- i i I a , i. 
 
 1 ais 
 
 1 
 
 1 f 
 
 i : t .l<,ai V < : 
 
 ,• ) 
 
 ana a puur n'-ait. 
 
 ' t^r-\\(\' 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH, ixf 
 
 have scribbled often and 
 
 ;i n M 
 
 voQ whoni 
 
 friends 
 
 in n n 1 f f • n ■''* 
 
 her home-country. She \\i uKi iauaj pa^ivou a 
 
 uoal into cinaall space, letter- laio^n" aial lai^tai^e 
 bot\\a.-*jii i^rance aad laa^daiiJ being very dear, 
 and da- opportunitia^ for ^caad'a- hat' ■:-- from 
 uiic cuaai!\- to anotiior Ijoaia laaa.' and aa^agular. 
 Use would have made liar aiistra 
 The fact of Louise da 
 
 :^ "^ S, > ; 
 
 
 aiaa a 
 
 i \ '^ I ■ ' •• 1 la . a„ 
 
 ataaaiia' ir 
 
 a 
 
 da tongue of 
 
 waaaii she n^n'rr aia-i^rt. d, an:L,1il tij rtax-a been 
 a .la lulus to the epistolary laaait). W a na. t 
 concliido that this gift wa- altog'-tlior wanting 
 in her, and thai she wa^ uaa ui uioj^c chaiaiCLar- 
 less womi !i whom Pope best liked. An inde- 
 poad^aa, a 
 
 been ai it- 
 
 ? tin active mtelirci uoaiLi v\.\m^ 
 aa\. ii was her business to 
 
 dee 
 
 in 
 
 \ - 
 
 >!id 
 
 ( H 
 
 s M ' Tl 
 
 \ Olv* r I'oIiLii 
 
 tins waji -docility, and. boaai:- 
 braia, >aK^ trvp dc ^He. d tii- di 
 in laa' liaridw oiaij. The pesi 
 buiaoiaay beran^^^ tli^ tin. >a„.d-^ 
 selves slowly. Wetiiia aiid h 
 and isbjects of ]ier life. S!i( 
 
 I a" . ' i- . ■ ' , , " ] 
 
 neioeii aiui iiei" -^lui, anvi certanny hiic- 
 
 aa • I 1 l'i < »-/ > 1 1 . o ^ ,- f a , > i->-| f r t i.' «i , a t a t h. , » 
 
 \\ V i i 111 ,__ I I ». i . ; .,_^ I . i ^ a 1 , 1 L J , •> i ; '. .- 1 t «. J L i i, O 
 
 tanr* t 
 
 
 t 'a 
 
 t r t 
 
 Dul 
 
 i 11 ^( 'i ! t h a ? 
 
 wan It 
 
 n 
 
 ' > 'f 
 
3i8 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 credit >f F:io;land that this woman \vhose cour- 
 
 b--a!in^-v»-i i/A ininn would hav^* wiiJih^ld her 
 iroin iiu ; _^ ti; tinction at Versailles, directed 
 
 ih'j n^'i.':\- ^^: L-iiar'":- H, torso mai;\- v^-wx"^. 
 
 G. M. C. 
 
 I. 
 
 TO HENRY SIDNEY. 
 
 Letter published in the diary of Henry Sidney, vol. ii., p. 307. 
 
 Paris, 8 mars 1689. 
 Je sais toutes les bontes avec lesquelles vous avez 
 parle de moi. Monsieur, dont je vous suis infiniment 
 obligee. \'ous savez combien toute ma vie j'ai et^ 
 
 dans vos interets de vous et de vo^ amis Do mon 
 cote je ne suis point changee, et i'on ne peut prendre 
 plus de part a i tii te qui vous regarde que je fais. 
 One mon absence nc mc niiise doiic imn plus aupres 
 de vous, et veuillez, en vc (,i i dependra de vous, de* 
 bunnc fni protci^er nic^ interets. Vous savez qu'ils 
 sont SI attaches a ceux du due de Richmond que Ton 
 ne les peut separer. Je ne doute point que le souv^enir 
 que vous avez de qui il a rhoinijiir d'etre fils, ne 
 \\)us porte davantage a i < us continuer votre amitie 
 que je souhaite tresfbii cl puur 1 ui ci pour I'autre. 
 Vous voulez bien que je vous supplie d'avoir un peu 
 de bonte pour M. Hornby qui i-i c<:^.\{\ i|ui vous 
 rendra cette lettre. II est tout a fait dans mes in- 
 terets et de mes amis. Ce me seroit un grand plaisir 
 
 319 
 
320 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 si je pouvois autant compter sur vous. II est sur, 
 mon cher oncle, que vous ne pouvez jamais etre des 
 
 a:: 1^ cc qui que ce soit qui soit plus des votres, ni 
 qui V u> honorc ;>'i; narfaitement que 
 
 I . luchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 321 
 
 que vous pouves vous ymaginer. Pardones moy 
 mais frequantes inportunistes, vous m'aves permis de 
 center sur vos bontes esssentiellement : ainsy, Mon- 
 sieur, ge m'adresse a vous avec confiance. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 II. 
 
 TO Tin: COMTl- DE PONTCHARTRAIN. 
 
 Letter preserved in the National Archives, G", controle gene- 
 ral des finances, and published in the Muse'e des Archives^ 
 n^ 897, p 540. Original autograph document. 
 
 1 'J I 4 
 
 iX\ ■. 
 
 'X 4 I i v.. wi 1 \>. 
 
 C t 1 ^ i 
 
 " T r " 
 
 
 \\ 
 
 n 
 
 ans, 
 
 qi!.: 
 
 ■ ''^ 
 
 
 '■- 
 
 iC> 
 
 d. u - 
 
 u> 
 
 --■: 
 
 
 DC'.! 
 
 H n !"' 
 
 c^t; 
 
 > V 
 
 V 
 
 CI 
 
 L' 
 
 r !;s 
 
 Hirer 
 
 
 ic^ vouloir tx 
 
 VOll!o\T 
 
 ^ r 
 
 Paris, 4 octobre 1692. 
 
 n' < re dais abistans et dais paysant a 
 
 ;;::•'■. uLii est ma duche, me Lut, Alon- 
 
 iciice vous conjurer d'avoyr v'Ucs du 
 
 t.ii ou il sont reduyt, tams par lagrande 
 
 ct (': - ustensille qu'ils ont tons les 
 
 rialheur qu'ils ont eu d'une grelle qui 
 
 . -t ai.n . lis sont sy accabl6 et sy 
 
 pa\cr qu'ils abandonnent et la ville 
 
 •I c; 1: fait Monsieur, que j'ose vous 
 
 nii'j- (in .1. . r puur cux, et de vouloyr 
 
 tic cr lucour, intandant de 1' urge, de 
 
 ic: jciis de guerre st'anne, et de 
 
 ::i:cr ^a taille, estent apsolUimant 
 
 N \ous n'aves ste bontes-la pour 
 
 n„ liie . t refusse pas, estent une 
 
 la n^i-cre v estent au dellas de ce 
 
 ■a I i l . 
 
 i 
 
 III. 
 
 TO CHAMILLART. 
 
 Letter preserved in the British Museum, Ms. Add*^ 1S675, ^° 74- 
 
 Original autograph document. 
 
 De Paris, ce 2d'avril 1701. 
 
 Sachant et connessant, iMonsieur, lais anbarras 
 d'afaire que vous avez, je n'e osse tous se tems cy 
 vous trop presser et vous conjurer de vouloyr pancer 
 d moy comme vous m'aves fait la grasse de me le 
 promestre. O nom de Dieu, iMonsieur, ayes asses de 
 bonte pour moyet depitie pour matriste sirconstance 
 pour vouloyr m'accorder le payeumant dais quinsse 
 mille franc que vous m'aves dist que le Roy ordonest 
 que je touchasse a pressant, et acordes moy I'expe- 
 dission de mon arrest pour le surplus ; que je me flate, 
 iMoiiMcur, que vous ne me feres le tord de mettre cy 
 bas mais interais que M. Pelltier les a reduyts ; que 
 je vous aye done la sansible obligassion, Monsieur, 
 que je ne perde poinst moytie par iih ytie, de con- 
 siderer qu'estens sur les estats que je sere ancore bien 
 du tems sans toucher mon arjent. Ainsi, iMonsieur, 
 aves I'umaniste d'antrer dans mon malhciireux estat 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 l: que li Ifquidassioii que vous voulles bien avoyr la 
 bontc ck: fan J soyt en ma faveur et la plus avanta- 
 g :u--e [ i'ii vous sera possible ; car de vostre bonte 
 an se<\' lespand tous le bonneur et Tarengemant de 
 !:: ."> .!"i:rr ; jc charge mon homme d'afaire d'avoyr 
 rhonncur vij vous presenter ite lestre. Vous ores 
 la bonS' dc liiy ordnnncr lais pas que vous treveres 
 bien que je fasse auprais de vous pour la terminesson 
 de sette afaire ycy ; donnes luy done, s'il vous plest, 
 vos ordres awe ;uitems de bonte que vous m'aves 
 permis d'esperer que vous ories pour moy. J'osse 
 
 voU'=; an 
 voulo;.r ' 
 person He 
 qui vous 
 
 i i i '_/ V I 
 
 I tres-instammant, Monsieur, et de 
 yre que vous n'an pouves avoyr pour 
 : y: plus vesristablement sansible ny 
 :nc uL lionnore cy parfaitemcnt que 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORSTMOUT. 
 IV. 
 
 TO CHAMILLARD. 
 
 Katiu. .a Archives, G., 7. Original autograph document.* 
 
 De Paris, ce 5 daoust 1702. 
 
 rermestcz mry, Monsieur, dosser ancore vous de- 
 i :: :.: unc c^rasse qui est seullement de me vouloir 
 :c n'-:r: - ir la feuille de distribution; vous nan 
 pe-: J.: pa plus tot sy vous ne le voullez, mais si vous 
 
 ^ This letter, and the eleven following, were discovered by 
 M. A. de Boislisle. 
 
 n 
 
 ti 
 
 n 
 
 \ 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 32 j 
 
 me voullez bien faire ce plesir la je treve le moicn 
 de macosmoder avec mais jens dafaire, sy vous me 
 donnez ceste marque de bonte. Ne me la refifuse 
 pas. Monsieur, je vous an conjure, car par la vous me 
 donerez le moien de sortir davec dais arabe qui me 
 tiranisse de toute maniere. Soufre done, Monsieur, 
 que je vous conjure de me donner ce secours et de 
 vouloir bien vous donner la penne de me faire savoir 
 sy vous orez ceste bonte pour moy. To natems que 
 sella pour partir disy et finir et sortir absollument 
 dafaire, sy je suis asse heureuse pour que vous veillez 
 bien me donner ce secours que je vous demande 
 instamment avec la justisse. Monsieur, de me croyre 
 la personne du monde qui vous estime, ayme et 
 honore le plus parfaistement. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 V. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 Letter preserved in the National Archives, G., 7, 543. Original 
 
 autograph document. 
 
 De Paris, ce 20 mars 1708. 
 
 Ne pouvant avoyr I'honneur de vous voir, Mon- 
 sieur, par le grand abattement qui me reste d'une 
 violente fiesvre et une etresipelle que je eu dans la 
 taite et sur tout le visage, je prant la liberie de vous 
 
 1 
 4 
 
324 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE: 
 
 b 
 
 in 
 
 X'l 
 
 le lie 
 iceiiu\- 
 
 ■rcmeni 
 poingt et este: 
 
 \: touch-.: :;: 
 
 lire siis lignes pour vous suplier devouloir bien 
 : icsouvenir de la promesse que vous avez eu la 
 te de !;:c faire aupres de M. Nicolle, qui anagist 
 ph:^ III .: dii nionde avec moy car, depuis castre 
 nu p.- I u> • rir a tirer un soult de luy 
 
 .:r iin -ub-istance W a ina belle tapisserie dont 
 i, -c - r: Lt ,u il L;a-: J toute, et je me treve pis que je 
 n^uaio avc^ Ti \ ning, car au moins me payes til 
 : Uilic-rcmeni lit bu' moy; mais tapisserie ne 
 
 t soigneusement conserve ; 
 i)0ur cent, jendonne dix a 
 revenu et il ne me payen 
 : de tout , eiibi s'yl ne luy 
 pciicst pa^' nil- vous macordye une forte protection, je 
 n'en viendere jamais about. X i le la retusse pas, 
 Monsieur, je vous ansupli, et donnez-vous la penne de 
 luy parller comme Uiy iTiarquant voullant estre obeys. 
 Josse esperer cet esantiei servisse de vous, Monsieur, 
 et que vous serez persuade que personne dans le 
 monde ne vous peut estimer et honorer sy parfaite- 
 ment que moy. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 Je prie Monsieur de de ce doner la 
 
 penne de vous rendre cette lettre, et de vous dire ce 
 dont je le charge ; soutenez-moi, je vous ansuplie. 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 325 
 
 K 
 
 i 
 
 VI. 
 
 To DESMARETS. 
 
 Letter preserved in the National Archives, G., 7, 543. Original 
 
 autograph signed document.^ 
 
 De Paris, ce 12 avril 1708, 
 
 Ma sante ne me permettant pas encore d'aller a 
 Versailles, Monsieur, je vous envoy le sieur Pinson 
 pour vous porter un memoyre ; il vous expliquera, sy 
 vous voullez bien macorder le plesir de luy doner un 
 mosmant dodyance, la consequance que ce mest de 
 macorder la grasse que je vous demande ; je lieux de 
 me flater de vos bontes et desperer de vous tous lais 
 secours qui sont a vostre pouvo3/r ; selluy cy est 
 antiesremant, acordelle moy done, Monsieur, je vous 
 an conjure, la pronte expedission mest importente, et 
 vous le connesterez parce qui! aura I'honneur de vous 
 dire. Josse esperer que vous macorderez cette 
 marque de I'interait que vous me foite I'honneur de 
 prendre an moy comme a la personne du monde qui 
 sertennemant vous honore, ay me et estime le plus 
 parfaitement. 
 
 L., duchesse DE Portsmouth. 
 
 * Some of the letters of Louise de Keroualle in the National 
 Archives are unsigned. 
 
326 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 327 
 
 VII. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 Letter preserved in the National Archives, G., 543, Original 
 document with the note, " Par le sieur de Lonchant." 
 
 De Paris, ce 9 juillet 1708. 
 
 Comme vous m'avez permis de center sur vos 
 bontes, iVionsieur, josse prandre la liberie de les 
 inplorer n n 1:1 chosse qui vous peuvent estre a 
 charge, car sait ce que je vistere toujours, mais comme 
 vous iiiivez fait I'honneur de me dire dans le cos- 
 i;:c.i.:..:i: que vous avez este controlleur gendraP, 
 que vous ne trouvesriez pas movais que je vous 
 presantasse autems dafaire que on man donnerest qui 
 parussent resonnable, je mosse flater que vous avez 
 asse de bontes pour nioy pour aymer autems et 
 j'espere mieux me faire du bien de cette maniere ca 
 des personnes indisferente ; vous connaisse mais 
 besoings et le malheureux estat ou je suis et de quelle 
 consequancc me peut ;, :re un secour comme selluy 
 sy qui nc fait tu: t a personne et qui notte rien dais 
 coffre du Iv y ; ne me reffuse done poingt vostre 
 protection. \ .a^ in'aviez paru sy rempli de bonte, 
 a ci'uii c ct de bonne vollonte pour moy devent destre 
 
 ^ Desmarets only became controleur general in the month of 
 February this year. 
 
 1;; 
 
 dans le poste ou vous este, que josse me promestre, 
 Monsieur, que dans dais chosse comme celle-cy vous 
 me voudrez bien proqurer tous lais secour a ma 
 movesse situassion qui despenderont de vous. Vous 
 vouUez done bien me permettre de vous faire souvenir 
 par ce memoyre, que je joingt a ma lettre, des deux 
 affaires que jus I'honneur de vous presenter la surveille 
 de vostre despart. La personne qui a I'honneur de 
 vous presanter ma lettre est le sieur de Longchant 
 qui me les a donne et qui est un homme fort indus- 
 trieux dans sait chosse la; anfin, Monsieur, josse 
 esperer que je trevesre an vous dans dais chose qui ne 
 vous seront pas plus anbarrassante ny plus disficille 
 que selle sy, une vraie protection et un veristable et 
 essantielle ami, et que vous me fere la justisse destre 
 fortement persuade que personne ne vous aynie, ne 
 vous estime et honore sy parfaitement que je le fais 
 
 veritablement. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 Permettez-moi de vous supller de vous souvenir de 
 me faire mestre sur I'estat de distribussion pour ma 
 pansion eschue depuis le commancement de juin. 
 
 :t 
 
328 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLK. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 329 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 Letter preserved in the National Archives, G, 7, 543. Original 
 
 autograph document. 
 
 De Paris, ce iSjuillet 1708. 
 
 J'ossc esperer, ?vl r^i,ur, que la grasse que vous 
 
 avez bicn voullii accnrdrr \ monsieur ]-? marquis de 
 
 1 i, \'e an parllant an sieiir Volland pour iiiy, ?ie seras 
 
 puo retraite rnr vons comme nwjisieur le viarqnis de 
 
 Vailance ce le promest et quil la fait €7itandre an sieur 
 
 Valiant an luy demandant six on sept jour pour an- 
 
 ployer sait sollicitassion auprais de vous. Jc ine flatte, 
 
 Monsieur, quelle noront nulle lieux et que vous orez 
 
 la bonte de noii- cuntiniiLr vostre protection, monsieur 
 
 I i^ *\ c aiant toute lais suretes a donncr au <a'!r 
 
 Nc nic r fusez done poingt ceste marque 
 
 et c'c cai:^ahjra: n que josse vous dire, 
 
 que ji a criste pas lais santimants d amities 
 
 c '.dc je pour \'iaa> vLaainc pvuir un des plus 
 
 la" laaaj da iiiondc et qui a \q plii? dc mcritc 
 
 dt 
 
 \"'jlland 
 
 A T 
 
 '^ i- ^- ^.- 
 
 C 
 
 ..e 
 
 \ > 
 
 sin i. 
 
 V; 
 
 adi a adtement. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 anxore, Monsieur, d'osser vous 
 
 ad aa a\t lur de moy pour ma 
 :aa- cpuis ie cosmancemcnt i 
 
 \ ■(' 
 
 II 
 
 IX. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543. Original autograph document. 
 
 De Paris, ce 8 daoust 1708. 
 La maniesre obligente avec laquelle vous me fiste 
 la grasse, Monsieur, dantrer dans mes interais quant 
 jus I'honneur de vous parller de ceste grande afaire 
 des billiey de monoye manhardy de vous importuner 
 de sais ligne-sy, pour vous renresenter quelle doyt 
 parestre a un homme aussy esclere que vous, sy 
 aventajeuse pour le servisse du Roy quelle meriste 
 que voas y donniez toute vostre atantion, afin de la 
 conclure insesemmant et qaa ceux ud I'entreprennent 
 puisse travailler a s'arenger la dessu. ^\iii:3y j'espere, 
 Monsieur, que v.~ i~ Icar mandcrcz insesamment de 
 vous aller trever ., 1 onteneblaux. Monsieur Nicollas 
 aaa: i entretenue a fond et iaa- aa ;; 
 ment, je treve qui ^.i possede -y Lia 
 neat manquer vie dur part a i a^ a 
 paru qud a fdit dc seriease reflcCMMa 
 evencrncns et quil ne arcaiii^ aa..|aa inconvenient pour 
 vous iiy pour cux. ju iic vuyc an luy qu'un tres 
 grand selle pour vostre service ct unc franchise qui 
 lobligerest d'adi::d ; na haaiin. >\ i nn-trt persuade 
 cue vous V orez de aranii:- d\Lni:i^QS et baucoup 
 
 aix de iu'^e- 
 que rien i;e 
 )n. II in'a 
 ar lous lais 
 
330 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 donneur dedans et dehor du royaume, et cy je nestais 
 pas persuade ]e nc prnndrais pas, Monsieur, cette 
 libcrte. S r: ni-cii ::t personne ne s'interessant plus 
 viven. :;r a;i. n:, que moy, sait ce qin :he poite a 
 vous marqucr qii'! ftu ': i que vous mandiez monsieur 
 Nicolla et ;ii associe et puis retenir Nicolla tout seul 
 pour vous ii; t;uyre a fon et vous mestre en estat 
 tuutc lafaire pour ia conclure ; je de nouvaux de luy 
 ^a parole quil fera pour moy tout au monde ce que 
 vous voudrez. ^Ta*-. ne croyez pas s'il vous plest, 
 Monsieur, que s\ jc nanvissajest pas la chose glo- 
 rieusse et utille pour vous, que I'interais que il peux 
 avoyr me fit vous representer la chose sy vivement, 
 ne trevez done poingt movais, Monsieur, la liberte 
 que je prand et <^nyez persuade de mon atachement 
 et uc ma saingsere amitie pour vous, personne ne 
 pouvant vous considerer avec une plusparfaite estime 
 et vous honorer n^ !^ infisnisment que je le fais. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 Irevez bon que je vous supli aussy de vous resou- 
 ven'r de ma pansion et d ordonner que je soye pave. 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. \\\ 
 
 o:> 
 
 X. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543. Onginal autograph document. 
 
 De Paris, ce 14 aoust 1708. 
 
 Je resoy, Monsieur, dans le mosmant la lettre que 
 vous m'avez fait I'honneur de mescrire; je charge mon- 
 sieur Niscolla davoyr Ihonneur de vous rendre selle 
 ycy, qui san retourne a Fontenneblaux pour attendre 
 vos hordre contems et croyant estre sur et an estat de 
 lever toute lais difficultes que vous pouvez trevez dans 
 stafaire, sy vous voullez bien luy faire la grasse de luy 
 an parler. Ne refusez pas je vous pris la liberte que 
 j'osse prandre dantrer dans stafaire comme presumant 
 de vous exsiter et persuader contre vostre propre 
 jugement ct vos grandes lumieres ny maime par un 
 esprit davisdiste et d'interais desresonnable, car je ne 
 la souette quantems quelle vous pouras e^tre agreable 
 et utille. An ce cas la jeanresantire un sansible plaisir 
 puisque vous pourez estre mon bien faiteur sans qu'il 
 vous an coute rien dauqune maniere que quelque 
 parolle. Ainsy quant josse vous suplier de voulloir 
 aprofondir la chosse avec le sieur Xk /li.i-, se nest que 
 pour que vous an ayez nn parfait c^^clrrcissement et 
 lesprit satisfait ladessus pour vous destunii: r comme 
 vous le jugerez le plus apropos. 11 sere^t reste pour 
 atamdre vos hordres ct vostre tems sans quil avest 
 
332 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 ysy eune .i lai.e de consequance. Aujourdhuy je 
 vous suis infiniment oblige, Monsieur, de la bonte que 
 vous me faite esperer que vous hordonnerez le paye- 
 n: cnt de ma pansion , soyez persuade, je vous suplie, 
 de mon parfait atachement pour vous et que personne 
 ne se peut interesser avec plus d'amitie a tousse qui 
 vous regarde. 113/ vnus estimer et honnorer plus par- 
 f .'tement que 1:1 > . 
 
 L., duchesse de PortSxMOUTH. 
 
 XI. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543. Original autograph document. 
 
 De Paris, ce 16 octobre 1708. 
 j viens d'apr i- jic, TJ^iisieur, que quelque hun de 
 messieurs Ics inrendant de fisnance avest antrepris 
 doptenir dc \ u-i pour un ostre compaigny que celle 
 ^- in -: - e ;r v'ollani t sais assossies dont vous tre- 
 vesrcz les noms sy joings, lafaire de latribustion de la 
 noblesse. Josse esperer, Monsieur, que vous n'avez 
 P *^" ^' ^ ' -^" i -■ :- v\jus ; I proposse sainc ou six jours 
 4 '^^ i^c V ai^ Id >tc nome controlleur general et que 
 \' LH iiic ii-tc 1 hoiiii in dc m'assurer que vous ne la 
 ! rxz q-ic pniir m ,1 et vous la renvoyatte a monsieur 
 Couturier que vous an avez charge pour vous an faire 
 ^' -v.nii. ^a■: 11! b?en que vous me ferez, Monsieur, 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. ZH 
 
 et dont je mosse flater que vous aymerez mieux que je 
 profitte que quelques amis de messieurs lais intendant 
 de fi'^nince. Comme vous mavez fait la grasse de me 
 donner vostre paroUe, je suis persuade que vous orez 
 la bonte de me la tenir et de voulloyr preferer la 
 compaigny du sieur Vollant a tout offre et de leur 
 pcrniettre de vous faire leur soumission. Lextresme 
 craincte. Monsieur, de vous importuner a fait que je 
 ne pas osse trop souvent vous an parller pour vous an 
 rafrechir la memoyre non plus que de I'afaire de la 
 banque, mourant toujours de peur de vous estre trop 
 incosmode ; cependant, Monsieur, se sont dais plesir 
 et dais grasse quil faut que vous fassiez a quelquun ; 
 vous savez la cruelle situation de mais afaire, par sais 
 deux que je eu I'honneur de vous proposer vous me 
 proqurez un repaux esternel et vous devennez serten- 
 nemant mon bienfaiteur et hor destat de vous devoyr 
 a la venir trop importuner. Accordez moy done, 
 Monsieur, sais deux grasse et ansella unc marque de 
 vos bontes et de vostre amitie et de vouloyr bien me 
 faire savoir le tems a pen prais que vous trevesrez a 
 propos de les fisnir pour que je prenne lais mesure 
 necessaire pour la surette de ce que les uns et les 
 ostres mont ofert tant pour la faire de la bannue que 
 pour selle de la noblesse; jc 11 i nr^ ^ui vostre des- 
 sision pour manaller a nui caiiipaigne, mettent de 
 consequance dc ne n^inc^t aiiitcr oul' ic na\' cii niais 
 suretes pour proficter du bien et de lavantage que 
 josse esperer que vous voudrez bien me faire et me 
 
334 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 proqurer dont je vous orez une esternelle obligassion, 
 car, .Uonsieur, sertennement vous ne ferez jamais de 
 plesir ny dc bien a personne qui lais ressante avec 
 une plus parfaitte reconnessance ny qui vous estime, 
 ayme vesristablement, Monsieur, et honore plus par- 
 faitement que moy. 
 
 L., duchesse de Portsmouth. 
 
 Thefolloiving is the list mentioned in the letter : 
 
 Monseigneur aura la bonte de se souvenir de la 
 proposition de I'attribution de noblesse aux commis- 
 saires ordinaire des guerres, a ceux de la marine, 
 galleres et artillerie dont Sa Grandeur a charge U. 
 Le Cousturier pour la travailler avec les proposant 
 qui sont : Rollan \ Lantage, Accault, Caquet, Vollant, 
 Moi-mtrque. 1 ) ib.c, Vannelle, M^rite, La Bussiere! 
 ^^^''^"' -. inKjCit Nicolas, Lacombe, Le Vasseur. 
 
 XII. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543- Original autograph docum 
 
 ent. 
 
 De Paris, ce 25 Janvier 1709. 
 
 La bonte que vous avez eu. Monsieur, de me pro- 
 
 mestre quan fessant Yafaire cojisernant la noblesse dais 
 
 8 cosmissere vous agreriez la compaignie que jorais 
 
 riwnjieur de vous presanter, dont le sieur Volland est 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 335 
 
 a la taite et qui a este travaille par le sieur dc la 
 Combe, me fait esperer. Monsieur, que vous voudrez 
 bien vous an souvenir, ce qui fait que je prand la 
 liberte de vous inportuner de sais ligne sait que je 
 me suis lesse dire que monsieur Poultier voullest vous 
 an parler pour loptenir pour un otre compaigny ; 
 mais je tems de foy an vous, cas moings que ce ne 
 soyt pas un oubli, je mosse asse flater de vostre 
 amitie, pour me persuader que vous voudrez bien 
 man continuer lais marque et ne rien changer asse 
 que vous mavez faist I'honneur de me promettre. 
 Je vous ansuplie tres instammcnt ct vous demande 
 la justisse. Monsieur, de croyre que personne ne pent 
 avoyr plus de recosnessence et de sansibillite de vos 
 bontes ny ne vous peut estimer, considerer et honorer 
 plus parfaitement que 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 Je vous envoye si joingt. Monsieur, les noms de ce 
 qui compose la compaigny : Rolland, Lantage, Acco, 
 Oiseau, Vanelle, Le Vasseur, Caquet. 
 
33^ 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543. Original autograph letter. 
 
 De Paris, ce 24 juillet 1709. 
 
 L'estat ou je me treve, Monsieur, me forsse a 
 prandre la liberte de vous importuner de sais lignes 
 pour vous demander an grasse tres instenmant de 
 vouloyr bien mordonner le payement de ma pansion. 
 Si vous trevez la disfisqulte de me faire donner 
 quelque espesse c|ui me ferest pour tems fort grand 
 plesir, au iiioings accordez-moy la marque de pro- 
 tection et d'amitie de lordonner an billais de monoye. 
 Ne me refusse pas, Monsieur, je vous suplis, ce 
 secour essentiel ; je natems que ceste marque de 
 vostre considerassion et damitie pour partir pour la 
 province, j 3sse, Monsieur, me flater que vostre bon 
 coeur et vostre pitie pour moy vous portera a ma- 
 corder mon instente priesre comme a la personne du 
 monde qui y sera la plus sansible et quy vous ayme, 
 estime et honore, Monsieur, plus parfaitement que je 
 lie ^J puis exprimer. 
 
 L., duchesse DE Portsmouth. 
 
 Oseres je esp^rer un mot de reponse de vous ? 
 Quelle soyt je vous conjure favorable. 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH, 337 
 
 XIV. 
 
 to DESMARETS. 
 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543. Original autograph document. 
 Noted with these words : A. M, de Vaiiboiirg. 
 
 Daubigny, ce $ octobre 1709. 
 
 Je ne sais, Monsieur, sy vous avez la bonte de 
 remarquer par mon sillance la craingte que je et que 
 je vous ay toujour marquer de vous estre importune. 
 Tems que je pus, je suyvis ansella mon goust et la 
 veiitable consideration que je pour vous; mais an 
 veriste, Monsieur, je me treve dans un sy rigoureux 
 estat, que je me treve force d'implorer vostre secours 
 et vostre amitie. Jestay venue isy contems dy trever 
 quelque douseur et quelque essance ; mais la misere 
 y est sy afreuse que Ton ne sorest tirer un soult car 
 lor= a pas seullement de coy acbrtcr dii graing pour 
 semer, et sy vous navez pitie de moy, mais taire ne 
 seront pas ancemance, car, sy je ne iais fait pas faire 
 moy maime, lay fermier sont hors d'estat et cassy 
 tous a la mandiscite ; trevez done bon. Monsieur, que 
 je vniis supli instamment de me donner une marque 
 de distingtion et de bonte partiquliiesre, an me fessant 
 hordonner le payeumant de ma pansion, ce seras une 
 obligassion esternelle que je vous orez. car je suis o 
 non plus. Ne me refusse pas. Monsieur, je vous an 
 suplie, et laisse vous toucher aux besoings d'une amie 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE, 
 
 qui vou- h i.^ic autems que je fais. Trevez ancore 
 bon, Monsieur, de resevoyr un plasset de ma part 
 qun hommc a inoy ora I'honneur de vous presanter 
 sur le sujest de mais boys. Ce plaset vous instruyra ; 
 ayez, syi vous piest, atantion. Que je treve done, 
 Monsieur, eii vous, u:i essentiel ami dans mes vrais 
 besoings, josse me le promestre et man flater et que 
 vous serez bien persuade que personne ne pent estre 
 a\ cc ur.j plus parfaite estime, Monsieur, vostre tres 
 umble ct tics obeissante servante que je la suis. 
 
 L., duchcsse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 XV. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543. Original autograph document. 
 
 T',,^ I'll nnn 
 
 qu'il vols p'u 
 
 III' ill l,i Li'-. iV^ i 
 
 cheniic lIaI;- \ 
 a lu^, I■)^-i^ hau 
 
 sell cui :ui 1 
 
 ciix- 
 
 Daubigni, ce 27 novembre, 1709. 
 
 r. \\. \ n deux niois, de vous faire pre- 
 .; i-sct, -Monsieur, par lequel je demandais 
 )[ut if i niicr que lais vente dais boys de 
 
 iiaiibigny fussent remise a I'annee pro- 
 
 > lc>;)crcince que j'avais quelle serest porte 
 
 1 u't :k;^ que stannee, et nayant noincrt este 
 
 c la 1-- it. Ion a exequste laroit du con- 
 
 h iv! iniaii ici vente. Lay boys furent 
 sainc tin ^rc-cnt moy pour la somtne de 
 nt i.rc-, it inestent par moy 111 ia^ tait 
 1 nai -^a rte qu'ils estet porte a leur juste 
 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH, 339 
 
 valleur terns par raport a leur caslite ca leur situas- 
 sion, estant esloingne de neuf lieux dais riviere. 
 Cependant comme monsieur Thiton grand mestre ma 
 fait voyr lordre que vous luy avez envoye le quinsse 
 novambre pour la remise de I'adjudication, josse vous 
 suplier de vouloyr bien luy ordonner quil nanpesche 
 poingt I'adjudicataire de jouir puisque sait une chose 
 conforme et que le retar me serest tres prejudissiable ; 
 josse ancosre. Monsieur, vous conjurer davoir pitie de 
 ma triste situassion qui est plus rigoureuse que vous 
 ne pouvez vous I'imaginer. Je suis tres persuade que 
 le Roy qui nignore pas depuis fort longtems mon 
 malheureux estat, que si vous aviez la bonte de le 
 luy ancosre represanter an bon et veritable amie, que 
 ny luy, ny vous, ne pouvez pas trever auqun desren- 
 gemant pour dix mille franc de plus ou de moings 
 dans lais afaire. Dautant que sait la senile grasse et 
 le seul bienfait dont il mest jamais honore et mayant 
 fait I'honneur de masurer quant je pris la liberte de 
 luy andemander dautre qu'il ne le pouvest pas, mais 
 qu'il me ferest payer regulliesrement et preferable- 
 ment. Onon de dieu. Monsieur, veillez antrer avec 
 un coeur umaing et tandre dans mon rigoureux be- 
 soing. Josse esperer ceste marque de vostre amiti6 
 et de vostre bonte comme la justisse, Monsieur, destre 
 persuade que de toute lais personne qui ont toujour 
 fait profession destre de vos amis li n> en a auqune 
 qui vous aime et honore aussy parfaitement que moy. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
340 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 TO DL-M,\;.J.TS. 
 
 Letter pre:.erved in the British Museum, Ms. Add^' 18675, 
 
 V ']'■,. Oric^inal autocrraph document. 
 
 De Paris, ce 22 septembre 1711. 
 
 - avies eu la bonte, Moniseur, le m'as- 
 
 - d niieries ordrr dc lu faire resevoyr 
 I :i dont ie Roy in onore, je este 
 
 .4 ; V* i i. i ^ • '••-- 
 
 '■■.X 
 
 n: 
 
 i j; )ing et chez M. de Tur- 
 
 i onne 
 
 mi! 
 
 1 i. i ^ •^. i •-_ 
 
 ' I ' >■■ 
 
 i 1 ,-» 
 
 : n n: le doute poingt que 
 
 vous m'avez fiiit ! i crrassede 
 
 I <• ;, -t que CO!: :: J vous aves I'esprit auqupe 
 J tre--iin;i itciite vous pouves avoyr oiiblie de 
 1 ii: y, tri\ cs bon ste lestre pour vous w:. faire 
 souvenir ct [i^.a vous suplicr . t ;; ua it de vouloyr 
 bien anvnycr v - linrdrc possitive pour que je puisse 
 profistcr de \-o^'re ;/romesse, an ayant, ]■:. v^ai- a-;-^ure, 
 dl 1! :j ii. 11 dcssoinfjs infisnis. A\^6s done cette 
 h ntc i ui la y. je vous an conjure instanmant, 
 
 rdtr di justisse d'estre bien per- 
 :u cr^onne ne vous estime, con- 
 a us parfaitement que moy. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUT. 
 
 t ! 1 
 
 '^'lade 
 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUT//. 341 
 
 Treves bon, Monsieur, que dans cette mesme lestre 
 j'ose vous suplier, sy sella ne vous ayt pas desagre- 
 able, de vouloyr bien an ma recosmandassion accorder 
 
 an ^icur de ^longela. fils enne dii '^iciir Grimaiix. iin 
 
 tu. 
 
 fermiers generaux, une souferme dai 
 
 n '--'.Q, soyt 
 
 uaii> .t" i,:'aaa}b uu dc Chaslon an d JM'iaaiaaie ou 
 dan^ ie i>ourbonnay. Se sont dais jens nd s solvable 
 et qui peyront bien, et qui sont pci uades que vous 
 m'onores d'un peux de Ijoniu ct d'amitie. et qui ont 
 crus que vous leur acorderies par raport a moy plus 
 tot cette faveur la que par d'autre voye. Comme je 
 leiir^ ay obligassion, je ne pas refusse de vous an faire 
 ! I iiesumble priesre; ne le treves pas movais, je vous 
 ari -upiib. Monsieur. Et permestes moy de vous de- 
 mand er an grasse un most de reponce, et s'yi ce peut 
 qu'elle me soyt favorable an tout. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543- Original autograph document* 
 
 De Paris, ce 2 fevrier 17 13. 
 
 Je suis bien mortifie, Monsieur, de me trever 
 oblige par la cruelle situation de mais affaire et mon 
 malheureux estat de vous inportuner sy souvant pour 
 
 1 This letter and the following one were discovered by M. de 
 Boislisle. 
 
343 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 w 
 
 pa: 
 
 dus. 
 
 mc: 
 
 ; :rer davovr la bonte de me faire au moing 
 I.:; J annce de pansion sur selle qui me sont 
 .Xccordez moy done, Monsieur, sette marque 
 ;;t( it d'amitie de vouloyr bien antrer dans 
 : xtresme besoing et de me faire mcstre sur 
 re^ta: d: distribution de dimanche et avec un ordre 
 posit if : estre paye et sanrien qui ne me fasse pas 
 languir. An veriste, Monsieur, ma consideration 
 pour \'ous ct moil atachement a vous honorer depuis 
 Ic moment que je eu I'honneur de vous cosnestre, 
 moi) tioo-i*. un peux de protection et de secours dun 
 ceiir aii-~y bien fait et aussy juste que le vostre ; ne 
 me refusse done pas, Monsieur, la grasse et la justisse 
 que je vous demande instammant, non plus que la 
 justice destre tres fortement persuade que vous ne 
 lacorderez a personne qui vous souette plus de bon- 
 limir, qui vo--^ lionore plus parfaitement, ny qui soyt 
 plus vesristablement, Monsieur, vostre tres umble et 
 tres obeissante servente que moy. 
 
 L , duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 343 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 TO DESMARETS. 
 
 National Archives, G, 7, 543. Original autograph document. 
 
 De Paris, ce 9 mars 17 13. 
 
 Je resge toujours, Monsieur, asse malheureuse pour 
 Que vous ne veillez jamais antrer avec un peux de 
 bont^ et dumaniste dans ma cruelle sytuassion et 
 dans mais extresme besoings. Je vous avourez, 
 Monsieur, que la sirconstance ou je me treve me 
 mest au desespoyr, et se qui maflige an caure le plus 
 griesvement, sait de cecasprais mestre osse flater d'un 
 peux de part dans I'honneur de vostre amitie je la 
 doulleur de nan pas resevoyr la moindre petite 
 marque ny de ne vous trever jamais disposse a entrer 
 dans aucune considerassion pour moy ny de sou^ager 
 mon malheureux estat et mais extresme bessoine. 
 mestent dus troys ann^es de la pension dont le Roy 
 ma honore. An veriste. Monsieur, par lestime et la 
 consideration que je toujour eu pour \ous depuis 
 que je I'avantage de vous cosnestre, je mestais cru 
 androyt desperer une marque de vos bontes et de 
 vostre justice. Je vous la demande. Monsieur, avec 
 toute lais instance qun tres presant besoing le peut 
 exsiger et que vous veilliez bien au moings mor- 
 donner une annee. Vous me laviez fait esperer de- 
 
 ii 
 
344 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 vant le voyage de Fonteneblaux : ne me refusse pas, 
 ■*^ ^-: --1, y- vous ansuplie, et veillez vous souvenir 
 que je sui- line dais personne du monde qui ayt tou- 
 jour plus pris de part a vos avantages que qui que 
 se soyt. Ainsi, Monsieur, par umanite, sy je ne le 
 puis optenir de vostre amitie, compastisse a ma triste 
 conjoncture an ma cordant la grasse que je vous 
 demande \"y et la justisse an maime tems de me 
 croyre avec toute la consideration possyble vostre 
 tres umble et tres obeissante servente. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 TO THE CONTROLEUR GENERAL OF FINANCE.^ 
 
 Signed letter ; collection of M. de Barberey. • 
 
 A Aubigny, le lo decembre 1731, 
 i Liiii-ttez-moi, Monsieur, de vous prier cette 
 annee, comme j'ay fait I'annee derniere, de m'estre 
 favorable aupres de M: le Cardinal dans la demande 
 que je luy fait de la grattiffication annuelle qu'il m'a 
 jusqu a present fait accorder par Sa Majeste, et dune 
 petite augmentation, si cela est possible. Vous trou- 
 vcrcz cv-joint, Monsieur, la copie du memoire que 
 j 'a> :\ presenter a M. le Cardinal ; comme il vous 
 
 ^ Philibert Orry was contioleur general from March 1730 to 
 December 1745. 
 
 LETTERS OF DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 345 
 
 sera apparemment renvoye, je vous prie de voulloir 
 bien I'appuyer de votre credit aupres de Son Emi- 
 nence, et de I'engager a m'accorder ma demande. 
 Je me flatte par I'amitie que vous m'avez temoignee 
 que vous voudrez bien me rendre service en cette 
 occasion, et que vous etes bien persuade de I'estime 
 et de la consideration avec laquelle je suis, Monsieur, 
 votre tres-humble et tres-obeissante servante. 
 
 L., duchesse DE PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 On the margin is written in a handwriting re- 
 sembling Orry's: "Bon pour 5,000. Repondre en 
 conformite a madame de Portsmouth." The copy 
 of the following memorial and of the petition to the 
 King are appended to Letter XIX. : 
 
 To Monseigneur the Cardinal de Fleury. 
 
 MONSEIGNEUR, 
 
 Vous avez eu la bonte de faire donner a la 
 duchesse de Portsmouth en I'annee 1726 une ordon- 
 nance de grattiffication extraordinaire de dix mil 
 livres ; en 1727 une de six mil livres, et les annees 
 suivantes cinq mil livres seulement. Et cela en 
 consideration des services importants qu'elle a rendus 
 autrefois a I'Etat et a cause de la perte qu'elle a 
 fait de presque tout son bien dans le papier ; la 
 reduction qu'elle a souffert sur quelques rentes 
 viageres qu'elle avoit, et dont jusqu'a present elle 
 
 A A 
 
346 
 
 LOUISE DE KEROUALLE. 
 
 11 . ! 11 ubtenir le retablissemcnt, ayant encore rendu 
 
 > i -ill a:; ii plus facheuse. 
 
 i. ^-: -i::;) ; t rc^-humblement Votre Eminence de 
 voulluir hu!; iu)' a^-^^r :cr pour li iM^^cnte annee 
 1731 i::;e ordo::!: ii:lj de cette grattiffication un \-.i\\ 
 plus forte que celle de I'annee precedente et la nro- 
 i^Oii: !i;u:r t -c- besoins et a son age de plus de 
 quai:e-\ ;:;^:-aeuX ans. 
 
 Note subjoined : 
 
 ^•lad j;i^ !a (ii.J.esse de ['_'rt^inouth 
 :5upplic S L M ijeste de lui continuer la meme grace 
 quelle a i a b- :Ue de lay accorder depuis plusieurs 
 '^-0' ^^^i-^^::t a-Min-r \:,xxQ^ gratificati: ^ii pour 
 amce. i.a reduction qu'elle a soufferte 
 ;^ i .nt js viageres qu'elle avoii, d dont 
 ai: aeaauu'c le retablissemcnt, ayant rendu 
 1 lu: re plus tacheuse. 
 3a Majc iv i:\\- a accorde : 
 
 i-'^ ^"26 10,000 liv. 
 
 J'- ^7-7 6,000 — 
 
 ^-:- ^7-^ 7-9 et 1730 . . 5,000 — 
 
 Liaa^- 
 
 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Bi.'*iCr ck; i.ini -it, 1 lie tc.wooj t'ri;:t;r.' 
 
 a' Works, Frome, and Loiulr^