I went to rest myself in the poor apartment which was still mine, since the keys had not yet been returned, and I sent for M. le Duc du Maine, who said to me coldly: "I have much pleasure in seeing you again; we were going to write to you."

I had come out from Madame de Maintenon by the door of mirrors, which leads to the great gallery. There was much company there at the moment; M. le Prince de Salm came to me and said: "Go and put on your peignoir; you are flushed, and I can perfectly well understand why." He pressed my hand affectionately. In all the salons they were eager to see me pass. Some courageous persons came even within touch of my fan; and all were more or less pleased with my mishap and downfall. I had seen all these figures at my feet, and almost all were under obligations to me. I left Versailles again very early. When I was seated in my carriage I noticed the King, who, from the height of his balcony in the court of marble, watched me set off and disappear.

I settled at Paris, where my personal interest and my great fortune gave me an existence which many might have envied. I never returned to Versailles, except for the weddings of my eldest daughter, and of my son, the Serious;—[Louis Augusts de Bourbon, Duc du Maine, a good man, somewhat devout and melancholy. (See the Memoirs of Dubois and Richelieu.)—EDITOR'S NOTE.]—I always loved him better than he did me.

Pere de Latour, my director, obtained from me then, what I had refused hitherto to everybody, a letter of reconciliation to M. le Marquis de Montespan: I had foreseen the reply, which was that of an obstinate, ill-bred, and evil man.

Pere de Latour, going further, wished to impose hard, not to say murderous, penances on me; I begged him to keep within bounds, and not to make me impatient. This Oratorian and his admirers have stated that I wore a hair shirt and shroud. Pious slanders, every word of them! I give many pensions and alms, that is to say, I do good to several families; the good that I bestow about me will be more agreeable to God than any harm I could do myself, and that I maintain.

The Marquis d'Antin, my son, since my disgrace.......

HERE END THE MEMOIRS OF MADAME DE MONTESPAN.



THE ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

All the death-in-life of a convent Always sold at a loss which must be sold at a given moment Ambition puts a thick bandage over the eyes And then he would go off, laughing in his sleeve Armed with beauty and sarcasm Cannot reconcile themselves to what exists Conduct of the sort which cements and revives attachments Console me on the morrow for what had troubled me to-day Cuddlings and caresses of decrepitude Depicting other figures she really portrays her own Domestics included two nurses, a waiting-maid, a physician Extravagant, without the means to be so Grow like a dilapidated house; I am only here to repair myself Happy with him as a woman who takes her husband's place can be Hate me, but fear me He contradicted me about trifles He was not fool enough for his place I myself being the first to make merry at it (my plainness) In the great world, a vague promise is the same as a refusal In Rome justice and religion always rank second to politics In ill-assorted unions, good sense or good nature must intervene In England a man is the absolute proprietor of his wife Intimacy, once broken, cannot be renewed It is easier to offend me than to deceive me Jealous without motive, and almost without love Kings only desire to be obeyed when they command Knew how to point the Bastille cannon at the troops of the King Laws will only be as so many black lines on white paper Love-affair between Mademoiselle de la Valliere and the King Madame de Sevigne Madame de Montespan had died of an attack of coquetry Not show it off was as if one only possessed a kennel Permissible neither to applaud nor to hiss Poetry without rhapsody Present princes and let those be scandalised who will! Respectful without servility Satire without bitterness Says all that he means, and resolutely means all that he can say She awaits your replies without interruption Situations in life where we are condemned to see evil done Talent without artifice That Which Often It is Best to Ignore The King replied that "too much was too much" The monarch suddenly enough rejuvenated his attire The pulpit is in want of comedians; they work wonders there Then comes discouragement; after that, habit There is an exaggeration in your sorrow These liars in surplice, in black cassock, or in purple Time, the irresistible healer Trust not in kings Violent passion had changed to mere friendship Weeping just as if princes had not got to die like anybody else Went so far as to shed tears, his most difficult feat of all What they need is abstinence, prohibitions, thwartings When women rule their reign is always stormy and troublous When one has seen him, everything is excusable When one has been pretty, one imagines that one is still so Wife: property or of furniture, useful to his house Wish you had the generosity to show, now and again, less wit Women who misconduct themselves are pitiless and severe Won for himself a great name and great wealth by words Would you like to be a cardinal? I can manage that You know, madame, that he generally gets everything he wants

THE END