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FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
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 J/a 
 
 
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 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 AN ITALIAN EPISODE AT 
 THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV 
 
 BY 
 
 H. NOEL WILLIAMS 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 'MADAME R^CAMIER AND HER FRIENDS," " MADAME DE POMPADOUR,' 
 
 "MADAME DE MONTESPAN," "MADAME DU BARRY," 
 
 "queens of the FRENCH STAGE," 
 
 "later queens of the FRENCH STAGE," ETC. 
 
 WITH PHOTOGRAVURE PLATE AND 
 SIXTEEN OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 27 & 29 WEST 23RD STREET 
 
Printed in Great Britain 
 
TO 
 
 MY WIFE 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 HORTENSE MANCINI, DUCHESSE DE MAZARIN Frontispiece {Photogravure) 
 From an engraving after the painting by Sir Peter Lely. 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 
 CARDINAL MAZARIN 
 
 From an engraving after the painting by Mignard. 
 
 ARMAND DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONTI . 
 From an engraving by Frosne. 
 
 ANNE MARIE MARTINOZZI, PRINCESS DE CONTI 
 From an engraving after the painting by Beaubrun. 
 
 LAURE MANCINI, DUCHESSE DE MERCCEUR . 
 From a contemporary print. 
 
 LOUIS XIV 
 
 From an engraving after the drawing by Wallerant Vaillant. 
 
 MARIE MANCINI 
 
 From an engraving after the painting by Sir Peter Lely. 
 
 ANNE OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF FRANCE 
 From an engraving after the painting by Mignard. 
 
 PRINCE CHARLES (AFTER CHARLES V) OF LORRAINE 
 
 From an engraving by Nanteuil. 
 
 MARIA THERESA, QUEEN OF FRANCE 
 
 From an engraving after the painting by Beaubrun. 
 
 LORENZO ONOFRIO COLONNA, PRINCIPE DI PALLIANO, GRAND 
 CONSTABLE OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES .... 
 From an engraving after the drawing by Giacomo Bichi 
 
 MARIANNE MANCINI, DUCHESSE DE BOUILLON .... 
 
 From a contemporary print. 
 
 ARMAND DE LA PORTE, DUC DE MAZARIN ET DE LA MEILLERAYE . 
 From an engraving after the painting by Mignard. 
 
 MARIE MANCINI COLONNA, PRINCIPESSA DI PALLIANO 
 From the painting by Mignard. 
 
 CHARLES EMMANUEL II, DUKE OF SAVOY 
 
 From an engraving by G. Vallet. 
 
 MARIE LOUISE D'ORLEANS, QUEEN OF SPAIN .... 
 
 From an engraving by L. Armessin. 
 
 OLVMPE MANCINI, COMTESSE DE SOISSONS 
 
 From a contemporary print. 
 
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 38 
 
 40 
 
 58 
 72 
 no 
 158 
 200 
 22c 
 
 238 
 254 
 268 
 310 
 ZZo 
 352 
 384 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Mazarin and his family — Hostile criticism provoked by his promotion of 
 his brother Michele — His sisters, Signora Martinozzi and Signora 
 Mancini, and their children — The Cardinal determines to bring his 
 nephews and nieces to France — Arrival of Anne-Marie Martinozzi 
 and Laure, Olympe, and Paul Mancini — Their reception at Court — 
 Prediction of Madame de Villeroi — Kindness of Anne of Austria 
 to the little girls — Question of the relations between the Queen- 
 Mother and Mazarin considered. 
 
 Tj^OR five years after he had succeeded Richelieu as 
 chief Minister, in May 1643, Mazarin remained 
 an isolated man. He had no relations in France, and, 
 with a single exception, he brought none of his kins- 
 folk from Italy to share his prosperity. Madame de 
 Motteville tells us that he was wont to declare that the 
 beautiful Italian works of art with which his hotel was 
 filled were the only relatives he desired to have with 
 him. 
 
 The exception referred to was his younger brother, 
 Michele Mazarini, a Jacobin monk at Rome, to further 
 whose interests he did not hesitate to use the diplo- 
 macy and power of France, since, not content with 
 appointing him Archbishop of Aix, he intimidated the 
 Pope into making him a cardinal. He soon had reason 
 to regret his misplaced kindness. The new cardinal 
 differed strangely from his brother. Giulio — or Jules, 
 to give him the Gallicized form of his name — was 
 
2 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 " affable, insinuating, and a charming companion " ; * 
 Michele, rough, headstrong, and brutal. So far from 
 being grateful for the favours bestowed upon him, he 
 treated the all-powerful Minister with the utmost 
 familiarity, and was accustomed to speak of him 
 behind his back with undisguised contempt. He had, 
 indeed, respect for no one, not even for the Queen- 
 Mother, and in a short time contrived to render him- 
 self so generally detested that, in order to get rid of 
 him, Mazarin sent him as Viceroy to Catalonia, an 
 appointment which gave rise to much scandal. Michele, 
 however, whether from incapacity or some other cause, 
 only held the post a few months and then returned to 
 Rome, where he soon afterwards died, a victim of 
 debauchery, if Gui-Patin Is to be believed. 
 
 Nothing which Mazarin had hitherto done had excited 
 such hostile criticism as his efforts on behalf of this 
 unworthy brother, and the failure of the experiment 
 discouraged any desire on his part to bring the elder 
 members of his family to France. But the younger 
 members seemed possible elements of strength. Before 
 Mazarin left Rome, as the Pope's vice-legate to France, 
 in 1634, he had established his two sisters in excellent 
 marriages. The elder had married Girolamo Marti- 
 nozzi ; the younger, Hieronyma by name, Lorenzo 
 Manclnl, a Roman baron. Of Martlnozzi, little Is 
 known, save that he is said to have been of noble 
 descent. But the Mancini were undoubtedly an old 
 family, who could trace their ancestry back to the 
 fourteenth century, though whether they had ever 
 been quite so illustrious as the Duchesse de Mazarin 
 (Hortense Mancini) tells us in her " M^moires " is open 
 to question. 
 
 1 Marecha! de Gramont, " Memoires." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 3 
 
 Signora Martinozzi, now a widow, had two daughters 
 — Anne-Marie and Laure. Signora Mancini had been 
 blessed with ten children, of whom eight — three sons, 
 Paul, Philippe, and Alphonse, and five daughters, 
 Laure, Olympe, Marie, Hortense, and Marianne — were 
 still living.^ 
 
 In 1647, finding himself firmly established in the 
 Queen-Mother's affections, and apparently firmly estab- 
 lished in power, Mazarin resolved to make a fresh 
 experiment towards transplanting his family to France, 
 and accordingly demanded from Signora Martinozzi 
 her eldest daughter, and from Signora Mancini two 
 of her daughters, the eldest, and her son Paul. These 
 children were from seven to thirteen years of age. 
 Although invited to journey to a foreign land, to which 
 their mothers were not bidden, there was no hesitation 
 in sending them to the brilliant lot which awaited the 
 adopted children and probable heirs of the great 
 Minister, and in September they arrived at Fontaine- 
 bleau, in charge of the Duchesse de Noailles, who had 
 been despatched to Rome with a numerous suite to escort 
 them to France, just as if they had been Princes and 
 Princesses of the Blood. 
 
 "On II September (1647)," says Madame de Motte- 
 ville, " we saw arrive from Italy three nieces of 
 Cardinal Mazarin and a nephew. Two Mancini sisters 
 and the nephew were the children of the youngest sister 
 of his Eminence, the third niece was a Martinozzi, 
 daughter of the Minister's eldest sister. The eldest 
 of the little Mancini (Laure) was a pleasing brunette, 
 with a handsome face, about twelve or thirteen years 
 of age. The second, also a brunette (Olympe), had 
 
 1 We have adopted the Gallicized form of the Christian names of 
 these children, as it is by them that they are known to fame. 
 
4 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 a long face and pointed chin. Her eyes were small, 
 but lively, and it might be expected that, when fifteen 
 years of age, she would have some charm. According 
 to the rules of beauty, it was impossible to grant her 
 any, save that of having dimples in her cheeks. 
 Mile. Martinozzi was blonde ; her features were 
 beautiful, and she had much sweetness in her eyes ; 
 and had we been astrologers enough to divine in 
 her face the prospects of her fortune, as we did those 
 of her beauty, we should have known that she was 
 destined to high rank. The last two were of the same 
 age ; we were told about nine or ten years old." 
 
 The little strangers were met at Fontainebleau by 
 Madame de Nogent, who brought them to Paris and 
 conducted them to Anne of Austria's apartments in the 
 Palais-Royal. The Cardinal was with the Queen when 
 they arrived, but he took scarcely any notice of his 
 young relatives, and almost immediately retired to his 
 own apartments, on the plea of fatigue.^ The Queen, 
 
 1 Pending the completion of the Palais-Mazarin, in the Rue Neuve 
 des Petits-Champs, Mazarin occupied a suite of apartments in the basse- 
 cour of the Palais-Royal, opening on to the Rue des Bons-Enfants, 
 which enabled him to have constant access to the Queen, whose apart- 
 ments were situated in the right wing of the Cour des Proues, the only 
 part of the Palais-Royal, it may be remarked, which still retains some 
 traces of its primitive ornamentation. These apartments had been left in 
 an unfinished state by Richelieu, but they had been completed by order of 
 the Queen, who had added an oratory, a bath-room, and a gallery. It 
 was in this gallery, which connected the apartments of the Queen with 
 those of the Cardinal, that the meetings of the Council were usually held, 
 and it was here that, on i8 January 1650, took place the arrest of the 
 three princes — Conde, Conti, and Longueville. 
 
 At the time when he became chief Minister, Mazarin occupied the 
 Hotel de Cleves, situated in the Rue du Louvre, called also the Rue 
 de rOratoire. This hotel, which was demolished in 1758, had been 
 erected for Catherine de Cleves, widow of Henri, Due de Guise, 
 assassinated at Blois in 1588. After the discovery of the Due de 
 Beaufort's plot against his life, in September 1643, the Cardinal, feeling 
 that he was no longer in security at the Hotel de Cloves, vacated it for 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 5 
 
 however, greeted them very kindly, thought them 
 pretty, " and all the time the children spent in her 
 presence was employed in remarking on their appear- 
 ance." After her Majesty had dismissed them, they 
 were taken to the Cardinal, " who did not appear to care 
 much for them ; on the contrary, he jested about those 
 who were silly enough to show them attentions. But, 
 despite this scorn, he certainly had great designs based 
 on these little girls. His indifference about them was 
 all pure comedy ; and by this we may judge that it is 
 not only on the comic stage that good pieces are 
 played." ^ 
 
 The following day, the nieces were again brought to 
 the Queen, who received them as kindly as before, and 
 " kept them some minutes near her to examine them." 
 Their uncle was again present, but, as on the previous 
 day, affected hardly to notice them. After this they 
 were shown to the Court, and the time-serving 
 courtiers, undeceived by the Cardinal's seeming in- 
 difference, crowded so eagerly round the new arrivals 
 that there seemed some danger of them being suffo- 
 cated by the press, and vied with one another in 
 extolling their beauty, their charming manners, and 
 their intelligence, "which they credited them with on 
 sight." *' See those little girls," remarked the wife of 
 Mar^chal de Villeroi to Gaston d'Orleans, the King's 
 uncle, " who are now not rich ; they will soon have 
 fine chateaux, large incomes, splendid jewels, beautiful 
 silver, and perhaps great dignities. . . ." The marechale 
 was a true prophet. It was evident that the first families 
 
 the apartments in the Palais-Royal, or Palais-Cardinal as it was then 
 called, which had been bequeathed by Richelieu to the late king, and 
 whither the whole Court removed from the Louvre, a few weeks later. 
 — Amedee Renee, " Les Nieces de Mazarin." 
 1 Madame de Motteville, " Memoires " 
 
6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 of the realm would be ready to dispute the hand of the 
 Cardinal's nieces, and that he would have only to choose 
 amongst the wealthiest, the most powerful, and the most 
 illustrious, to efface, by brilliant alliances, his own humble 
 origin and establish his power on a sure foundation. 
 
 The three girls were at first installed at the Hotel de 
 Cleves, in charge of Madame de Sc^nece, formerly 
 gouvernante to the young king ; while Paul Mancini was 
 sent to be educated by the Jesuits at their college at 
 Clermont, where he was allotted the room formerly 
 occupied by the Prince de Conti, and treated in all 
 respects as if he were a Prince of the Blood. Soon, 
 at the instance of the Queen, the nieces were trans- 
 ferred to the Palais-Royal, to be brought up with 
 Louis XIV and his younger brother, the little Due 
 d'Anjou ; but the Queen herself instructed them in 
 religion, frequently taking them with her to benefit by 
 the saintly conversation of the nuns of Val-de-Grace, 
 and treating them with the same tenderness as her own 
 children. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no stronger proof of Anne's devo- 
 tion to Mazarin than the manner in which she occupied 
 herself with these girls; and here it may not be out 
 of place to devote some little space to a question which, 
 though it has been discussed ad nauseam by French 
 writers, seems to us to have hardly received satisfactory 
 treatment from English and American historians : the 
 relations between the Queen-Mother and the Cardinal. 
 
 At the accession of Louis XIV (14 May 1643), 
 Mazarin's position in France was a most precarious 
 one. Surrounded as he was by powerful enemies eager 
 to undo the work of Richelieu, and regarded by the 
 bulk of the nation with dislike and suspicion, on account 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 7 
 
 of his foreign birth, he quickly perceived that his sole 
 chance of making head against the forces arrayed 
 against him lay in securing the unequivocal favour of 
 the Queen-Mother, and to this end all his energies 
 were forthwith directed. 
 
 Anne of Austria had then just passed her fortieth 
 year. Sh,e was very devout, but also very coquettish, 
 in a romantic and strictly decorous way, attaching great 
 importance to high-flown compliments, languishing 
 looks, and delicate little attentions. Had Richelieu 
 condescended to such means to conciliate her, it is 
 possible that he might have gained as much influence 
 over her as Mazarin subsequently enjoyed. But the 
 great Cardinal was ^^ pedant en amoiir^'' to borrow the ex- 
 pression of Anne's confidante, Madame de Chevreuse, 
 an unforgivable fault in her Majesty's eyes. 
 
 Mazarin profited by his predecessor's failure. He 
 pretended to be madly in love, and yet overwhelmed 
 by the sense of his own unworthiness. He had 
 nothing, he said, but his devotion to plead for him ; 
 he was more lowly than the grass before his goddess. 
 His handsome face, his charming manners, the superi- 
 ority of his intellect, his unswerving devotion to her 
 interests and those of her infant son, all combined to 
 flatter the amour propre of the Queen. He succeeded, 
 and succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations. 
 
 Yet, his success was not immediate. He had to over- 
 come not only indifference, but a feeling well-nigh 
 amounting to aversion on the part of Anne, who had 
 long regarded him merely as the creature of Richelieu, 
 and for some weeks his fate trembled in the balance. 
 His Garnets, which reveal to us the inmost workings of 
 this subtle mind, show that in the summer of 1643 ^^ 
 himself was doubtful as to the issue, for he complains 
 
8 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 of Anne's dissimulation, and that her entire confidence 
 was not given him. By September, however, that 
 distrust is dispelled. " I should no longer doubt," he 
 writes, " since the Queen, in an excess of goodness, has 
 told me that nothing can take from me the part which 
 she has graciously given me." 
 
 What that part was has, as we have said elsewhere, 
 been much debated. According to a curious anecdote, 
 which Brienne relates in his " Memoires," Anne herself 
 protested that the Cardinal's attraction for her was of a 
 purely intellectual order. 
 
 One day, Madame de Brienne, the wife of the secre- 
 tary, was in the Queen's oratory, when Anne entered, 
 her beads in her hand, plunged in a profound reverie. 
 " Let us pray together," said she ; " we shall be the 
 better heard." As they rose from their devotions, 
 Madame de Brienne craved permission to speak to the 
 Queen, in regard to her Majesty's relations with the 
 Cardinal. Anne consented, and was accordingly in- 
 formed of all that malicious tongues were saying. The 
 Queen blushed, and tears filled her eyes. " Why have 
 you not told me this before .'' " said she. " I confess 
 that I am attached to him — I can even say tenderly ; but 
 my affection does not go so far as love, or, if it does, I 
 am not aware of it. My senses have no part ; only my 
 mind is charmed by the beauty of his intellect. If this 
 is wrong, I will renounce it before God and the saints. 
 I will speak to him no more, save of the affairs of 
 State, and check him when he speaks of anything 
 else." Madame de Brienne then asked the Queen 
 to swear on some relics of the saints which were in 
 the oratory, that *' she would never abandon what she 
 had promised God," a request with which her Majesty 
 complied readily enough. "God's goodness," said the 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 9 
 
 pious confidante, " will soon make your innocence 
 known." 
 
 "Anne, however, had taken oaths before," observes 
 Mazarin's able American biographer, Mr. J. B. Perkins, 
 "and the remembrance of Val-de-Grace makes us 
 doubtful whether simple admiration for beauty of mind 
 could have withstood the shock of circumstance and 
 survived the lapse of years." ^ 
 
 However that may be, the tone of the Queen's letters 
 to the Cardinal is strangely inconsistent with her pro- 
 testations to Madame de Brienne. During Mazarin's 
 second exile, in 1652, Anne concludes one of her letters 
 to him with this passionate cry : " 15 [the Queen] is a 
 thousand times ^ [yours] until the last sigh. Adieu, 
 I can write no more, and he [Mazarin] knows why."^ 
 And again, some months later, when the Cardinal was 
 with the army, she writes : " I cannot but tell you that 
 I think the sight of those one loves is not unpleasant, 
 even if it be but for a few hours. I fear that your 
 fondness for the army will be greater than all others. 
 Still, I pray you to believe me that I shall be always what 
 I should be, come what will." 
 
 The years bring no change in the warmth of these 
 epistles. "Your letter," she writes, in June, 1660, 
 "has given me great joy. If I had believed that one of 
 my letters would have thus pleased you, I would have 
 
 ^ " France under Richelieu and Mazarin." 
 
 2 In their private correspondence, the Queen and Mazarin employed 
 certain signs or ciphers, of which the key exists. The numbers i6, 22, 
 and 24. indicate the Queen; the numbers 15, 26, and 46 indicate 
 Mazarin. The Queen is likewise designated under the names of Seraphim 
 and Ange, and Mazarin under those of le C'xcl and la Mer. Frequently, 
 in his letters, Mazarin speaks of himself as a third person, to deceive any 
 one into whose hands the letters might fall. Finally, the curious signs 
 ^ 'ff indicate the affection or love of the Cardinal for the Queen and of 
 the Queen for the Cardinal. 
 
lo FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 written it gladly. To see the pleasure with which it 
 was received makes me recall another time, which in- 
 deed I do recall almost every minute. Though you 
 may doubt it, if I could make you see my heart as well 
 as what I say on this paper, you would be satisfied, or 
 you would be the most ungrateful man in the world; 
 and I do not believe you are that." 
 
 The letters of Mazarin are in the same tone. "Mo« 
 Dieu ! How happy should I be and you satisfied," he 
 writes from BrUhl, in May 1651, " if you could see my 
 heart, or if I could write what is in it 1 You would not 
 find it difficult in that case, to agree that never was 
 there a friendship approaching that which I entertain for 
 you. I confess to you that I little imagined that it 
 would go so far as to deprive me of all contentment, 
 when my time is employed in anything else than in 
 thinking of you."^ 
 
 He knew the extent of his empire, did this astute 
 Italian, and he exulted in reminding his royal conquest 
 of it. "If you were nearer the sea [Mazarin], I believe 
 that you would be more pleased. I trust that that will 
 be soon." 
 
 It has frequently been claimed that the Queen and 
 the Cardinal were secretly married. Such was the 
 tradition preserved at the Palais-Royal, as the letters 
 of the Duchesse d'Orleans, mother of the Regent, 
 prove.^ The same charge, too, is to be found in many 
 of the pamphlets published during the Fronde, and has 
 been accepted by more than one historian of weight, 
 who argue that a woman of Anne's extravagant piety 
 
 ^ For the rest of this letter, see p. 25 infra. 
 
 ^' "The Queen-Mother, widow of Louis XIII, did more than love 
 Cardinal Mazarin ; she married him." — " Correspondance complete de 
 Madame, Duchesse d'Orleans,'* pui/iee par G. Brunet, 1855, II, p. 3. 
 
''^^'^^.j' ^-^-^ >^^-^^^ 
 
 From an engraving aftei- llie painting by JMignard 
 
 CARDINAL MAZARIN 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS ii 
 
 would have recoiled with horror from any connection 
 unsanctioned by Holy Church. 
 
 Those who hold this view, of course, start with the 
 assumption that Mazarin was only in minor Orders, and 
 therefore would have been free to marry had he been so 
 disposed. This was certainly the opinion of his con- 
 temporaries, and the Abbe de Laffmas, in a rhyming 
 letter which he addressed to the Cardinal in 1649, ^^Y^ • — 
 
 Vous etes un grand cardinal, 
 Un homme de haute cntreprisc, 
 Vingt fois abbe, homme de I'eglise, 
 Quoique ne soyez in sacris. . . . 
 
 Aubery ("Histoire de Cardinal Mazarin") and Victor 
 Cousin (" La Jeunesse de Mazarin) pronounce also for 
 the negative, as does M. Cheruel ("Histoire de France 
 pendant la minorite de Louis XIV "). On the other 
 hand, Am^dee Renee, in his "Nieces de Mazarin," and 
 that indefatigable unraveller of historical mysteries 
 M. Jules Loiseleur maintain that Mazarin was in full 
 Orders. The latter writer's arguments are interesting. 
 
 " The minutes of the proceedings of the consistory 
 of 16 December 1641," he writes, "preserved in the 
 Vatican Archives, at which he (Mazarin) was preconised 
 cardinal, qualifies him as cardinal of Saint Jean-de- 
 Latran. No mention is made of his quality of priest, 
 mention useless, in point of fact, and which would have 
 been without any object, since his title of canon is spoken 
 of, which supposes that quality. When an ecclesiastic 
 is spoken of as canon or bishop, no one thinks of adding 
 that he is a priest ; that goes without saying. 
 
 " Perhaps it may be objected that the kings of France 
 were honorary canons of various churches, and that 
 possibly Mazarin may have received the same honour. 
 To this we reply that the minutes of the proceedings of 
 
12 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the consistory do not speak of Mazarin as an honorary 
 canon, but as an ordinary canon : canonicus Lateranensis. 
 Further, Saint Jean-de-Latran is a Roman church, and 
 only persons in Holy Orders were admitted to the 
 canonicates of these kind of basilicas."^ 
 
 These arguments seem sound enough, but M. 
 Loiseleur was apparently unaware at the time when he 
 wrote his book of the existence of a letter of the Cardinal 
 which M. Ch6ruel cites in his " Histoire de France 
 pendant la minorite de Louis XIV." This letter, 
 addressed to one of his confidants, Elphideo Benedetti, 
 was written when Mazarin was in exile at Brilhl in 
 1 65 1, and had some thought of visiting Rome. "As 
 for the difficulty created by the Bull which deals with 
 those not in Orders, one ought," he writes, " especially 
 to consider the depi'ivation of the right of voting in the 
 Conclave, and, in regard to that, I should desire to know 
 whether, in the event of my taking Holy Orders^ I should 
 have the right of voting without any other dispensation 
 being necessary." This passage, in the opinion of 
 M. Cheruel, is a conclusive proof that Mazarin was 
 only a lay cardinal, and most people, we think, will be 
 inclined to agree with him. 
 
 M. Loiseleur, however, is on much surer ground when 
 he proceeds to argue that, whether Mazarin was a lay 
 cardinal or a cardinal-priest, he would equally have been 
 unable to contract a marriage without a special dispensa- 
 tion from the Pope, and that such a dispensation had 
 never been granted, except on the condition of the 
 intending Benedict resigning his membership of the 
 Sacred College. 
 
 " M. Michelet," says he, "is correct in asserting that 
 there are examples of cardinal-princes whom Rome has 
 
 1 " Problemes historiqucs." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 13 
 
 dlscardinalized, when some great political necessity 
 obliged them to marry. We do not think that many 
 such examples may be cited, but there is one at least. 
 It is that of Cardinal Jean Casimir, elected King of 
 Poland in 1649, who was relieved of his vows by the 
 Pope and married his brother's widow, Marie de 
 Gonzague. But, before he married, Casimir V laid 
 aside the purple ; he did not remain a cardinal. That 
 is, in fact, the question, and we defy any one to cite a 
 single cardinal, lay or not, whom Rome has permitted 
 to marry and still to remain a cardinal. And Mazarin 
 died a cardinal, for, in his last moments, the Nuncio 
 Piccolomini administered the Indulgence in articuh 
 mortis^ which the Popes are in the habit of according to 
 members of the Sacred College." 
 
 M. Lolseleur then goes on to point out that, if the 
 Holy See, in defiance of all ecclesiastical usage, had 
 accorded Mazarin permission to marry and still to retain 
 the external apparel of his former dignity, the dispensa- 
 tion must have been granted either by Urban VIII, 
 who died 28 July 1644, or by Innocent X, who suc- 
 ceeded him and lived till 1655. But it could hardly 
 have been by Urban, he says, for we know, from a 
 report of Mazarin's secret police, that, towards the end 
 of October 1643, three nuns of Val-de-Grdce, intimate 
 friends of the Queen, took upon themselves to send 
 her Majesty a vigorously-worded remonstrance on the 
 subject of her relations with the Cardinal, a remon- 
 strance which would have been entirely purposeless, if, 
 at this period, these relations had been legitimated by 
 marriage. " Nor is that all. Certain notes of the 
 Cardinal's fourth carnet^ which comprises the end of the 
 year 1643 ^""^ ^^ beginning of 1644, and other notes 
 of the fifth carnety which extends down to 28 August of 
 
14 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the latter year, show us that about the time of the death 
 of Urban VIII the convents were still inveighing against 
 Mazarin, influenced principally by his scandalous rela- 
 tions with the Queen, a fact which is inexplicable, suppos- 
 ing that a dispensation had been granted by the Pope ; for 
 the Queen, who had no secrets from her good friends 
 of Val-de-Grace, would not have failed to close their 
 mouths by communicating to them the dispensation, if 
 it had existed, and Pere Vincent,^ to whom was attributed 
 the celebration of the marriage, would not have found 
 himself included in the recriminations consigned to the 
 famous carnets^ 
 
 "As for Innocent X," continues M. Loiseleur, "he 
 remained throughout his pontificate the bitter and per- 
 sistent enemy of Mazarin, and no one in Europe was 
 less likely to go out of his way to do the Cardinal a 
 favour." 
 
 This would seem to us to render a marriage between 
 the Cardinal and Anne of Austria extremely improbable, 
 though it is just conceivable, as more than one writer 
 has suggested, that Mazarin may have intimidated 
 Innocent X, by the threat of the annexation of Avignon, 
 into granting the necessary dispensation and also into 
 maintaining silence in regard to it. 
 
 1 Saint-Vincent de Paul. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Beginning of the Fronde — The Cardinal sends his nieces to Val-de- 
 Grace — His plans for their establishment — Declines the offer of 
 Cardinal Barberini to marry his nephew to Laure Mancini — Looks 
 with favour upon the Due de Candale — Arranges a marriage between 
 Laure and the Due de Mercoeur — The Prince de Conde opposed 
 to the match — Intrigues of the Marquis de Jarze to supplant the 
 Cardinal in the affections of the Queen — His presumption punished 
 by Anne of Austria — Mazarin insulted by Conde — Renewal of the 
 civil war — The Cardinal leaves the kingdom — Exultation of his 
 enemies — The Ma-zarinades — The cardinal's nieces follows him into 
 exile — He establishes himself at Briihl — Marriage of the Due de 
 Mercoeur and Laure Mancini — Mazarin continues to direct affairs in 
 France — He raises an army and recrosses the frontier — His letter to 
 the Queen — He joins their Majesties at Poitiers — Return of his nieces 
 to Paris — Battle of the Faubourg Saint- Antoine and death of Paul 
 Mancini — Hatred of the Parisians against Mazarin — His second 
 exile — Tender letter of the Queen to the Cardinal — He is recalled to 
 France — His triumphant return. 
 
 T)UT to return to the Mancini. 
 
 ^^ At the beginning of the year 1649, ^^^il war 
 broke out — that curious medley of tragedy and bur- 
 lesque known as the Fronde, and on 5 January the 
 Court quitted Paris for Saint-Germain, while the 
 Cardinal's nieces were confided to the care of the nuns 
 of Val-de-Grace. August found Court and Cardinal 
 once more at the Palais-Royal, the Treaty of Ruel 
 having cleared the air for the time being. But Mazarin, 
 perceiving that a second storm was brewing, judged it 
 best to allow his nieces to remain in security. 
 
 In the meanwhile, he had begun to busy himself with 
 
 15 
 
i6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 plans for their establishment in life ; plans in which, it 
 is hardly necessary to observe, the happiness of the 
 young ladies themselves counted for very little. The 
 eldest of the Mancini sisters, Laure, was now fifteen, 
 and suitors had already begun to present themselves. 
 Cardinal Barberini had made overtures on behalf of his 
 nephew, a Colonna ; but Mazarin demurred to this 
 proposal and suggested in preference one of the younger 
 girls, who was still at Rome in a convent ; for, wrote he, 
 " your proposition would disarrange the plans I have 
 made for establishing all the others in France." This 
 Mancini offered as ?i pis-alkr was without doubt Marie, 
 who was one day to become the wife of another Colonna. 
 She was then at most ten years old, which fact, however, 
 did not prevent her politic uncle from drawing up the 
 articles of the marriage-contract. 
 
 At the time this letter was written, Mazarin had cast 
 a favourable eye upon the Due de Candale, the heir of 
 the Epernons, " the first nobleman of the Court in 
 good looks, magnificence, and riches, whom all the men 
 envied, and whose regard all the gallant ladies desired to 
 merit ; if they were not able to make him the trophy of 
 their glory."^ We may presume that the riches and 
 the renown of his House counted for far more in the 
 Cardinal's eyes than the good looks. But the young 
 gentleman was in no hurry to exchange the role of 
 Lothario for that of Benedick, and nothing came of 
 the project ; though the probability of the duke allying 
 
 1 Madame de Motteville, "Memoires." Bussy-Rabutin, in his 
 "Histoire amoureuse des Gaules," has traced the following portrait of 
 this personage: "The Due de Candale had blue eyes, a well-made 
 nose, irregular features, a large and disagreeable mouth, very beautiful 
 teeth, and golden blond hair in the greatest profusion possible to imagine ; 
 he had an admirable figure, dressed well, and had the air of a man of the 
 first quality." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 17 
 
 himself with one of the other sisters was a frequent 
 topic of discussion down to 1668, when a fever, or, if we 
 are to believe Daniel de Cosnac, poison administered by 
 a jealous husband, cut short his career of gallantry and 
 plunged half the ladies of the Court into an ecstasy of 
 grief." ^ 
 
 It was perhaps fortunate for Laure Mancini that 
 M. de Candale was so reluctant to enter the holy estate, 
 since a gentleman of so very susceptible a disposition 
 could scarcely have been expected to make a model 
 husband. Soon, however, another and — for the lady at 
 least — a far more desirable parn was forthcoming, in the 
 person of the Due de Mercoeur, whose father, the Due 
 de Vendome, was the son of Henri IV and the beauti- 
 ful Gabrielle d'Estr^es. MerccEur had none of the 
 ardent blood of his grandparents, or of the ambitious 
 and turbulent disposition of his father and brother, the 
 
 ^ His friend Saint-Evremond describes, with all the interest of a 
 public event, the universal grief which his untimely death occasioned 
 among the fair : " The last years of his life, all our ladies cast their eyes 
 on him. The most retiring did not allow themselves to sigh in secret ; 
 the most gallant disputed for him, and desired to possess him as their 
 most glorious conquest. After having divided them in the interests of 
 gallantry, he reunited them in tears by his death. Those whom he had 
 once loved recalled their old sentiments, and imagined that they had still 
 to lose what they had already lost. Several who had been indifferent to 
 him flattered themselves that they would not have been always thus, and, 
 laying the blame on death, which had forestalled their happiness, they 
 wept for this amiable man of whom they might have been the beloved. 
 Finally, there were even some who regretted him through vanity, and one 
 saw unknown ladies insinuate themselves into this commerce of tears, in 
 order to get the credit of being gallant," 
 
 More than one disconsolate beauty cut off her hair in despair at the 
 news of his death, among them the Marquise de la Baume, niece of the 
 Marechal de Villeroi, " who had the most beautiful fair hair in the world." 
 The celebrated Comtesse d'Olonne, one of the latest of Candale's loves, 
 Mile, de Montpensier tells us, spent the whole night in tears, and on 
 being questioned by her husband as to the cause of her grief, " begged him 
 to forgive her and confessed that she had loved him (Candale) dearly." 
 
1 8 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Due de Beaufort, the famous "i?of des Halles,^ but was 
 in all respects an excellent man, amiable, pious, and 
 gentle. Vendome had grown weary of opposition to 
 the Court, which had brought him nothing but exile and 
 imprisonment, and was ready enough to accept the good 
 things which an alliance with the Cardinal's family would 
 ensure him ; while, on his side, Mazarin hoped to 
 oppose the influence of Vendome to that of the Prince 
 de Cond6 and to gain over Beaufort. 
 
 The marriage was agreed upon. Vendome was to 
 receive the admiralty. Mercoeur was to have for 
 dowry 600,000 livres and the first vacant government. 
 But Conde had become more troublesome than all the 
 Frondeurs ; he had compelled Mazarin to enter into an 
 agreement not to marry his nieces without obtaining his 
 sanction, and, though he had at first raised no objection 
 to the alliance, as the time for its consummation 
 approached, he became opposed to a step which would 
 make Mazarin less dependent and Vendome more 
 powerful, and declined to sign the contract. He now 
 accused the Cardinal of having broken faith with him 
 in regard to the government of Font-de-VArche^ in 
 Normandy, and began to intrigue vigorously against 
 him. Prompted by the prince, one of his proteges the 
 Marquis de Jarze, " who was by nature brusque, con- 
 ceited, satirical, and frivolous," dared to raise his eyes to 
 the Queen, in the hope of supplanting the Cardinal in 
 her mature affections. This intrigue became an affair of 
 State, which greatly preoccupied both the Regent and her 
 Minister, and, on the advice of the latter, Anne adminis- 
 tered a severe and well-merited rebuff to the presumptu- 
 ous Jarze. Madame de Motteville, an eye-witness, has 
 left us the following account of this little comedy : — 
 
 " As Jarze knew, to some extent, by the dismissal of 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 19 
 
 his friend Madame de Beauvais (a waiting-woman of the 
 Queen, who had lent herself to the designs of Jarze and 
 had just been exiled on the Cardinal's demand), his posi- 
 tion at Court, he thought to execute a clever stroke 
 of policy by appearing to know nothing and to fear 
 nothing. But the hour had come when he was fated to 
 be punished for his presumption. The Queen, having 
 it in her mind to rebuke him, did not fail the moment 
 she saw him to attack him and to say to him, in a con- 
 temptuous tone, these very words : * Really, M. de 
 Jarze, you are very ridiculous. I am told that you play 
 the lover. A pretty gallant, forsooth ! I pity you ; 
 they will have to send you to the Petites-Maisons. 
 Though it is true that we need not be astonished at 
 your madiiess, since it is inherited 1 ' — meaning by that 
 his grandfather, Mar^chal de Lavardin, who was passion- 
 ately in love with the late Queen, Marie de' Medici, and 
 about whom her husband Henri IV used to jest with 
 her. 
 
 " Poor Jarze was overwhelmed by this thunderbolt. 
 He dared not say a word in his justification. He 
 stammered and left the cabinet, full of trouble, pale 
 and undone. In spite of his mortification, he perhaps 
 flattered himself with the reflection that the adventure 
 was a fine one, the crime honourable, and that he had 
 no cause to be ashamed of the accusation. The whole 
 Court was instantly full of the event ; the ruelles of the 
 ladies rang with the sound of the royal words. The 
 name of Jarz6 was heard everywhere in Paris, and the 
 provinces quickly had their share of it." 
 
 Jarz6's disgrace and the refusal of the Queen to 
 pardon him put the comhle upon the discontent of 
 Cond6. The hollow truce could not last long, and 
 it was broken on the day when the haughty soldier 
 
20 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 addressed to the Cardinal a letter bearing on its cover 
 the insulting words, *' AlV illustrissimo signer Facchino." 
 
 The arrest of the princes Conde, Conti, and 
 Longueville, on i8 January 1650, did not arrest the 
 disorder, and, seeing the revolt gaining ground in the 
 provinces, the Parliament of Paris, fulminating decrees 
 against him^ and Gaston d'Orleans at the head of the 
 Fronde, Mazarin judged it prudent to leave the king- 
 dom. On the night of 6-7 February 1651, he quitted 
 the Palais-Royal, in disguise, followed by the Comte de 
 Broglie and another gentleman, and took the road to 
 Havre. Here he stopped to liberate the imprisoned 
 princes, who had been transferred thither from Mar- 
 coussis at the end of the previous November,^ after 
 which he continued his journey to the frontier, by way 
 of Abbeville and Doullens. 
 
 The Frondeurs sang paeans of triumph over the 
 discomfiture and disappearance of their enemy. The 
 pamphlets — those famous Mazarinades, which had 
 rained upon the Cardinal since the beginning of the 
 Fronde — redoubled in numbers and bitterness, and whole 
 volumes might be filled with the libels in prose and 
 verse that flowed from the pens of the opposition 
 scribes and rhymesters in the spring of 1651. "The 
 care that the Cardinal bestowed upon his person and his 
 dress, his beautiful white hands, his carefully-trimmed 
 moustache, his lemonades, his ragouts, his pastry, even 
 his bread, all those importations of refined elegance and 
 
 1 On 3 November 1650, the Parliament condemned Mazarin to be 
 hanged in effigy in four different places. *' Que ledit Cardinaly^ ran the 
 decree, " recontiu coupable du crime de traison a ete condamne d'etre pendu 
 en effigie .../<? 3 November 1650." 
 
 2 Montglat says : " The Cardinal asked the princes for their friend- 
 ship, but they, judging truly of the situation, promised him ' all that he 
 wanted of it.' " 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 21 
 
 Italian voluptuousness ; his palace, with its picture- 
 galleries, its statues, and its vast stables — all furnished 
 material for the satirist : 
 
 Adieu, done, pauvre Mazarin ! 
 Adieu, mon pauvre Tabarin ; 
 Adieu, Voncle aux Mazarinettes ; 
 Adieu, pere aux marionettes ; 
 Adieu, le plus beau des galans ; 
 Adieu, buveur des lemonades ; 
 Adieu, I'inventeur des pommades ; 
 Adieu I'homme aux bonnes senteurs !^ 
 
 Needless to say, the " Mazarinettes " and every 
 member known and unknown of the Minister's family 
 had their share in this deluge of facetiousness and 
 obscenity, for few of the lampoons were of so harmless 
 a character as the specimen we have just cited, and no 
 abuse, no insinuation, no accusation was too gross to 
 heap upon the exiled Cardinal ; nor was the reputation 
 of the Queen-Mother respected, as the pieces entitled 
 Les Soupers des Fleurs de lys and Le Custode du lit de la 
 Reine^ will testify. 
 
 A decree of the Parliament of Paris had expelled the 
 nephew and nieces of the Cardinal from France. The 
 latter quitted the capital almost immediately after their 
 uncle, and joined him at Peronne, whither Marechal 
 d'Hocquincourt had conducted them. It was well that 
 they did not delay their departure, otherwise they might 
 have been roughly handled. Popular credulity suspected 
 the Cardinal of being concealed in Paris ; and a report 
 spread that he was at Val-de-Grace, disguised as a 
 
 ^ Amedee Renee, " Les Nieces de Mazarin." 
 
 2 The writer of this libel, one Claude Morlot by name, was condemned 
 to be hanged, but was rescued by the mob, who put the archers and the 
 executioners to flight and pulled down the gibbet. 
 
22 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 nun, and that the Queen went there secretly to visit 
 
 On disoit que le Mazarin 
 Tous les jours chantoit au lutrin 
 En habit de religieuse. 
 
 It was also believed that the nieces had taken refuge 
 in the city ; crowds collected before the houses in which 
 they were said to be concealed, and ransacked several of 
 them from cellar to attic. 
 
 La canaille rien ne trouva, 
 
 Mais jura de mettre en cent pieces 
 
 Tous ceux qui logeroient les nieces. ^ 
 
 It is evident from the fact that Mazarin did not deem it 
 necessary to send the children to their parents in Rome 
 that he was of opinion that his exile would be but a 
 temporary one. He left Peronne, with his nieces and 
 nephew, to establish himself in some town beyond the 
 frontier. At Clermont, in Argonne, he was received 
 by Marechal de la Fert^, in spite of the decrees of the 
 Parliament, while Fabert, the commandant of Sedan, 
 begged him to take refuge there, although an order 
 wrung from the unfortunate Queen directed her friend 
 to leave the realm. The Cardinal declined Fabert's 
 offer, but left his young relatives in his charge until he 
 had decided upon his place of exile. He finally chose 
 the town of Brilhl, within a short distance of Cologne. 
 
 One of the most interesting episodes of Mazarin's 
 sojourn at Briihl was the marriage of Laure Mancini. 
 Laure, as we have already mentioned, had been be- 
 trothed to the Due de Mercceur, eldest son of the Due 
 de Vendome and brother of " le Rot des Halles.'' But 
 the renewal of the civil war had caused the marriage to 
 be postponed, and the ruin of the Cardinal's fortunes 
 
 1 Loret, " La Muse historique." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 23 
 
 encouraged a belief that it would never take place. 
 The amiable and honest Mercoeur, however, was faithful 
 to his engagements and to the sentiments with which 
 the beautiful Laure had inspired him, and, ignoring the 
 decrees prohibiting all communication with the exiled 
 Minister, set out for Briihl, where he espoused privately, 
 but in good and due form, his young bride, furnished 
 with the consent of the King, the Queen, and even of 
 Gaston d'Orleans, who subsequently vainly pretended 
 to have revoked it.^ 
 
 Such disinterestedness appeared the height of folly to 
 the selfish courtiers, and, on his return to Paris, the 
 poor duke found himself rallied on all sides, and held 
 up to ridicule and odium by the pamphleteers of the 
 Fronde. Moreover, he had to submit to a trying 
 ordeal, for Conde, furious at the marriage, accused him 
 in the Parliament of having infringed its decrees, by 
 having had relations with the Cardinal and his family, 
 and Mercoeur, as a pair de France , had to appear before 
 the assembled Chambers to give an explanation of his 
 conduct. He defended himself to the best of his 
 ability, asserting that the marriage had taken place prior 
 to the flight of the Cardinal, and that he had undertaken 
 the journey to Briihl to see not the Minister, but his 
 wife. The Parliament directed that the marriage con- 
 tract should be laid before it, and the scene terminated 
 by a decree " prohibiting the said Mancini from enter- 
 ing the kingdom or residing therein under pretext of 
 this union." 
 
 The Queen had taken great interest in this matter, 
 
 ^ The marriage contract was subsequently renewed at the Louvre 
 (29 May, 1654) before the King's notaries, in the presence of their 
 Majesties, the Due d'Anjou, and other distinguished persons. The 
 Cardinal gave his niece a dowry of 600,000 livres in cash, and the King 
 presented the happy pair with the sum of 100,000 livres. 
 
24 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 and was highly indignant at the insulting treatment to 
 which the Due de Mercoeur was being subjected. " She 
 charged me," writes de Retz, " to implore Monsieur 
 [Gaston d'Orleans], in her name, to prevent this affair 
 from being carried any further ; she spoke to him with 
 tears in her eyes, and showed me plainly that she was 
 always herself most sensible to what she believed most 
 affected the Cardinal." ^ 
 
 Thus the astute Italian, even in the midst of his 
 misfortunes, had succeeded in marrying his niece to a 
 grandson of Henri IV. But his Garnets show us that 
 he had hoped for greater things. He had hoped to 
 make a '■^ grand coupy^ by marrying the two brothers at 
 the same time to two of his nieces. " If one could 
 completely gain over the Due de Beaufort by an alliance," 
 he writes, " I could give the two nieces to the two 
 brothers, and give the younger [Beaufort] the govern- 
 ment of Paris, and treat even for that of Ile-de-France. 
 And, with that, one would make a grand coup^ for, 
 possessing the affection of the people in the said town, 
 he would be in a position to one day render some 
 considerable service to the King." 
 
 From his retreat at Brlihl, Mazarin continued to 
 direct the policy of his party in France. With the 
 Queen he kept up an active and secret correspondence, 
 by means of his confidential agent Bartet and other 
 skilful emissaries. A part of this correspondence still 
 exists, and shows us Mazarin adroitly combining sage 
 political counsel with assurances of the most ardent 
 devotion. 
 
 1 " Memoires du Cardinal de Retz." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 25 
 
 Mazarin to the Queen. 
 
 ** From Briihl, xi May 1 65 1. 
 
 "Mb« Bieu! How happy should I be and you satis- 
 fied, if you could see into my heart, or if I could write 
 to you what is in it! You would not find it difficult, in 
 that case, to agree that never was there a friendship 
 approaching that which I entertain for you. I confess to 
 you that I little imagined that it would go so far as 
 to deprive me of all contentment, when my time is 
 employed in anything else than in thinking of you. 
 
 "I wish, also, that I had the power to express my 
 hatred for ""hose indiscreet persons who labour without 
 ceasing to make you forget me and to hinder us from 
 meeting again : in a word, it is proportioned to the 
 friendship which I bear you. They are mistaken, if 
 they hope to see in us the effects of absence ; and if that 
 Spaniard said that the mountains of Guadarrama have 
 great difficulty in dividing two good friends . . . 
 
 "If my misfortunes are not speedily remedied, I 
 cannot answer for being wise to the end, for this great 
 prudence ill accords with a passion such as mine. 
 
 "Perhaps I am wrong, for which I crave your pardon ; 
 but I believe that, were I in your place, I should have 
 already gone far to find a way for the Friend to see me 
 again. . . . Write to me, I entreat you, and say if I 
 shall see you and when : for this state of things cannot last^ 
 even should I perish. The greatest enemy that I have 
 in the world, I should love as my own life, and with all 
 my heart, if he could contrive so that I might see Serafin 
 [the Queen] again. . . ."^ 
 
 And for his sake the Queen, this woman ordinarily so 
 
 1 Published by Amedee Renee, " Les Nieces de Mazarin." 
 
26 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 indolent, so changeable in her affections, braved every- 
 thing : the outrageous attacks of the rhymesters of the 
 Fronde, the mockery of high and low, the civil war, 
 ready to lose her crown, and her son's crown also, rather 
 than abandon the man who possessed her heart. 
 
 On the advice of the Cardinal, the Queen feigned to 
 be reconciled to Conde, the intention being to render 
 him an object of suspicion to the Frondeurs. In this 
 she succeeded, and that doughty intriguer, indignant at 
 finding that all the promises that had been made to him 
 were not kept, declined to attend the Bed of Justice of 
 7 September, 1751, at which the young King, being 
 then fourteen, declared himself of age, and retired to 
 his government of Guienne, where he prepared for war, 
 and did not hesitate to ally himself with the Spaniards. 
 
 After a year's residence at Brilhl, Mazarin resolved 
 to make an attempt to re-enter the kingdom. During 
 the early days of his exile, he appears to have been 
 in considerable financial embarrassment. The greater 
 part of his property, including his palace and its treas- 
 ures, had been confiscated by a decree of the Parliament, 
 and, as he had brought very little money away with 
 him, his family suffered some privations. After a while, 
 however, the Queen contrived to provide him with 
 funds, and by January 1652, he was in possession of 
 sufficient to raise an army of 6000 men, at the head of 
 which he repassed the frontier. 
 
 On learning of their enemy's return, the Parliament 
 hastened to set a price on his head. The decree directed 
 that his library and his furniture should be sold, the 
 proceeds to go towards the sum of 150,000 livres 
 offered to the person who should deliver him up alive 
 or dead. This library, formed at such great expense, was 
 sold by auction and dispersed, the King's uncle, Gaston 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 27 
 
 d'Orleans, a rival bibliophile, spitefully insisting that it 
 should be disposed of in detail.^ 
 
 Seeing the moment of his reunion with the Queen 
 approaching, Mazarin redoubled the expressions of 
 tenderness in the letters which he addressed to his 
 middle-aged Dulcinea. Marechal de Villeroi had insisted 
 on the King and Queen undertaking a journey to 
 Poitiers, and afterwards to Guienne, with the object of 
 placing as great a distance as possible between them and 
 the Cardinal. 
 
 " The poor man ought to know," writes Mazarin, 
 " that the friendship which 22 [the Queen] has for 
 26 [Mazarin] is easily proof against other things than 
 a separation of a hundred leagues more, and that the 
 interposition of a part of the world between these 
 two persons would not be capable of terminating it, 
 whatever one might say. I promise you that until 26 
 [Mazarin] can be with you, who will tell you more in an 
 hour than I could write in two months, I will communi- 
 cate with you every three or four days to give you my 
 news. However, I thank you for the suggestion you 
 have made, for there is nothing so obliging, and I see 
 very well that your heart speaks, and that I am 
 greatly deceived if you have not as much friendship for 
 me as 26 has for 22, whom you know well enough has 
 more merit than any one in the world, saving you only 
 
 1 Mazarin felt the loss of his books keenly. " I notice," he writes 
 from Pont-sur-Yonne, ii January 1652, "the precipitation with which 
 they wish to sell my library, and I am informed that his Royal Highness 
 [Gaston d'Orleans] insisted that it should be sold in detail, in order to 
 injure me the sooner. It will be a fine thing to read in history that 
 Cardinal Mazarin, having taken so much care for thirty years to enrich, 
 with the most beautiful and rarest books in the world, a library which he 
 intended to present to the public, the Parliament of Paris decreed that it 
 should be sold, and the money accruing therefrom should be employed to 
 cause the said Cardinal to be assassinated." 
 
28 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 of the number, since, without contradiction, there is no 
 one who can contest that quality with you." 
 
 Mazarin, at the head of his troops, who wore the 
 green scarf of his House, entered Sedan, where his 
 devoted friend Fabert received him with open arms. He 
 seems to have left his nieces in charge of this loyal 
 soldier until his fate should be decided, after which he 
 resumed his march towards Poitiers, accompanied by his 
 nephew Paul Mancini, a youth of great promise, who 
 was generally popular. 
 
 In spite of all the efforts of the Parliament to prevent 
 his return ; in spite of the deputation which that body 
 despatched to Poitiers, to demand of the King that he 
 should " keep this foreigner at a distance, not only from 
 his counsels, but also from the whole extent of the la^ids 
 which owed him obedience, and even from the frontier" ; 
 in spite of all obstacles, on 30 January, 1652, Mazarin 
 arrived at Poitiers, riding in triumph in the King's 
 coach, preceded by Louis himself and his little brother, 
 the Due d'Anjou. The Queen, we may presume, re- 
 ceived the Cardinal with at least as much favour as had 
 her son, and the same evening Mazarin supped with 
 their Majesties. 
 
 A week later the Duchesse de Mercoeur and Olympe 
 Mancini, escorted by their brother Paul, re-entered 
 Paris. A journal of the time announced their arrival 
 as follows : — 
 
 "The 3rd of this month of February arrived here, 
 by the Porte Saint-Antoine, the nieces of his Excellency 
 preceded by the Princesse de Carignan,^ the Princesse 
 
 1 Marie de Bourbon (1606-92), daughter of Charles de Bourbon, 
 Comte de Soissons (i 566-161 2) and Anne de Montafie, and wife of 
 Prince Thomas Francois de Carignan, son of Charles Emmanuel the 
 Great, of Savoy. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 29 
 
 Louise, her daughter, Mar^chal de Guebriand, the 
 Marquis d'Ampus, and a number of ladies of condition. 
 They alighted at the Hotel de Vendome, where the 
 dowager-duchess, accompanied by several ladies, wel- 
 comed them with the greatest marks of affection, which 
 were principally bestowed on the Duchesse de Mercoeur, 
 her daughter-in-law. Then, having been conducted to 
 the Louvre, they were favourably received by their 
 Majesties, after which the Queen caused them to be 
 conducted into the apartment which had been prepared 
 for them in that residence. In the evening, they were 
 splendidly entertained by the Princesse de Carignan, 
 who provided for them every possible diversion. . . . 
 Since, they have permitted them to receive after dinner 
 the visits full of honour and affection which the ladies 
 of the Court and town rendered them."^ 
 
 The cordial welcome extended to the sisters by the 
 Princesse de Carignan would appear to suggest that she 
 already regarded with a favourable eye the possibility of 
 an alliance between Olympe Mancini and her son. Prince 
 Eugene de Savoie-Carignan, which actually took place 
 five years later. But the Cardinal, who always made a 
 point of never showing any eagerness for the establish- 
 ment of his nieces, pretended not to notice it. 
 
 Scarcely had Mazarin returned, when the troubles 
 recommenced more violently than ever. Failing in 
 an attempt to get the Cardinal proscribed anew, Conde 
 began a regular war against the Court, and gained some 
 unimportant successes over Mar^chal d'Hocquincourt, 
 who commanded the royal army. The object of the 
 prince was apparently to get possession of the person of 
 the young King. But Turenne, recalled by an urgent 
 ^ Cited by Lucian Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
30 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 message from Louis, quitted the army which was con- 
 fronting the Spaniards and hastened to Bl^neau, where, 
 on 7 April, he saved the rest of the Royalists and Louis 
 himself, who was at Gien, and, in the event of defeat, 
 would in all probability have fallen into his rebellious 
 kinsman's hands. Three weeks later, Turenne and 
 d'Hocquincourt gained a fresh success over Conde at 
 Etampes, where the latter lost over a thousand men. A 
 futile attempt at negotiations on the part of the prince 
 followed, after which he quitted his post at Saint-Cloud 
 and crossed the Seine, with the intention of occupy- 
 ing Charenton. Hard pressed, however, by the royal 
 troops, he was compelled to throw himself into the 
 Faubourg Saint-Antoine, where, on 2 July, a battle was 
 fought, which would undoubtedly have ended in the 
 total destruction of Conde's army, had not la Grande 
 Mademoiselle persuaded the citizens to open their gates 
 to the retreating Frondeurs and turned the cannon of 
 the Bastille on the victorious Royalists. " Voila un coup 
 de canon qui a tui un mari I " Mazarin, who had watched 
 the fighting from a place of safety, is reported to have 
 exclaimed, when the first gun was fired, meaning thereby 
 that Madetnoiselle had destroyed all chance of ever 
 becoming the consort of Louis XIV. 
 
 The combat was a sanguinary one, and the Cardinal 
 had the grief to learn that, amongst the Royalist officers 
 most severely wounded, was his nephew Paul Mancini, 
 who, though barely fifteen years of age, had recently 
 been appointed mestre de camp of the Regiment de la 
 Marine, and had fought with the greatest gallantry at 
 the head of his men. The young officer was conveyed 
 to Saint-Denis, where the Court had established itself, 
 and the surgeons pronounced his wound a very danger- 
 ous one. However, since he had youth and an excel- 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 31 
 
 lent constitution on his side, they held out some hope of 
 his recovery, provided that he could be ensured absolute 
 rest. Unhappily, the Court was obliged to leave Saint- 
 Denis, where the King was not considered in safety, and 
 Mazarin, fearing to leave the lad to the tender mercies 
 of Conde's defeated soldiery or the populace of Paris, 
 who might have vented upon him their hatred of his 
 uncle, gave directions that he was to be removed in 
 a litter. This journey proved fatal to the poor youth, 
 who died the following day, at Pontoise, a few hours 
 after receiving the brevet of colonel of the Chevau- 
 Icgers of his guard from Louis XIV's own hands. 
 
 Mazarin, who did not ordinarily evince much sensi- 
 bility where members of his family were concerned, was 
 in despair at the death of his nephew ; he had reckoned 
 on the favour of the King, who was much attached to 
 the boy, to ensure him a brilliant future, and had enter- 
 tained for him a sincere affection. With the idea of 
 perpetuating his memory, he composed a lengthy epitaph 
 in which Mancini himself is supposed to recount to 
 those who pass by his touching history. 
 
 The Cardinal's grief was little respected by the Fronde, 
 whose pamphleteers made it the occasion to pour upon 
 him a deluge of abominable invectives and cynical 
 pleasantries. To understand, indeed, the hatred with 
 which the Minister was regarded, it is necessary to 
 peruse some of these Mazarinades, unprofitable reading 
 though they be ; for their authors did not hesitate to 
 declare that Mazarin combined in his own person all the 
 vices of both modern times and antiquity ; and the 
 ignorant mob believed them. One scribe went so far 
 as to publish a pamphlet entitled " Le Facte de Mazarin 
 avec le demon," in which he asserted that the Cardinal 
 " had given his soul and body to the devil, on condition 
 
32 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 of becoming the richest and most powerful man in 
 Europe, beloved of fair ladies, and of dying in his bed." 
 This contract was supposed to have been entered into 
 at Rome in the year 1632. 
 
 It is singular to reflect that the Minister who was the 
 object of all this scurrilous abuse had, whatever his 
 faults may have been, never wavered in his fidelity to 
 the country of his adoption, while those who vilified 
 him were the mouthpieces of men who intrigued and 
 even fought with the enemies of France. 
 
 The inveterate hatred with which the partisans of 
 Conde, the Parliament, and the Parisians generally re- 
 garded Mazarin had been rather accentuated than 
 appeased by the Royalist successes in the field, and 
 though the citizens opened negotiations with the King, 
 they firmly declined to return to their allegiance until 
 the Minister was removed. The Queen was naturally 
 violently opposed to such a demand ; but Mazarin him- 
 self advised compliance, well knowing that his exile 
 would be but a brief one ; and Anne finally consented, 
 at the same time intimating in unmistakable terms that 
 she was acting under constraint. 
 
 The Cardinal left Pontoise on 19 August 1652, 
 having recommended as first minister Prince Thomas de 
 Savoie, while his faithful henchmen Servien and Le 
 Tellier remained at their posts. He proceeded to 
 Bouillon and thence to Cologne, from which city he 
 kept up an active correspondence with the Queen, and 
 continued to direct all her actions. She, on her part, 
 carried out his instructions with the utmost docility, 
 taking upon her own shoulders all the odium which 
 some of them aroused, and did not cease to urge the 
 return of her beloved Minister in the most tender and 
 impassioned terms. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 33 
 
 " I know not when I ought to look for your return," 
 she writes, " since new obstacles to hinder it are con- 
 stantly arising. All that I can say is, that I am very 
 weary, and bear this delay with great impatience, and if 
 16 [Mazarin] knew all that 15 [the Queen] suffers in 
 this way, I am sure that he would be touched. I suffer 
 so much at this moment that I have not the strength to 
 write for long, nor do I know too well what to say. I 
 have received your letters almost every day, without 
 which 1 know not what would happen. Continue to 
 write as often, since you afford me some consolation in 
 the state in which I am. ... At the worst, you have 
 only to throw the blame for the delay on 15 [the Queen], 
 who is a thousand times ^ [yours] and until her last sigh. 
 The child [the Due de Mercoeur] will tell you everything. 
 Adieu ; I can write no more, and he [Mazarin] knows 
 why. . . ." 
 
 At length, all difficulties having been overcome, the 
 Cardinal was recalled. His return was preceded by a 
 considerable service to the State. At his own expense 
 he raised and equipped a body of troops in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Liege, and joined Turenne, who was laying 
 siege to Bar-le-Duc. In spite of the severity of the 
 winter, the Cardinal displayed so much activity and en- 
 thusiasm that those about him found it difficult to believe 
 that he had ever exchanged the sword for the soutane. 
 The place surrendered after a brief resistance, and, on 
 9 February 1653, Mazarin re-entered Paris in a blaze 
 of glory. The King, followed by the greatest nobles of 
 the Court, went to meet the returning Minister as far as 
 Bourget, insisted on his entering his coach, and brought 
 him in triumph to the Louvre, where a magnificent suite 
 of apartments had been prepared for him. 
 
 And — singular transformation ! — the same people 
 
34 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 who, but six short months before, had execrated the very 
 name of the Italian adventurer, now received him with 
 shouts of welcome. "The time of storm was past," 
 says Henault, " and one respected in him a fortune 
 which so many trials had been powerless to overthrow." 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Mazarin summons a second detachment of his family to France — Marie 
 Mancini's account of her childhood and of the journey to France — 
 Marriage of the Prince de Conti to Anne-Marie Martinozzi — Their 
 married life — Arrival of Laure Martinozzi, Marie, Hortense, and 
 Philippe Mancini, and their mothers in Paris — Character of Madame 
 Mancini — Her dislike of her daughter Marie — She persuades the 
 Cardinal to send Marie to the Couvent de la Visitation — Hortense 
 joins her sister — Remarkable progress of Marie in her studies — Let- 
 ters of Marie and Hortense to the Cardinal — Marie leaves the convent 
 and joins the Court at La Fere — A manage manque — Marie returns 
 to her mother — Marriage of Laure Martinozzi to the Prince of 
 Modena — Marianne and Alphonse Mancini brought to France — A 
 practical joke — Harsh treatment of Marie by her mother — Marie's 
 studies — Illness of Madame Mancini — Beginning of the friendship 
 between Marie and Louis XIV — Death of Madame Mancini — And 
 of the Duchesse de Mercoeur. 
 
 A FTER the Fronde, Mazarin, with all his enemies out- 
 •"^ witted and incomparably the wealthiest subject in 
 Europe, devoted himself to still further strengthening 
 his authority by new and brilliant alliances for his family. 
 On 1 8 April 1653, he wrote to his father, in Rome, 
 to acquaint him with his intention to bring his niece, 
 Anne-Marie Martinozzi, to France, and to request him 
 to confer with the French Ambassador to the Vatican 
 and " make all the preparations he judged necessary." 
 At the same time, he demanded of his sister, Signora 
 Mancini, her son Philippe, and her eldest remaining 
 daughter Marie. The last named, in a rare little work 
 entitled " La Veritc dans son jour, ou les Veritables 
 
 35 
 
36 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Memoires de M. Manchini, connetable Colonne,"^ has 
 left us some interesting details of her childhood, which 
 help us to understand her character and the original turn 
 of her mind : 
 
 " Rome witnessed my birth, of a family illustrious 
 enough to make itself esteemed for its own renown, and 
 which needed not the glory of Cardinal Mazarin to en- 
 able it to take a sufficiently high place in the chief city 
 in the world. At the age of seven, my mother, to whom 
 I appeared less beautiful than my sister Hortense, to-day 
 Duchesse de Mazarin, placed me in the Campo Marzio, 
 convent of the Order of Saint-Benedict, with the idea 
 of having me brought up in the religious life. At the 
 end of two years, although my mother had much less 
 inclination for me than for my sister, she did not fail to 
 be touched by my feeble health ; and, attributing my in- 
 disposition to the close confinement in which I was kept 
 and to the impure air which I breathed in the convent — 
 which, in fact, was very unhealthy — she took me away 
 and made me return to her. 
 
 " About two years after I had left the convent, my 
 uncle, the Cardinal, whose fortune had already reached 
 its height, desired, for the example of the . . .^ to increase 
 it still further by allowing others to participate therein ; 
 
 1 This book, published in Spain, but which bears no date, must not 
 be confused with the better known "Apologie ou les Veritables Memoires 
 de Madame Marie Mancini, connetable de Colonna, ecrits par elle-meme. 
 A Leide, pour I'auteur, chez Jean von Gelder, a. la Tortue, 1678," or 
 with " Les Memoires de M. L. P. M. M. (Madame la Princesse Marie 
 Mancini) Colonne G. Connetable du royaume de Naples. A Cologne, 
 chez Pierre Marteau, 1676." The latter work is apocryphal, while the 
 •' Apologie " would appear to have been written from the manuscript of 
 *' La Verite dans son jour," which Marie Mancini had confided to a 
 person of the name of Bremont. Bremont, without altering the facts, 
 which are identical in the two works, altogether perverted the style in 
 his efforts to improve it. 
 
 2 An illegible word. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 37 
 
 and this obliged him to summon to him my mother and 
 my aunt Martinozzi, with orders to each of them to 
 bring her eldest daughter. This direction seemed to 
 exclude my sister Hortense, as being the younger ; but 
 her beauty had given her the elder's privilege in the 
 inclination of my mother, who did not, however, fail to 
 explain to me my uncle's wishes, and would no doubt 
 have been pleased if I had declined to obey him, a 
 matter concerning which I had no difficulty in coming 
 to a decision, inasmuch as she bade me choose between 
 going to France or remaining in Rome with my aunt 
 and consecrating myself to God in a cloister. To which, 
 I remember, that I replied that there were convents 
 everywhere, and that when it pleased Heaven to inspire 
 me with pious aspirations, it would be as easy to follow 
 them in Paris as in Rome ; moreover, that I was not yet 
 old enough to decide so important a matter. 
 
 " This answer disabused my mother of the error 
 under which she had hitherto lain and made her deter- 
 mine to bring me; and, to spare herself the resentment 
 which the fact of my being preferred to my sister had 
 occasioned her, she brought us both. 
 
 " We accordingly embarked in a Genoese galley, 
 which that republic, which had a very particular regard 
 for the Cardinal, had sent for us. I shall not pause 
 here to describe this moving mansion, since it would be 
 necessary to consume too much time in depicting all its 
 beauties, its spruceness, its richness, and its magnifi- 
 cence ; and it will be enough for me to say that we 
 were treated as queens during our voyage, and that the 
 tables of sovereigns were not served with more pomp 
 and splendour than was ours four times a day. 
 
 " We disembarked at length at Marseilles, in May 
 1653, where my aunt, who was a little too scrupulous, 
 
38 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 for a long time declined to receive the corporation of 
 the town, who begged to be permitted to pay their 
 respects, being unable to make up her mind to the 
 form of salutation in vogue in France.^ This delicacy 
 was at last overcome, though with great difficulty and 
 afforded material for laughter to many people, who were 
 astonished, and with reason enough, that she made so 
 much mystery over a formality sanctioned by custom 
 and justified by so long a voyage. 
 
 " From Marseilles we passed to Aix, where we were 
 received by the governor of the province, who was at 
 that time the Due de Mercceur, the first French noble 
 who had up to then allied himself with the Cardinal, 
 having espoused Laure Mancini, my eldest sister, whom 
 he himself had demanded at Cologne, at the time when 
 his Eminence was obliged to withdraw thither. We 
 remained eight months in this town of Aix, where the 
 duke my brother-in-law entertained us in the most 
 magnificent manner conceivable, and where my sister, 
 his wife, came to join us two months later, and con- 
 tributed in every possible way to make the time pass 
 agreeably." 
 
 While the second detachment of the Cardinal's family 
 was at Aix, where Madame de Mercosur busied herself 
 with instructing her young sisters and cousin in the 
 etiquette of the French Court, devoting particular atten- 
 tion to Marie, whose early education, partly owing to 
 her ill-health and partly owing to the indifference with 
 which her mother regarded her, had been much 
 neglected, Mazarin was employed in concluding arrange- 
 ments for the union of his family with Royalty itself, 
 
 ^ This consisted in embracing the women and in allowing the men to 
 kiss the lady's hand. 
 
From an engraving by Frosne 
 
 ARMAXD DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONTI 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 39 
 
 by an alliance between Anne-Marie Martinozzi and the 
 Prince de Conti, younger brother of Cond6. 
 
 Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, who was at 
 this time about thirty-four years of age, had been 
 originally destined for the Church, and though he had 
 resisted the imposition of hands ecclesiastical, had 
 received as -his appanage many rich abbeys, such as 
 Saint-Denis, Cluny, and L6rens. In person, he was 
 short and slightly deformed, defects which were atoned 
 for by a strikingly handsome face and charming man- 
 ners. Always under the influence of his celebrated 
 sister, Madame de Longueville, he joined the Fronde, 
 and when Mazarin returned from his second exile, was 
 engaged in defending Bordeaux against the royal troops, in 
 company with the Due and Duchesse de Longueville and 
 the Princesse de Conde and her son the Due d'Enghien. 
 When at length the city surrendered, he found himself 
 in a humiliating position. In disgrace at Court, his 
 large fortune almost entirely gone, and crippled with 
 debt, he was one day bewailing his lot and comparing 
 it with that of the Due de Candale, who had com- 
 manded the Royalists besieging Bordeaux, when his 
 secretary, the poet Sarrazin, advised him " to do as 
 M. de Candale was about to do." (A marriage between 
 Candale and one of the Cardinal's nieces was then 
 being talked of). Conti caught at his secretary's 
 suggestion as a drowning man catches at a straw, and, 
 though his almoner, Daniel de Cosnac, afterwards Arch- 
 bishop of Aix, opposed the project, the counsels of 
 Sarrazin prevailed, and he was despatched to Paris to 
 conduct the negotiation. 
 
 The secretary broached the subject to the Minister,' 
 
 1 According to one account, it was the Cardinal who, some little time 
 before this, had broached the matter to Sarrazin, and had offered him a 
 considerable bribe to put the idea into his master's head. 
 
40 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 who, although overjoyed at the prospect of a union 
 between a member of his family and a Prince of the 
 Blood, was faithful to his character, and succeeded in 
 beating his prospective nephew down several hundred 
 thousand livres in the matter of the dot. 
 
 From the " M6moires " of Cosnac, which contain 
 many curious details about this affair, it would appear 
 that Conti had given Sarrazin carte blanche in regard to 
 the choice of his princess, observing that it was a matter 
 of perfect indifference to him which of the young ladies 
 was allotted him, since it was the Cardinal and not a 
 wife that he desired to espouse. Sarrazin, good servant 
 that he was, proved himself worthy of so much con- 
 fidence, and demanded for his master the most beautiful 
 and the most virtuous of the nieces — Anne-Marie 
 Martinozzi, to wit. Poor Anne-Marie would vastly 
 have preferred accepting the homage of the fascinating 
 Candale, to whom she had practically been promised. 
 But her uncle's wishes were law ; and, besides, the duke 
 regarded the matter with the same eye as the prince — 
 it was the Cardinal whom he proposed to espouse ; and, 
 by no means unwilling to prolong his career of gallantry, 
 withdrew his pretensions without hesitation. 
 
 It is sad to relate that, while these negotiations were 
 in progress, the Prince de Conti was preparing himself 
 for the duties of matrimony by frequenting public bah 
 masques and other questionable entertainments, and lead- 
 ing generally so dissipated a life that his health remained 
 seriously affected for some time afterwards. 
 
 The betrothal took place on 21 February 1654, at 
 the Louvre, and, on the following day, the marriage was 
 celebrated, by the Archbishop of Bourges, in the Queen's 
 Chapel. The bride wore " a dress of brocade, enriched 
 with pearls of very great price, and was conducted to 
 
^1- ait C.I huis i/oj L^/f'^' /,'/•//' 
 Q/^/ ruftcj- rnq/trc i i'/ti i / 
 
 '^>.' // l^'ati que retl> 
 
 ANNK MAKIE iMAK i INO/Zl, PKINCESSE DE CONil 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 41 
 
 the chapel by their Majesties, Monsieur, the Prince de 
 Conti, Cardinal Mazarin, and several other leaders of 
 the Court." 
 
 The Prince de Conti had certainly every reason to 
 consider himself a fortunate man, for not only did his 
 marriage restore to him all the offices and dignities he 
 had lost by his conduct during the Fronde, plus a hand- 
 some dowry, the government of Guienne, and a magnifi- 
 cent hotel on the Quai Malaquais, which the Cardinal, 
 in a fit of generosity, subsequently erected for him at 
 his own expense, but it brought him an extremely 
 beautiful wife, who joined to her loveliness " much 
 sweetness of temper, much intelligence, and good 
 sense. "^ 
 
 The union proved a happy one, in spite of occasional 
 fits of jealousy on the prince's part, for which his wife, 
 who, though at the time, of their marriage " merely an 
 honest pagan," soon became a devote of the most 
 rigorous type, seems to have given him not the 
 shadow of a cause," and in spite, too, of his own 
 occasional lapses from the path of virtue, during one of 
 which he attempted ineffectually to pose as the lover of 
 
 ^ Madame de Motteville, " Memoires." If we are to believe con- 
 temporary gossip, Conti would not appear at first to have fully appreci- 
 ated his good fortune. He was ashamed of his marriage, and vented his 
 ill-humour on Sarrazin, whom he smote on the head with a pair of 
 tongs, inflicting injuries whereof the unfortunate poet died. This tragic 
 incident gave rise to the following quatrain : — 
 
 Deux charmants, deux famcux poetes, 
 Disciples de Marot, Du Cerceau, Sarrazin, 
 Ont eternise les pincettes. 
 Le premier par ses verses et I'autre par sa fin. 
 
 2 Once, not long after the marriage, Louis XIV, then seventeen, was 
 so imprudent as to attempt to make love to the princess, who received his 
 advances so very ungraciously, that, the following day, the Cardinal com- 
 pelled her to apologize to his Majesty. Conti, who was then in Spain, 
 informed of what had occurred, sent orders for his wife to join him 
 immediately. Few husbands, in those days, showed a like discretion. 
 
42 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Madame de S6vigne. These lapses, as was the case with 
 the celebrated Due de Joyeuse, were generally followed 
 by violent fits of penitence and devotion, and at length, 
 under the twofold influence of his wife and his sister 
 Madame de Longueville, religion triumphed, and he 
 became sincerely devout. " The beauty of his peni- 
 tence," says Madame de Motteville, " surpassed the 
 ugliness of his faults " ; but it would have perhaps 
 been as well for his reputation with posterity if he 
 had refrained from publishing his indictment of the 
 theatre, wherein this erstwhile patron of Moli^re gravely 
 informs us that a troupe of actors is " a troupe of 
 devils," and to amuse oneself at the theatre is to 
 *' delight the demon." 
 
 The Princesse de Conti favoured Jansenist doctrines, 
 and, after her husband's death, which occurred in 1666, 
 became the protector and patroness of Port Royal. She 
 was also extremely beneficent ; at least two-thirds of the 
 wealth with which her uncle had endowed her were 
 dispensed in charity, and an inscription on her tomb in 
 Saint-Andre-des-Arts informs us that, during the famine 
 of 1662, she sold all her jewellery to feed the starving 
 poor of Berry, Champagne, and Picardy. She diec six 
 years after her husband, leaving two sons, one of wi.om 
 married Mile, de Blois, daughter of Louis XIV and 
 Louise de la Valliere, and died at the age of twenty- 
 four ; while the other survived to be the highest 
 ornament of his house. 
 
 Some few weeks before the Conti-Martinozzi mar- 
 riage, the second detachment of the Cardinal's family 
 had left Aix for Paris. Mazarin did not deem it advis- 
 able that his young relatives should proceed directly to 
 the capital, but instructed them to break their journey 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 43 
 
 at the Chateau de Villeroi, near Corbeil, where their 
 uncle visited them, to assure himself that they had 
 benefited sufficiently by the lessons of the Duchesse de 
 Mercoeur to pass muster at Court. The result of his 
 examination being satisfactory, he gave orders for them 
 to proceed to Paris, where they arrived at the beginning 
 of February,' and were immediately presented to their 
 Majesties, " who received them with marks of extra- 
 ordinary kindness." The courtiers, of course, followed 
 suit,and overwhelmed the little strangers with attentions ; 
 while even the rhymesters of the Fronde, who had so 
 lately been holding Mazarin and all his belongings up to 
 ridicule and odium, now vied with one another in chant- 
 ing their praises : 
 
 Les Mancini, les Martinosses, 
 Illustres matieres de noces ! 
 
 The new arrivals assisted at the marriage of their 
 cousin to the Prince de Conti and the brilliant fetes 
 which followed it, where the beauty of the little Hortense 
 Mancini seems to have been particularly remarked upon. 
 Three months later (7 June), the King, who had just 
 attained the age of fifteen, was crowned at Rheims, and 
 Philippe Mancini had the honour of being selected as 
 one of the bearers of the Holy Ampulla. It may 
 here be remarked that Mazarin, who had been deeply 
 attached to Paul Mancini, always entertained a strong 
 aversion to Philippe, who had no merit, in his eyes, 
 save that of being of his own blood, and whom he 
 invariably treated with the greatest harshness and 
 severity. 
 
 Madame Mancini, or de Mancini, as she was now 
 called — for, by the Cardinal's desire, his relatives, since 
 their arrival in Paris, had prefixed the French territorial 
 prefix to their names — was allotted a suite of apartments 
 
44 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 in the Louvre, where Marie and Hortense lived with 
 her. She appears to have been a singularly unpleasant 
 kind of woman, ill-tempered, bigoted, and superstitious. 
 (She believed with equal fervour in the power of saints 
 and of astrologers.) What affection she had to bestow 
 was concentrated on three of her daughters — Madame 
 de Mercoeur, Olympe, and the little Hortense. Marie 
 she could not endure, and, as we have seen, had only 
 brought her to France with extreme reluctance. She 
 now advised her brother to send the girl to a convent, 
 hoping that, once there, she would remain there. The 
 Cardinal was far from sharing his sister's feelings with 
 regard to his niece ; but, inasmuch as Marie, at this 
 time a thin, sallow-complexioned, and ungainly child, 
 did not strike him as likely to create a favourable 
 impression at Court, he decided to do as Madame 
 Mancini suggested, and the girl was accordingly sent 
 to the Couvent de la Visitation, in the Faubourg Saint- 
 Jacques, " to see," as his Eminence expressed it, " if she 
 would not put on a little flesh." 
 
 Flere, two months later, she was joined by her little 
 sister Hortense, " who was too much of a child to 
 remain at Court, to which her beauty had introduced 
 her, and where every one was so pleased to see her, even 
 up to Monsieur,^ who, child though he was, could not 
 live without her. His Eminence added that she was a 
 little too obstinate, to which, he said, the liberty she had 
 been allowed to enjoy in the great world had too much 
 contributed." ^ 
 
 The abbess of the Couvent de la Visitation was M^re 
 Elisabeth de Lamoignon, sister of the First President of 
 
 ^ The Due d'Anjou, afterwards Due d'Orleans, the King's brother. 
 '^ " La Verite dans son jour, ou les Veritables Memoires de M. 
 Mancini, connetable Colonne.' 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 45 
 
 the Parliament of Paris, "who was charged to instruct us 
 and to teach us the language and all that she considered 
 necessary for girls of our age and rank." ^ Madame de 
 Lamoignon quickly perceived that in Marie she had no 
 ordinary pupil. The young girl was singularly gifted, 
 and learned with extraordinary rapidity. The most 
 difficult subjects did not seem to present any difficulties 
 to her, and so marvellous was her memory that she was 
 able to retain whole pages from tragedies and poems. 
 Moreover, she was an indefatigable student, the reason 
 being that, young though she was, she was well aware 
 that, if she wished to occupy a place at Court, the object 
 of all her desires, her only chance was to atone by the 
 graces of the mind for her lack of physical attractions. 
 
 The abbess did not fail to render an account of the 
 astonishing progress made by her pupil to the Cardinal, 
 who expressed himself much gratified ; but he had 
 conceived a great affection for Hortense, who remained 
 the favourite among his nieces to the end of his life, 
 and it was she who addressed to her uncle requests 
 which Marie would never have dared to make. Thus, 
 two months after entering the convent, we find her 
 writing to the Cardinal the following letter : — 
 
 Hortense de Mancini to Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 " I July 1654, Couvent de la Visitation, 
 
 *' Faubourg Saint-Jacques. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — I have been too long in this place 
 without giving myself the honour of writing to your 
 Eminence. I had intended to wait until I was more 
 proficient in writing, but I am impatient to know if the 
 little Hortense is still honoured by your remembrance. 
 She is striving hard to learn how to serve God and 
 
 1 uu. 
 
46 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 to make herself very wise, in order to merit this favour. 
 If your Excellency would be willing to favour me with 
 one of his visits, as he promised me, that would be the 
 summit of my happiness. If I cannot have this honour, 
 at least I beg your Eminence very humbly to remember 
 to give instructions to M. Colbert touching that which 
 he promised me every month for my diversion and for 
 giving alms to the poor ; and also your Eminence will 
 not forget that the time since I have been at home, 
 which is nearly a month, ought to be reckoned, and my 
 sister Marie nearly three. I should be grieved, loving 
 her as I do, were she to have no share in your 
 liberalities. She begs to be honoured by your re- 
 membrance, since, like myself, she has no other desire 
 than to render ourselves worthy of the quality of 
 
 " Your very humble and obedient niece and servant, 
 who loves you with all her heart, 
 
 " HORTENSE DE MaNCINI." 
 
 The Cardinal, through the Bishop of Coutances, lost 
 no time in making a satisfactory response to this appeal, 
 and both sisters write to thank him. Here are their 
 letters, that of Marie being a singularly graceful and 
 charming one for a girl only thirteen years of age : — 
 
 Marie de Mancini to Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 " This 9 July, Couvent de la Visitation, 
 " Faubourg Saint- Jacques. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — I lack words to express the senti- 
 ments of respect and gratitude that I have for the kind- 
 ness and care your Eminence has for us. Monseigneur 
 de Coutances has just given us fresh proofs of it, since 
 he has assured us that we have always a share in the 
 honour of your remembrance. He has brought us 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 47 
 
 thirty pistoles [three hundred francs] and some fans, on 
 behalf of your Eminence ; and what has transported us 
 with admiration, is to find that, in the midst of your 
 important occupations, you condescend so far as to think 
 of matters so nearly concerning our persons. It is for 
 me a powerful incentive to study to perfect myself, and 
 to be one day so happy as to give you cause not to 
 disown me. 
 
 " I am, etc." 
 
 Horteme de Mancini to Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 " Sainte-Marie de la Visitation. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — 1 am transported to find that you 
 have done your little Hortense the honour to think of 
 her. Monseigneur de Coutances will be able to express 
 to you my joy, and especially when he gave me the pre- 
 sents on your behalf. I believed tha' it was true what 
 he told me, that you always love me a little. It is that 
 which makes me pray to God with all my heart for your 
 Eminence, that you may have the kindness to continue 
 that favour. That God may preserve you in health, the 
 while I shall strive to do everything possible not to be 
 unworthy of the quality of your .... etc. . . ."^ 
 
 Among her accomplishments, Marie now numbered 
 drawing, and, desirous of doing everything possible to 
 establish herself in the good graces of her all-powerful 
 uncle, she conceived the idea of sending him for his 
 fete-day a portrait of Hortense, which she had recently 
 finished. 
 
 1 Published by Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
48 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Marie Mancini to Cardinal Mazarin. 
 
 " 1 8 August 1655. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — Sincc iti ten days' time it will be the 
 festival of the saint whose name your Eminence bears, 
 I cannot allow it to pass without offering to your 
 Eminence this little portrait of my fashioning. I 
 know that you love very much her whom it represents, 
 and I shall esteem myself happy if, when you look at it, 
 you do me the honour to remember me, and to believe 
 that we shall not fail to offer earnestly, on that day, our 
 prayers to our Lord for your preservation, having 
 nothing so much at heart as to prove to you my desire 
 to live and die in the respect and obedience which I owe 
 to you, etc." ^ 
 
 Marie had been an inmate of the Couvent de la 
 Visitation some eighteen months, when, one day in 
 October 1655, she received a letter from the Cardinal 
 informing her that she was to leave it and join the 
 Court, which was then at La Fere, in Picardy. She 
 travelled thither in charge of Madame de Venel, a lady 
 entirely devoted to Mazarin's interests, who became a 
 \\tt\Q.\2itcr gouv em ante to his three younger nieces, heartily 
 glad, we may suppose, to exchange the dull monotony 
 of the convent for the gaiety and bustle of Court life, 
 and was received very graciously by her uncle. 
 
 In his letter, Mazarin had said nothing about the 
 motive which had prompted him to send for his niece, 
 which was a matrimonial one. He had, as a matter of 
 fact, arranged, or believed that he had arranged, a mar- 
 riage between Marie and Armand de la Porte, only son 
 of the Marechal de la Meilleraye. 
 
 1 Published by Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 49 
 
 In the eyes of the old aristocracy of France, the La 
 Portes were little better than parvenus. The marshal 
 himself, though a relative by marriage of Richelieu, 
 was the grandson of an advocate, while, if Saint-Simon 
 is to be believed, the founder of the family was only a 
 humble doorkeeper, whence came the name of La Porte. 
 Saint-Simon, however, as is well known, had a remarkably 
 fertile imagination, particularly where persons whom he 
 disliked were concerned. On the other hand, the 
 marshal, by methods into which it were perhaps in- 
 discreet to inquire too closely, had succeeded in amass- 
 ing an enormous fortune, and had obtained permission 
 to hand over to his son his lucrative post of Grand 
 Master of the Artillery, as well as his governments. 
 Altogether, thought his Eminence, poor, plain Marie 
 might consider herself an exceedingly fortunate girl. 
 
 But the Cardinal and the marshal, in making their 
 calculations, had forgotten one unimportant detail, 
 namely, to assure themselves of the consent of the 
 prospective bridegroom. The latter had seen Marie and 
 Hortense at the time of their first appearance at Court, 
 and, while he had scarcely noticed the former, had fallen 
 desperately in love with the latter, notwithstanding the 
 fact that she was then barely ten years old. He now 
 flatly declared that he would wed Hortense or no one ; 
 that from the first moment he had seen her, he had loved 
 her with such devotion that, if he were not permitted to 
 marry her, he would retire to pass the rest of his life in 
 a convent. And one day, the object of his adoration 
 tells us, he confided to the Duchesse d'Aiguillon that so 
 overmastering was the passion which consumed him that 
 " provided he could marry Hortense, he cared not if he 
 died three months later." These words, the writer 
 adds, were duly reported to the Cardinal, who, indignant 
 
so FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 at the Grand Master's refusal of his elder niece's hand, 
 exclaimed contemptuously, " I would rather give Hor- 
 tense to a lackey than allow him to marry her."^ How- 
 ever, as we shall see, he subsequently came to view the 
 matter in a different light. 
 
 In the winter, the Court returned to Paris. Marie 
 was not a little afraid that after this manage manque she 
 would be sent back to the convent. But her uncle, not 
 a little impressed by the girl's intelligence, had resolved 
 to definitely emancipate her and she, therefore, returned 
 to her mother at the Louvre. Shortly afterwards, 
 Hortense also quitted the Visitation, and was taken 
 charge of by her eldest sister, Madame de Mercceur, 
 who allowed her a good deal of liberty, of which the 
 young lady did not fail to take the fullest advantage. 
 Olympe, as the eldest unmarried sister, had already a 
 separate suite of apartments of her own. 
 
 Mazarin could afford to regard the failure of his first 
 attempt to establish Marie Mancini in life with com- 
 parative equanimity, since, in the previous summer, 
 he had succeeded in arranging a brilliant alliance for 
 another of his nieces, Laure Martinozzi, younger sister 
 of the Princesse de Conti, who was then sixteen, a little 
 the junior of her cousin Olympe Mancini. The memoirs 
 of the time have left us no details in regard to the 
 appearance of Laure Martinozzi, who was only a 
 bird of passage, though, as an anonymous rhymester, 
 whom Amed6e Ren6e cites in his *' Nieces de Mazarin," 
 qualifies her as a " Roman beauty," it is probable 
 that she did not want for attractions. However, 
 whether she was beautiful or not, she resembled her 
 elder sister in other respects, inasmuch as she was 
 ^ " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 51 
 
 pious, intelligent, and amiable; and when Alfonso d'Este, 
 only son and heir of the reigning Duke of Modena, 
 demanded her hand in marriage, there can be no doubt 
 that he — or rather his agents, since he married her by 
 proxy without ever having seen her — exercised a wise 
 discretion in preferring her to Olympe, who was deeply 
 mortified at being passed over. Personal considerations, 
 however, probably counted for very little in this alliance. 
 Modena needed the support of France against Spain, 
 which was then pressing with all her weight upon the 
 petty sovereigns of Italy, and Duke Francesco I, as 
 capable a statesman as he was a soldier, perceived that an 
 alliance with the family of the virtual ruler of France 
 would assure him what he desired. 
 
 The marriage was celebrated at Compi^gne, in June 
 1655, Prince Eugene de Savoie, afterwards the husband 
 of Olympe Mancini and the father of the celebrated 
 commander, acting as proxy for the Prince of Modena 
 in the gorgeous ceremonial, which was precisely the same 
 in all respects as if the bride had been a daughter of 
 France. 
 
 A few days later, the young princess set out for Italy, 
 accompanied by her mother Madame Martinozzi, the 
 Due and Duchesse de Noailles, and a numerous suite. 
 Madame Martinozzi remained for some time at Modena 
 with her daughter, and then returned to her house in 
 Rome, where she passed the rest of her life. 
 
 From the marriage of Laure Martinozzi and Alfonso 
 d'Este, two children were born : a son, who succeeded 
 his father, in 1662, as Duke Francesco II, and a daughter, 
 Marie Beatrice, who married James, Duke of York, 
 after the death of his first wife, Anne Hyde, and 
 became Queen of England and mother of the old 
 Pretender, so that, but for the Revolution, the blood of 
 
52 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Mazarin might have continued to flow in our sovereisrns* 
 veins. 
 
 During the minority of her son, the Duchess of 
 Modena acted as regent, and governed her little State 
 with both wisdom and firmness (" virile donna," one of 
 her biographers calls her), in politics remaining faithful 
 to France and Louis XIV. Afterwards she joined her 
 mother in Rome, where she continued to reside until 
 her death. 
 
 The Due and Duchesse de Noailles had been entrusted 
 by Mazarin with another mission, besides that of escort- 
 ing the Princess of Modena to her future home. They 
 were charged to bring from Rome the little Marianne 
 Mancini, the youngest of the five sisters, who had re- 
 mained behind in that city, under the care of one of her 
 aunts, when her mother set out for France, and, with 
 her, her little brother Alphonse. On their homeward 
 journey, they stopped at Modena, where, as cousins of 
 the new princess, they were received with great cere- 
 mony, and an address presented to them by the muni- 
 cipal authorities, to which Marianne replied with much 
 aplomb in a jargon of her own, a mixture of Italian and 
 French. Although only six years old, the little girl was 
 extraordinarily precocious, and on her arrival in France, 
 quickly became a great favourite with the Cardinal and 
 the Queen and the pet of the Court, which her gaiety 
 and amusing repartees greatly diverted. His Eminence, 
 when in a good humour, was in the habit of playing on 
 the child singular tricks. Here is one which her sister 
 Hortense relates in her " Memoires," and which, though 
 somewhat gai, is too characteristic of the morals of the 
 time to be omitted : 
 
 "Another thing which afforded us much diversion at 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 53 
 
 this time was a jest which the Cardinal played upon the 
 future Duchesse de Bouillon, the little Marianne, who 
 was then six years old ; she was very gay, very lively, 
 and used to make repartees far in advance of her age. 
 The Queen used to divert herself greatly with them, as 
 did also the Cardinal, who permitted himself the greatest 
 liberties with her, and delighted to tease her more than 
 any one. The Court was then at La Fere. One day, in 
 the Queen's apartments, Mazarin amused himself by 
 rallying Marianne on some gallantry that he pretended 
 that she had, and ended by reproaching her with being 
 with child. The resentment which she showed diverted 
 every one so much that it was agreed to continue to 
 rally her about it. . . . This went on so long as was 
 thought necessary to make her believe the thing prob- 
 able ; yet she refused to believe anything, and always 
 defended herself with a great deal of heat, until, one 
 fine morning, she found between her sheets a little child. 
 You cannot imagine the astonishment and grief she was 
 in at this sight. . . . The Queen came to console her, 
 and wanted to be godmother, and all the Court came to 
 congratulate the accouchk. They pressed her hard to tell 
 them the name of the father, and she replied, with an 
 air of mystery : * It can be no one but the King or the 
 Comte de Guiche, because they are the only men who 
 have ever kissed me.'"^ 
 
 Such were the pleasantries of the time, and the manner 
 in which the characters of young girls were formed ! 
 
 Little Marianne, like Marie, lived with her mother 
 but, whereas Madame Mancini treated the child with 
 the utmost indulgence, for the elder sister she had 
 nothing but harshness and severity. " My mother," 
 writes Marie, " had become so bad-tempered that she 
 1 " Memoires de la Ducheusc de Mazarin." 
 
54 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 was unbearable ; and, as I was the least loved and the 
 only one exposed to her ill-humour — my sister Olympe 
 being in a separate apartment, and my sister Hortense 
 being with Madame de Mercoeur, under the care of 
 Madame de Venel, who brought her up with much 
 kindness and tenderness — I confess that 1 passed a very 
 unpleasant time, and that nothing equalled my grief. 
 To increase my misery, I had, for my only retreat, the 
 worst of lodgings, and for my only companion an old 
 femme de chamhre called Rose, who had brought us up, 
 and considered myself, besides, as being on the eve of 
 entering a convent."^ 
 
 The habitual harshness of her mother, indeed, made 
 so great an impression upon the sensitive girl, that long 
 after Madame Mancini's death had freed her from her 
 thraldom, and she had become one of the divinities of 
 the Court, she somehow found it difficult to realise that 
 she was not still under her iron rule. 
 
 " Education," she writes, " is the richest gift that 
 fathers can bestow on their children after that of giving 
 them birth ; but it is of great importance that it should 
 be accompanied by kindness : too great severity serving 
 only to despoil them of affection ; love and fear being 
 almost always incompatible. This was my own ex- 
 perience ; for even after my mother had been dead two 
 years, my imagination, obsessed by the fear which had 
 remained to me, represented her still living in my 
 thoughts, and, even when waking, it seemed to me that 
 I saw her, and that thought alone occasioned me in- 
 credible pain."^ 
 
 Poor Marie's troubles had, however, one beneficial 
 result. The pleasures of the Court, in which her sisters 
 freely indulged, being interdicted to her by her mother, 
 1 " La Verite dans son jour." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 5^ 
 
 and being left to her own resources almost the entire 
 day, she sought to while away the long, lonely hours by 
 reading, and, thanks to the splendid library wherewith 
 the Cardinal was gradually replacing the collection 
 dispersed in 1652, she had no lack of books. She read 
 with avidity all the most celebrated French and Italian 
 authors, and, with her wonderful memory, what she read 
 was seldom forgotten. Poetry, and in particular Ariosto, 
 was her favourite study, but she did not neglect more 
 serious subjects, such as history, politics, and philosophy. 
 And thus it came about that this little Cinderella, 
 neglected and misunderstood, was, at an age when most 
 young girls of to-day are still in the schoolroom, one of 
 the most cultured women of her time, who, when at 
 last she took her place in the great world, did not fear 
 to converse with men like Lionne and Servien, La 
 Rochefoucauld, and Saint-Evremond. 
 
 In the latter part of the year 1656, Madame Mancini 
 fell ill. Her malady, the nature of which we are not 
 told, if not exactly induced, was certainly aggravated by 
 superstition. She was, as we have mentioned, a devout 
 believer in astrology, of which science her late husband, 
 Lorenzo Mancini, would appear to have been a singu- 
 larly successful exponent. His predictions, according 
 to his widow, proved almost invariably correct. He 
 had predicted the death of their son Paul, killed in the 
 combat of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and also his 
 own death, on the very day on which it had occurred ; 
 and, among those which remained to be fulfilled, he had 
 predicted that she herself would die in her forty-second 
 year, which she had but partly completed. 
 
 During her illness, which was not at first considered 
 serious, the King did her the honour to visit her every 
 evening, and it is to these visits that may be traced the 
 
S6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 beginning of the friendship between his Majesty and 
 Marie Mancini which was to cause so much perturba- 
 tion in high places three years later. 
 
 Madame Mancini, Marie tells us, had strictly for- 
 bidden her daughter to enter her room when any 
 visitors happened to be present. But, in order to reach 
 the elder lady's apartment, the King had to pass through 
 a room adjoining that of Marie, who very frequently 
 contrived to enter it unobserved about the time at 
 which her sovereign might be expected to arrive. 
 Louis, on his part, never failed to stop to talk to the 
 girl, whose lonely life he could not help pitying ; " and 
 these few minutes of conversation sufficed to make my 
 sad and mournful days pass more quickly, and I 
 returned to my solitude less afflicted than before."^ 
 
 Towards the end of the year so dreaded by Madame 
 Mancini, her illness took a turn for the better, and she 
 began to entertain hopes of her ultimate recovery. 
 However, about the middle of December, she had a re- 
 lapse, and on the nineteenth of the same month she died, 
 the victim, apparently, partly of her own superstitious 
 fears and partly of the ignorance of the surgeons who 
 had attended her, and, as a last resource, had adminis- 
 tered to the sick woman a powerful emetic. 
 
 The approach of death did not effect any change in 
 her feelings towards the daughter whom she had always 
 treated with so much harshness and injustice, and 
 almost her last act was to implore the Cardinal to send 
 Marie to a convent, " because she appeared to her of a 
 bad disposition, and because her husband, a famous 
 astrologer, had predicted that she would be the cause of 
 much evil."^ 
 
 Madame Mancini was buried in royal state, and a 
 1 "LaVerite dans son jour." 2 Madame de Motteville, " Memoires." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 57 
 
 solemn service, celebrated in the name of the general 
 assembly of the clergy of France, was held at the 
 Church of the Augustins for the repose of her soul, at 
 which the Bishop of Montauban preached and availed 
 himself of the opportunity to deliver a fulsome eulogy 
 of Mazarin and his family. Her death, however, 
 caused no interruption in the gaieties of the Court, and 
 the same ladies who in the morning had assisted at the 
 funeral service, her niece the Princesse de Conti among 
 them, figured in the evening at the performance of the 
 ballet of "I'Amour malade," in the great hall of the 
 Louvre, at which the young King, who represented the 
 languishing god, " danced," says the Gazette de France^ 
 " with so much grace and majesty that one may say that 
 never had one seen so much sweetness and charm as 
 in the person of this great prince." 
 
 The Duchesse de Mercoeur was on the eve of giving 
 birth to her third child when Madame Mancini died. 
 Although deeply affected by her mother's death, nothing 
 occurred during her confinement to occasion her friends 
 any uneasiness ; but, a few days later, "half her body be- 
 came suddenlyparalysed and she lost the power of speech." 
 The Cardinal was sent for in hot haste and hurried to 
 his niece's bedside, but, being reassured by the doctors 
 in attendance, returned to the Louvre, where the King 
 was again dancing in the ballet of" I'Amour malade." As 
 he was leaving, word was brought him that Madame de 
 Mercoeur was much worse. Throwing himself into the 
 first coach he could find, he drove at full speed to the 
 Hotel de Vendome ; but, on reaching the sick-room, he 
 learned that the duchess was dying, and, being unable to 
 speak, she could only smile at him. " As she did not 
 suffer," says Madame de Motteville, "and was still con- 
 
58 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 scions, death caused in her none of those terrible changes 
 which it makes in others. A beautiful vermilion, which 
 the fever gave her, had enhanced her natural beauty. 
 I heard those who saw her in this state declare that she 
 appeared to them the most beautiful woman possible to 
 imagine, and her beauty increased their regret. The 
 Cardinal was so affected that he could not refrain from 
 giving expression to his grief, and the sobs he uttered 
 appeared to proceed from a lively emotion." ^ 
 
 The valuable, but little-known, "Memolres" of Daniel 
 de Cosnac, who was present at Madame de Mercoeur's 
 death, contain some interesting details about the last hours 
 of this good and amiable woman, who, firm in her faith and 
 conscious of a blameless life, had a smile and a flash of 
 gaiety, even in the very presence of the King of Terrors. 
 
 " Ten days passed without her experiencing any in- 
 convenience. I spent part of these ten days in her 
 chamber, and found her more cheerful than she had been 
 since her mother's death. I rallied her on her delicate 
 state and because she kept her bed while she looked 
 and felt so well, when she told me that she could not 
 rid her mind of a thought which she had had during 
 her confinement : it was that she would never leave her 
 bed again. I laughed at this apprehension, and Madame 
 de Venel, her dame d'honneur^ being in her room, she 
 began to speak of her death again, laughing the while. 
 Among other things, she said that when she died, she 
 would not be able to refrain from laughing at the grimace 
 Madame de Venel would make. I found her so well 
 and In such good spirits that I said to her, * Madame, 
 to-morrow you must dress, and we will dine by your 
 fireside. . . ." At noon on the morrow, I came to the 
 Hotel de Vendome. As I was mounting the steps, I 
 
 1 Madame de Motteville, " Memoires." 
 
From a contemporary print 
 
 LAURE MANCINI, DUCHESSK DE MERC(EUR 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 59 
 
 was told that Madame was very ill. All that she had 
 said the previous day returned to my mind. Having 
 inquired of her how she did, she answered with difficulty, 
 and, with her right arm, she proceeded to raise her left, 
 and, showing it to me, told me that she could feel neither 
 the hand nor the arm. The doctors maintained that her life 
 was in no danger. . . . But she was overtaken by such 
 drowsiness that they began to fear that her brain was 
 affiscted. They ordered her to be cupped, which was 
 done in so cruel a manner that the poor princess cried 
 out in a way that pierced one's heart. She looked at 
 me, as if to implore me to stop them tormenting her 
 thus. This lasted all day. In the evening, the doctors 
 began to change their tone. The Cardinal came himself 
 to administer the Sacraments. She appeared so beauti- 
 ful in this sad state that one could not realise that she 
 must so soon die. At the foot of the bed she per- 
 ceived Madame de Venel, who was weeping. The 
 princess noticed her grimaces ; she turned her eyes in 
 my direction, and when they encountered mine, she 
 glanced towards Madame de Venel and began to smile, 
 recollecting without doubt what she had said to me the 
 previous day." 
 
 The Due de Mercoeur, who had been devotedly 
 attached to his wife, was prostrated with grief. He 
 retired into a convent of the Capuchins, where he 
 remained for some time. Although still young, he did 
 not think of remarrying, but became a priest, and died 
 a cardinal and legate of the Holy See in France. 
 
 By his marriage with Laure Mancini, the duke had 
 three sons, of whom the eldest was the famous soldier, 
 Louis Joseph, Due de Vendome, and the second, 
 Philippe, Grand Prior of the Order of Malta, celebrated 
 for his wit and debauchery. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Marriage of Olympe Mancini to Prince Eugene de Savoie, Comte de 
 Soissons — Friendship between Olympe and Louis XIV — His 
 Majesty's visit to the Hotel de Soissons — Early galanteries of 
 Louis XIV — Olympe and la Grande Mademoiselle — Marie Mancini 
 takes her place at Court — Her appearance — Growing attachment 
 between her and the King — Beneficial results of her influence over 
 Louis — Fatal accident to Alphonse Mancini — Mazarin's grief at his 
 nephew's death — His dislike of his surviving nephew, Philippe 
 Mancini — The Comtesse de Soissons and Louis XIV — Incident at 
 the Marechale de I'Hopital's ball — The Court follows the army — 
 Louis XIV's visits to Turenne's headquarters at Mardyck — Surrender 
 of Dunkerque — Dangerous illness of the King — Alarm in Paris — 
 Colbert's letter to Mazarin — The King recovers — Passionate grief 
 of Marie Mancini — Indifference of the Comtesse de Soissons — The 
 Court at Fontainebleau — Louis XIV's attentions to Marie. 
 
 lyrADAME DE MERCCEUR died on 9 February 
 '*■■*' 1657, and, ten days later, the second of the Mancini 
 sisters, Olympe, was married to Prince Eugene de Savoie, 
 Comte de Soissons, son of Prince Thomas de Carignan- 
 Savoie. The date of the marriage had been fixed some 
 time before the death of Madame de Mercoeur, and the 
 Cardinal, who always feared the unexpected, did not 
 wish it to be postponed. It was a brilliant match for 
 Olympe. Of the House of Savoy by his father, grand- 
 son of Charles V by his grandmother, and of the blood 
 royal of France by his mother, Marie de Bourbon, 
 daughter of Charles de Bourbon, Comte de Soissons, it 
 would have been difficult to find a husband of greater 
 consideration or of higher birth. Moreover, Mazarin 
 
 60 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 6i 
 
 had caused the title of Comte de Soissons to be revived 
 in favour of his new nephew/ and Olympe thus became 
 the wife of a Prince of the Blood, and was called, to 
 distinguish her, Madame la Comtesse. 
 
 The marriage contract was signed on 19 February 
 1657, in the King's apartments, in the presence of their 
 Majesties, Monsieur^ the Cardinal, the Princesses de 
 Conti and de Carignan, and others. 
 
 " The following day," says the Gazette de France^ 
 " this distinguished company repaired to the Queen's 
 apartments, the Comte de Soissons escorting his be- 
 trothed, who was dressed in a gown of silver cloth, 
 with a bouquet of pearls on her head, valued at more 
 than 50,000 livres, and so many jewels that their 
 splendour, joined to the natural eclat of her beauty, 
 caused her to be admired by every one. Immediately 
 afterwards, the nuptials were celebrated in the Queen's 
 chapel. Then the illustrious pair, after dining with the 
 Princesse de Carignan in the apartments of Mile, de 
 Mancini, ascended to those of his Eminence, where 
 they were entertained to a magnificent supper, at which 
 the King and Monsieur did the company the honour 
 of joining them, although preparations had only been 
 made for members of the family." 
 
 The two following days were devoted by the bride to 
 receiving the visits of the Court. " On the 20th, the 
 Queen, who, on this occasion, acted, so to speak, the 
 part of mother to the Comtesse de Soissons, accompanied 
 her to Notre-Dame to hear Mass, and then returned 
 with her to the Louvre, whither came her mother-in- 
 law, the Princesse de Carignan, to conduct her to the 
 
 ^ The last Comte de Soissons was Louis de Bourbon, brother of the 
 Princesse de Carignan. He was killed at the battle of La Marfee, in 
 1641, and, as he left no legitimate issue, the title had become extinct. 
 
62 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Hotel de Soissons, and testified to her, by her joy and 
 the rich presents which she made her, how great is the 
 satisfaction with which she regards this marriage.'* 
 
 Olympe was also well satisfied with the arrangement, 
 notwithstanding that she had, at one time, hoped for a 
 higher destiny — for nothing less than a throne ; not a 
 ducal one, such as her cousin Laure Martinozzi shared, 
 but the first throne in Europe. 
 
 Desirous of confining the royal favour as far as 
 possible to himself and his family, Mazarin had from 
 the first encouraged the intimacy between the young 
 King and his elder nieces, which had begun from the 
 time of the arrival of the latter in France. It was 
 Olympe to whom Louis attached himself. Brought up, 
 so to speak, with the King, who was the same age as her- 
 self, she had taken more share than her sisters or cousin 
 in his boyish amusements, and the preference he had 
 always shown for her increased as he grew older. 
 Olympe's quickness and tact were remarkable even in 
 her childish days. Even then she never forgot that her 
 playfellow was a King, whose favour was to be won, a 
 possible lover whose homage was to be secured, and 
 shaped her course accordingly, ever ready to enter into 
 the pursuits of the young sovereign, to divine his 
 tastes, to anticipate his wishes. 
 
 Although never beautiful, the girl improved vastly 
 in appearance as the years went by. At the age of 
 eighteen, Madame de Motteville, who had drawn so 
 unflattering a portrait of her on her arrival in France, 
 thus describes her : " Her eyes were full of fire, her 
 complexion had become beautiful, her face less thin, her 
 cheeks took dimples which gave her a fresh charm, she 
 had fine arms and beautiful hands." And the chronicler 
 adds : " She certainly seemed charming in the eyes 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 63 
 
 of the King, and sufficiently pretty to indifferent spec- 
 tators." 
 
 The attachment of the King for Mile. Olympe soon 
 became an affair of importance, which greatly occupied 
 both Court and town. People began to ask themselves 
 whether the Cardinal, who did not find even Princes of 
 the Blood too highly placed for his nieces, and who had 
 lately married one to the heir-apparent of a reigning 
 duke, would set any bounds to his ambition. Mazarin, 
 as we shall presently show, had very different matri- 
 monial views for his young master ; but he certainly 
 seems to have looked with a far from unfavourable eye 
 upon Louis's penchant for Olympe, which enabled him 
 to keep the King under his care, and ambitious and 
 possibly hostile beauties at a distance ; and his star 
 shone with such brilliancy just then that Olympe be- 
 came the divinity of the Court, and every one hastened 
 to burn incense at her feet. 
 
 Anne of Austria, on her side, regarded her son's 
 attention to the young lady with complacency, though 
 Madame de Motteville tells us that she could not en- 
 dure to hear any one speak of the affair as one that 
 might perchance become legitimate. "The greatness of 
 her soul had a perfect horror of such abasement." 
 Another queen, the eccentric Christina of Sweden, who 
 passed through France in 1656, was of a different 
 opinion, and declared that " it would be very wrong 
 not to let two young people so admirably suited to one 
 another marry as soon as possible." 
 
 As we have seen, nothing came of this affair, for 
 Louis showed no inclination to abase himself, and 
 Olympe soon came to the conclusion that her best 
 chance of obtaining the power and influence she coveted 
 lay in some less illustrious union. Her mortification 
 
64 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 was Intense at seeing her cousins, Anne-Marie and 
 Laure MartinozzI, preferred by the Prince de Conti 
 and Alfonso d'Este, nor was it lessened when the 
 Marquis de la Meilleraye, to whom the Cardinal offered 
 her, as he had previously her sister Marie, gravely 
 assured his Eminence that he wished to marry '■^ pour 
 faire son salut^'' and that, as he felt an inconceivable 
 aversion to Olympe, marriage with her would be ^^juste- 
 ment le grand chemin de la damnation'^ 
 
 Compensation, however, for these disappointments 
 was forthcoming in her union with the Comte de 
 Soissons, which raised her to the rank of a Princess 
 of the Blood, and provided her with an indulgent 
 husband, who adored his wife when he was at home, 
 and whose frequent absences with the army gave her 
 ample opportunity for enjoying the society of her 
 admirers. 
 
 Louis XIV did not testify the least annoyance at the 
 announcement of the marriage, and his cheerful looks at 
 the ceremony caused the Queen to remark to Madame 
 de Motteville, who had endeavoured to disquiet her on 
 the matter : " Did I not tell you that there was nothing 
 to fear from this liaison^ 
 
 In spite, however, of the perfect indifference shown 
 by the King at the moment of the marriage, he con- 
 tinued to visit the lady with the greatest regularity ; 
 indeed, scarcely a day went by on which his Majesty's 
 coach did not stop at the gate of the Hotel de Soissons ; 
 and Olympe, basking in the rays of the royal favour, 
 rapidly took her place as the brilliant, intriguing great 
 lady that Nature intended her to be. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be asked of what character were 
 the relations between the King and countess. We 
 are inclined to think that the young sovereign was 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 65 
 
 hardly so indiscreet with the matron as he had been 
 with the maid, as, from the confidences of contemporary 
 writers, it would appear that the age of innocence had 
 passed for him. 
 
 When Louis was but sixteen, his attention was 
 attracted by a certain Mile, de la Motte d'Argencourt, 
 "who had neither dazzling beauty nor extraordinary 
 intelligence, but whose whole person was agreeable." 
 His predilettion for her society became so very marked 
 that the Queen and Mazarin grew uneasy, and the 
 former, one evening when Louis had conversed with 
 the young lady rather longer than she deemed prudent, 
 rebuked him sharply and openly. The monarch re- 
 ceived the maternal reprimand " with respect and 
 gentleness"; but it would not appear to have had much 
 effect, for, shortly afterwards, we hear of him speaking 
 to Mile, de la Motte " as a man in love, who was no 
 longer virtuous," and assuring her that, if she would 
 only return his affection, he would defy both the Queen 
 and the Cardinal. The lady, however, from motives 
 either of virtue or policy, declined to entertain his 
 proposals, and the Queen having pointed out to her 
 son that " he was wandering from the path of inno- 
 cence," the King was moved to tears, confessed himself 
 in his oratory, and then departed for Vincennes, in the 
 hope that a change of scene might assist him in 
 subjugating his passion. After a few days' absence, he 
 returned, fully determined never to speak to Mile, de la 
 Motte again ; but, " not being yet wholly strengthened," 
 so far departed from his resolution as to dance with her 
 at a ball, with the result that he was on the point of 
 succumbing once more, when the Queen and the 
 Cardinal put an end to the affair by packing the damsel 
 off to a convent at Chaillot, where, Madame de Motte- 
 
66 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 ville assures us, " she led a life that was very tranquil 
 and very happy." ^ 
 
 The Queen's vigilance was, however, powerless to 
 save the young sovereign from the wiles of the intrigu- 
 ing femyne de chambre, Madame de Beauvais, the same 
 lady who had lent herself to the schemes of the pre- 
 sumptuous Jarze, and had received a term of exile for 
 her pains. Madame de Beauvais, called by her royal 
 mistress " Cateau la borgnesse" was very far from being 
 beautiful, while her youth was only a memory ; but she 
 was " a woman of experience," who possessed " rhumeur 
 galante au dernier point'' \ and she had the distinction of 
 opening that famous list which contains the names of 
 La Valliere and Montespan. 
 
 After this singular debut, the monarch addressed the 
 same homage to '■^ une petite jardiniere,'' by whom he had 
 a daughter, who was brought up without scandal and 
 married secretly to a gentleman of some position. 
 Then we hear of a galanterie with the beautiful Duchesse 
 de Chatillon, beloved of the great Cond6; of an un- 
 successful attack upon that impregnable fortress of 
 virtue, the Princesse de Conti ; and of an equally 
 abortive attempt to woo a marvellous young beauty, 
 Elisabeth de Tarneau by name, " who had the prudence 
 to refuse him so much as an interview." From all of 
 which it will be gathered that the French ecclesiastic 
 who gravely assured the Pope that Louis at twenty was 
 " as chaste as he had been on the day of his baptism," 
 must have been either a most unblushing prevaricator 
 of the truth or singularly ill-informed in regard to the 
 doings of the Court. 
 
 To judge by the Comtesse de Soissons's subsequent 
 history, she was not the kind of woman to be over- 
 1 " Memoires de Madame de Motteville." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 67 
 
 fastidious as to the means she employed to retain in her 
 chains this illustrious captive. It is true that other 
 chains often drew him away ; but Olympe knew how 
 to make the most of her good fortune. It was much 
 that the King remained constant, at least in his visits, 
 and left her all the prestige of favour. 
 
 On the strength of this favour, the young lady seems 
 to have given herself intolerable airs, and to have 
 treated even members of the Royal Family with the 
 coolest insolence. La Grande Mademoiselle^ reconciled 
 with the Court in the early summer of 1657, in- 
 stalled herself at Saint-Cloud, prior to rejoining their 
 Majesties, who were then in Flanders. Although she 
 had been so long absent from the Court, Mademoiselle 
 was well informed of all that went on there, and was, in 
 consequence, very curious to see the lady to whom the 
 King was reported to be paying so much attention. 
 Olympe, being then enceinte, had been compelled, to her 
 intense disgust, to remain in Paris, and was in a very 
 bad humour when her mother-in-law, the Princesse de 
 Carignan, brought her to visit the princess, who has left 
 us the following account of their interview : — 
 
 "*I bring you my daughter-in-law,' said Madame de 
 Carignan to me, * she is enceinte ; she came in a litter.' I 
 went to receive her ; Madame de Carignan paid me 
 many compliments. As for her daughter-in-law, she 
 said nothing. It was warm, and there were a great many 
 people about me ; and I said to Mile, de Guise and to 
 Madame d'Epernon : *Pray take the Comtesse de Soissons 
 into my cabinet, lest she should be incommoded here, 
 and I will join her in a moment' ; which they did. 
 Madame de Carignan remained with the rest of the com- 
 
 ^ Anne Marie Louise d'Orleans, Duchesse de Montpensier, eldest 
 daughter of Gaston d'Orleans {Monsieur), younger brother of Louis XIIL 
 
68 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 pany. The Comtesse de Soissons was for a long time 
 silent, when all of a sudden she asked me : * Why do 
 you not wear your ruffles like other people ? ' I told 
 her that they inconvenienced me. To which she 
 answered : * If you think that it makes your arms look 
 more beautiful, you are mistaken.' She then added : 
 * My mother-in-law is very tiresome ; she is so afraid 
 that I shall hurt myself that she follows me everywhere.' 
 I paid her a thousand compliments on the obligations 
 under which the Cardinal had placed me ; said that I 
 loved all who belonged to him ; that her marriage had 
 given me the greatest joy, and that I hoped to see her 
 often and to be friends with her. To all of which she 
 answered me not a word. I did not find her so pretty 
 as I had been told, and, when I looked at her, I could 
 not understand how the King had ever fallen in love 
 with her. I praised her very much in every way ; she 
 received it all with an indifference and in a silence which 
 astonished every one." 
 
 The mortification of the Comtesse de Soissons at 
 being prevented from following the Court to Flanders, 
 which resulted in her showing such a peculiarly unpleas- 
 ing side of her character to Mademoiselle^ was due to the 
 fact that she was just then occupied in doing her utmost 
 to combat Louis XIV's penchant for her sister Marie, 
 and feared that, during her enforced absence from the 
 field, it could hardly fail to make material progress. 
 
 Soon after Olympe's marriage, the Cardinal had per- 
 mitted Marie to take the place at Court of which her 
 mother's dislike had so unjustly deprived her. "The 
 death of my mother and the marriage of my sister 
 Olympe," she writes, '* having rendered me more inde- 
 pendent, and, enjoying all the privileges belonging to 
 the right of the eldest, of which I was in possession, I 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 69 
 
 passed a life of sufficient tranquillity and began to taste 
 its sweets. Contentment of mind always contributes to 
 the favourable development of the body, and the con- 
 dition in which I found myself at that time was a 
 sufficiently convincing proof of it for me. I was not 
 recognisable, and I am able to say that prosperity had 
 been of as much advantage to my mind as to my body, 
 and had greatly augmented its vivacity and gaiety."^ 
 
 In point of fact, Marie's appearance, like that of 
 Olympe, had already improved to a really remarkable 
 degree. Her features, though too irregular for beauty, 
 were good ; she had large and brilliant black eyes, 
 splendid teeth, and a delightful smile ; while the ex- 
 treme mobility of her countenance endowed her with a 
 singular charm. Her complexion was of the purest 
 olive ; her hair jet black and abundant ; her figure supple 
 and well made, and she had very pretty hands and feet. 
 In a word, she had become a dangerously attractive 
 young woman, who, without ever approaching the per- 
 fect loveliness of her sister Hortense, was perhaps more 
 capable of inspiring a true passion. Louis XIV is the 
 proof of it. His liking for the girl, which had begun 
 during his visits to her dying mother, increased rapidly 
 now that her participation in the gaieties of the Court 
 threw them constantly together, and, during a visit to 
 Fontainebleau which the Court paid in the autumn of 
 1657, it became apparent to all that this liking was 
 gradually developing into a much warmer feeling. 
 
 The young monarch, as we have related, had already 
 made several excursions into the realms of gallantry ; 
 but, though he had loved, he had never been beloved, 
 perhaps because, as one writer suggests, he was still very 
 timid with women : a callow youth, who blushed and 
 ^ " La Vcrite dans son jour." 
 
70 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 paled when a pretty girl held his hand, and who mingled 
 with unlawful pleasures floods of remorseful tears. The 
 thought that he had at last excited a grande passion^ one 
 of those turbulent emotions which he felt to be equally 
 the due of his handsome face and fine figure and of his 
 exalted position, could not be otherwise than soothing 
 to his vanity. He began to pay increased attention to 
 Marie Mancini, and the more he saw of her, the more 
 she pleased him. He spoke to her " avec application^'' 
 says Madame de Motteville, and was carried away like 
 a straw before the hurricane. 
 
 And there can be no doubt that Marie loved him — 
 loved, that is to say, the man apart from the king. The 
 " Memoires " of her sister Hortense, who, it goes with- 
 out saying, was her confidante, leaves us in no uncer- 
 tainty on this point. 
 
 "As she (Marie)," she writes, "had a serious attach- 
 ment for the King, she would have been very glad to 
 see me affected by a similar weakness. But my extreme 
 youth did not permit me to attach myself to anything, 
 and all that I could do to oblige her was to show some 
 particular complaisance towards those of the young 
 people we saw who diverted me most in the childish 
 games which then occupied my attention. The presence 
 of the King, who seldom stirred from our lodging, 
 often interrupted us. Although he lived among us 
 with a marvellous kindness, he had always something 
 so serious and so solid, not to say majestic, in all his 
 ways, that he could not help inspiring us with respect, 
 even contrary to his intention. My sister alone was 
 undisturbed, and you can easily understand that his 
 assiduity had charms for her, who was the cause of it, 
 because it had none for others. As the things which 
 passion does make us seem ridiculous to those who have 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS . ' 71 
 
 never known what that passion is, my sister's exposed 
 her very frequently to our raillery."^ 
 
 Soon the King's predilection for Mile. Marie's 
 society became the all-absorbing topic of conversation, 
 and rumours of it reached Queen Christina of Sweden, 
 who one day remarked, in her blunt way, to Louis : 
 " If I were in your place, I should marry a person whom 
 I loved." , As for Marie, if she had not been already 
 aware of the growing attachment of the young monarch, 
 the attention of the courtiers, and particularly of the 
 ladies, towards her would soon have revealed it. 
 
 Mazarin, in its early stages, seems to have viewed the 
 very marked inclination of the King for his niece with 
 complacency, probably regarding the affair as a mere 
 boy and girl attachment, and even lent himself to it, so 
 far as to provide the young lady with a number of 
 ravishing toilettes, which enabled her to more than 
 hold her own in the Court festivities. The Queen, on 
 her part, placed no obstacle in the way of her son's 
 attentions, preferring to see him engaged in what she 
 imagined to be a harmless flirtation than imperilling 
 his salvation by wearing the chains of the Duchesse de 
 Chatillon or some other notorious beauty. 
 
 The young girl's influence over her royal admirer 
 increased daily. Olympe had shared his pleasures, 
 accommodated herself to his tastes ; Marie sought and 
 succeeded in inspiring him with a desire to share 
 hers. Although skilled in all bodily exercises — horse- 
 manship, dancing, and the use of arms — Louis XIV, at 
 the age of twenty, was profoundly ignorant. His mind 
 was one which required stimulating, and no one had 
 as yet taken that trouble. The germs of those qualities 
 which made a great monarch of a man of mediocre intel- 
 
 ^ " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
72 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 lect were there, but these germs had had neither light 
 nor air to expand. " Marie Mancini became his friend, 
 and it was like an irruption of the sun into an en- 
 closed and gloomy spot. He learnt and understood 
 more in six months than he had since he came into the 
 world. 
 
 " She opened to him the world of heroes — heroes 
 of love, heroes of constancy and self-sacrifice, heroes of 
 glory. She revealed to him the sentiments great or 
 subtle, passionate or noble, which made life precious. 
 She reproached him with his ignorance, and constituted 
 herself his preceptress, teaching him Italian, filling his 
 hands with poems, romances, and tragedies, reading to 
 him herself verse and prose, in an amorous voice, with 
 intonations which soothed or intoxicated him. She 
 accustomed him to serious conversations with men of 
 age and merit, excited him to emulation, and aided him 
 to acquire nobility and correctness of expression. To 
 her is due also the little taste for the arts that he 
 possessed. 
 
 " He owed her more than all that. She made him 
 ashamed of being without ambition, without dreams 
 either worthy or unworthy, without desires more lofty 
 than the choice of a costume or a pas de ballet — made 
 him, in a word, remember that he was King, and gave 
 him the idea of being a great king. He never forgot 
 the lesson."^ 
 
 Louis, who had loved the girl at first because she 
 loved him and Intended that he should reciprocate her 
 passion, ended by loving her spontaneously, from a 
 nobler motive, because he recognised in her a superior 
 mind, contact with which opened to his own unknown 
 horizons. 
 
 1 ArvMe Barine, " Princesses et grandes dames : Marie Mancini." 
 
!■ roin an engraving alttr tliu drauing hy W allerant \aillant 
 LOUIS XIV 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 73 
 
 The close of the year 1657, was marked by an unto- 
 ward event, which occasioned Mazarin profound sorrow. 
 His youngest nephew, Alphonse Mancini, who had 
 arrived in France at the same time as his little sister 
 Marianne, had been sent, like his brothers Paul and 
 Philippe before him, to the Jesuit College at Clermont, 
 from which glowing accounts as to his progress in his 
 studies reached the gratified Cardinal. During the 
 Christmas festivities, he was playing with the other 
 scholars, when, tired of their ordinary games, some one 
 suggested that they should toss one another in a blanket. 
 All went well until it came to Alphonse's turn to 
 undergo that not over-pleasant experience, when the 
 little Abbe d'Harcourt, who was very weak, allowed the 
 corner of the blanket he held to slip from his hand, with 
 the result that Alphonse fell to the floor and fractured 
 his skull. Four surgeons were quickly on the spot, but 
 all their skill was unavailing, and the unhappy lad died 
 on 16 January 1658. "He had nearly completed his 
 studies," says Mademoiselle, " and showed remarkable 
 intelligence. He was un esprit vif, and the Cardinal, I 
 have heard people say, had entertained such great hopes 
 for him that he was about to remove him from college, 
 and intended to keep him near his person and accustom 
 him to affairs, to have him to sleep in his own chamber, 
 speak of everything before him, and show him all the 
 despatches that he received and wrote." Mazarin was 
 in despair at Alphonse's death, which he appears to have 
 felt even more keenly than that of his brother Paul. 
 On receiving the news he left for Vincennes, where he 
 shut himself up for ten days and refused to see any one. 
 
 By the irony of fate, Philippe Mancini, the only 
 nephew who now remained to the Cardinal, was precisely 
 the one whom Mazarin could not endure, and for whom 
 
74 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 he always evinced the greatest aversion. However, if 
 Philippe, who was an amiable young man, though some- 
 what frivolous, had not succeeded in gaining his uncle's 
 favour, he had won the affection of the King, who, in 
 January 1657, appointed him captain of his company 
 of Musketeers, Charles de Baatz de Castelmore, Comte 
 d'Artagnan, the hero of Dumas's immortal romance, 
 being nominated lieutenant of the same company, in 
 order that his military knowledge might supplement 
 that of his superior officer. 
 
 The winter of 1657-8 was a particularly brilliant one 
 at the Court, balls, fetes, and ballets following one 
 another in rapid succession. The taste which the King 
 had early evinced for the last of these entertainments 
 showed no sign of diminishing, and he figured in nearly 
 all of them, together with Marie Mancini. At the 
 same time, his Majesty continued to visit the Hotel 
 de Soissons and to pay considerable attention to its 
 mistress ; probably, he feared to incur that lady's resent- 
 ment by a too abrupt desertion, foreseeing that she 
 might prove a dangerous enemy. 
 
 The countess, on her side, though perfectly well 
 aware that her younger sister had already supplanted 
 her in the royal affections, pretended to ignore it, and 
 in public lost no opportunity of flaunting her intimacy 
 with his Majesty. Mademoiselle writes : — 
 
 " Madame la Marechale de I'Hopital gave a ball, to 
 which we went in masks and dressed in gold and silver 
 stuffs and caps and plumes ; the men wore silk stockings 
 and coats covered with embroidery. When we entered, 
 we wore our masks, which, however, we immediately 
 removed. . . . We repaired to a room magnificently decor- 
 ated for refreshments, but, as there was only one cover 
 and one armchair, the King said to me, * Sit down 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 75 
 
 there, my cousin ; it is your place.' I cried out at 
 that, as if he spoke in jest ; he rejoined, ' Who will 
 take it ? ' The Comtesse de Soissons smiled and said : 
 ' I will sit there.' In fact, she proceeded to take it, 
 although Monsieur^ the King's brother, said, * Do not 
 go there.' This familiarity with the King surprised 
 me, for it was not so before I left the Court. All 
 seated themselves at table ; the King was the last to sit 
 down, saying, as he did so, * Since there is no other 
 seat but this, I must needs take it." He helped himself 
 to no dish that he did not offer to others, and begged 
 us to eat with him. For myself, who had been brought 
 up in the greatest respect for etiquette, all this astonished 
 me very much, and it was long before I could accustom 
 myself to it. 
 
 " On my preparing to leave, the King said to the 
 Comtesse de Soissons, * Let us take my cousin home.' 
 She said that she was quite willing. We set off at full 
 speed, and so quickly that the King's Guards, who were 
 on horseback, had great difficulty in keeping up with 
 us. The streets of Paris were so unsafe at night at this 
 period, that the King said gaily, seeing his Guards so 
 far behind the coach, ' How delighted I should be if 
 robbers would attack us ! ' His Majesty's coach was 
 left far behind, so that until it came up, we walked on 
 the terrace in the court of the Luxembourg, the 3rd of 
 February, at three o'clock in the morning, as if it were 
 the month of July." 
 
 In the course of that winter, Louis XIV had a 
 passing fancy for a certain Mile, de la Motte-Houdan- 
 court, whom several writers confound with the Mile, de 
 la Motte d'Argencourt already mentioned. * Nothing 
 was talked of but this new friendship of the King," says 
 Mademoiselle; "and all the men were glad, hoping that 
 
76 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 it would make him more gay." The Queen and the 
 Cardinal, however, nipped the affair in the bud. " The 
 King was closeted for three hours with her Majesty 
 and his Eminence, and at the break up of the conference 
 took no more notice of La Motte." 
 
 At the end of April 1658, the King and Queen 
 quitted Paris and proceeded to Amiens ; and Turenne 
 having resolved to lay siege to Dunkerque, the Court 
 established itself at Calais, from which town Louis paid 
 frequent visits to Mardyck, which Turenne had made 
 his headquarters. 
 
 On these visits, the King was only accompanied by a 
 small escort, and did not bring with him any of the 
 comforts and luxuries with which he usually travelled ; 
 but shared Turenne's quarters, though that general was 
 very indifferently lodged, and his soldier's fare. Under 
 ordinary circumstances, this rough life might have had 
 no ill effects upon his Majesty ; but summer arrived 
 with almost tropical heat, water was difficult to procure, 
 while the decomposing bodies of those who had fallen 
 in the campaign of the previous year and lay but half 
 buried in the sand, tainted the air and rendered the 
 camp a perfect plague-spot. 
 
 On 23 June, Turenne having defeated the relieving 
 army under Conde and Don Juan of Austria, in the 
 Battle of the Dunes, Dunkerque capitulated ; but the 
 rejoicings over this success did not last long, as a week 
 later Louis XIV fell dangerously ill of a malignant 
 fever, the result of the hardships he had voluntarily 
 undergone during his visits to the army, and of breath- 
 ing for entire days the pestilential air of Mardyck. 
 
 For a fortnight, the young King was in great danger, 
 and the doctors in attendance could only hold out very 
 slight hopes of his recovery. Paris was in consterna- 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 77 
 
 tion, and the Holy Sacrament was exposed in all the 
 churches ; while the proteges of Mazarin were in the 
 utmost alarm, fearing that Louis's death might involve 
 their patron's downfall. 
 
 "We are in the gravest anxiety here in regard to the 
 illness of the King," writes Colbert to the Cardinal. 
 " M. de Langlade, who will bring this note to your 
 Emmence, will be able to tell you the bad news that 
 reached us yesterday evening. God grant that it may 
 not be true ! But, in God's name, Monseigneur, let 
 your Eminence give orders to some one to despatch a 
 courier daily to this town, as I am of the opinion of all 
 your Eminence's servants, that it is of very great import- 
 ance that we should be advised every moment of what 
 is happening in so delicate and grave a matter. If the 
 news be good, we shall take steps to make it public ; if 
 it be bad, we shall use it as appears to us most ad- 
 vantageous for the service of the King and of your 
 Eminence." ^ 
 
 This letter was written on 7 July. The news of the 
 following day was very grave : the doctors had prac- 
 tically abandoned hope, and the Viaticum had been 
 administered ; and the houses of Colbert and other 
 important persons who were believed to be in re- 
 ceipt of private information were besieged by excited 
 crowds. 
 
 As a forlorn hope, a doctor from Abbeville, Du 
 Saussois by name, who enjoyed a great local reputation, 
 was called in, and, after a long consultation with Vallot, 
 first physician to the King, it was decided to try the 
 effect of an emetic wine, a remedy then but little known. 
 The experiment was attended with complete success ; in 
 a few days the royal patient was declared out of danger, 
 
 1 Letter ci:cd by Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
78 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 and on 22 July was so far recovered as to allow of his 
 being removed to Compiegne by easy stages. 
 
 One can well imagine the varied feelings which 
 animated the Court during that fortnight of anxious 
 suspense, while the King's life and all that depended 
 upon it trembled in the balance : the anguish of the 
 Queen ; the feverish anxiety of Mazarin, divided be- 
 tween grief for the master to whom he was tenderly 
 attached and fears for his own position in the event of 
 the illness having a fatal termination ; the ill-concealed 
 joy of the personal friends of Monsieur ; the painful 
 uncertainty of those who knew not whether to weep for 
 the declining or to pay court to the rising sun. To few 
 indeed, we fear, save the devoted mother, did the 
 thought of the premature death of the young prince 
 occasion a genuine and disinterested grief ; but, among 
 these last, no one was so much remarked as Marie 
 Mancini, who, unable to conceal or to moderate her 
 feelings, gave way to a despair which was the talk of the 
 whole Court. " Marie," writes Madame de la Fayette, 
 " had testified an affection so violent, and had so little con- 
 cealed it, that when he grew better every one spoke to 
 him of the grief of Mile, de Mancini, and perhaps in 
 the sequel she spoke of it to him herself. In short, she 
 gave proof of so much passion, and broke through so 
 completely the restraints which the Queen-Mother and 
 the Cardinal imposed upon her, that one may say that 
 she constrained the King to love her."^ 
 
 In striking contrast to the passionate grief of Marie, 
 her sister Madame de Soissons evinced the most pro- 
 found indifference during the King's illness. " She did 
 not show the regret that one would have expected of 
 her," says Mademoiselle^ " in view of the friendship 
 
 1 " Histoire de Madame Heuriette d'Angleterre." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 79 
 
 that the King had shown for her. The Queen said to 
 her one day, ' Every time I see you, I desire to weep ; 
 you make me think of my grief.' She made no reply 
 whatever, but turned and inquired of those who were 
 with her, * What did the Queen say ? ' " 
 
 In the early autumn, the Court removed from Com- 
 piegne to Fontainebleau, where, as is so often the 
 case with persons who have recently passed through 
 a dangerous illness, Louis XIV gave himself up with 
 whole-hearted zest to every kind of pleasure, and gaiety 
 reigned supreme. There were balls and fetes, perform- 
 ances by the French and Italian players, excursions by 
 water, and picnics in the forest. On one occasion. 
 Monsieur gave a " collation," at the hermitage ot 
 Franchard, whither the whole Court proceeded on 
 horseback and in gala dress. The King, who was in 
 high spirits, took into his head to ascend the rocks 
 which surrounded the hermitage — " the most incon- 
 venient possible to imagine," says Mademoiselle, " and 
 where you would have supposed only goats could ever 
 have been before." He was accompanied in this perilous 
 adventure by Marie Mancini, while the Marquis 
 d'Alluye lent his assistance to Marie's friend. Mile, 
 du Fouilloux. On reaching the summit, Louis, in 
 a spirit of mischief, sent orders to the rest of the party, 
 who had remained in the garden of the hermitage, 
 to follow him, preceded by a band of violin players, 
 which Monsieur had provided for the entertainment 
 of his guests. We were obliged to obey," continues 
 Mademoiselle, " though it was not without difficulty ; 
 and we no sooner resolved to venture than we found 
 ourselves obliged to return. I am surprised that no 
 one was hurt, for we ran the greatest risk of having our 
 
8o FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 arms and legs broken, and even of fracturing our skulls. 
 I think that the prayers of the good hermit must have 
 preserved us. After supper, we returned en caleche^ 
 accompanied by a number of men bearing torches, and, 
 on our arrival, went to the play." 
 
 During the visit to Fontainebleau, the intimacy 
 between Louis XIV and Marie Mancini made rapid 
 progress : and, if Marie had had to wait longer 
 than her sisters for her share of the good things of life, 
 she was now abundantly compensated. Neither the 
 Queen nor the Cardinal placed any obstacle in the way 
 of her enjoyment of the society of her royal admirer, 
 although the jealous Comtesse de Soissons complained 
 bitterly to her uncle of Louis's predilection for her 
 younger sister. But Mazarin still believed, or more 
 probably feigned to believe, that the affair was of no 
 consequence, and made no attempt to interfere. From 
 Marie's " Memoires," however, it is evident that his 
 Majesty's passion was now approaching a high tempera- 
 ture, and that the fact was patent not only to herself, but 
 to the whole Court. 
 
 " The King's kindness was so great, that we lived on 
 terms of familiarity with both him and Monsieur^ and, 
 since this familiarity permitted me to say what I thought 
 with a certain degree of freedom, perhaps 1 said it with 
 some agreeableness. I continued still to do the same 
 during a visit that the Court paid to Fontainebleau (for 
 we followed it everywhere), and, on my return from this 
 visit, I perceived that I did not displease the King, as 
 I had already sufficient knowledge to understand that 
 eloquent silence which often persuades more than all the 
 fine speeches in the world. Perhaps, also, the penchant 
 and the inclination that I had for his Majesty, in 
 whom I recognised more merit than in any one in his 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 8i 
 
 realm, rendered me more intelligent in this matter than 
 I had been on another occasion. 
 
 "However, the testimony of my eyes was not enough 
 to cause me to believe a matter of this consequence ; 
 but the courtiers, who are as so many eyes which watch 
 over the actions of kings, perceiving also, as well as 
 myself, his Majesty's inclination, speedily confirmed 
 me in the opinion that I had formed by their extra- 
 ordinary respect and deference. And the attentions of 
 the King, the magnificent presents which I received, his 
 care, his empressements, and the kindness that he showed 
 for me in all things, soon ended by persuading me 
 altogether."^ 
 
 On the return of the Court to Paris, it was remarked 
 that the King did not resume his accustomed visits to 
 the Hotel de Soissons ; while, on the other hand, not 
 an evening passed on which he did not engage the 
 younger sister in conversation, his manner on these 
 occasions partaking far more of that of the lover than 
 of the gracious sovereign. An event of the highest 
 importance, however, now arrived to interrupt what 
 that young lady calls her " ravishing prosperity." 
 
 ^ " La Verite dans son jour." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Mazarin's project of marrying Louis XIV to the Infanta Maria Theresa 
 — Negotiations between France and Savoy in regard to the King's 
 marriage with the Princess Margherita — The Cardinal arranges a 
 meeting between the two Courts at Lyons — His object — Departure 
 of their Majesties and the Court for Lyons — "The King always 
 near Mile, de Mancini " — He ignores the Comtesse de Soissons — 
 Incident at Dijon — Arrival at Lyons — Meeting between Louis XIV 
 and the Princess Margherita — Empress ement oi the King — Arrival of 
 a secret envoy from Spain with an offer of peace and the Infanta's 
 hand — Conversation between Louis XIV and Marie Mancini — 
 Sudden change in the King's attitude towards the Princess Margherita 
 — The Duke of Savoy and Hortense Mancini — Rupture of the 
 marriage negotiations with Savoy — The Princess Margherita and her 
 mother leave Lyons — Marie Mancini makes a great resolve — Intimacy 
 between her and Louis XIV at Lyons — A watchful gouvernante — 
 The Court returns to Paris. 
 
 T70R more than fifteen years, and through many strange 
 vicissitudes, Mazarin had steadily pursued the pro- 
 ject of marrying Louis to the Infanta Maria Theresa of 
 Spain. His object for desiring this union was twofold. 
 In the first place, a closer connexion between France and 
 Spain would leave the Emperor isolated in Europe and 
 render him practically impotent. In the second, it was 
 more than possible that it might, sooner or later, be 
 the means of giving the crown of Spain to the House 
 of Bourbon, for, as his letters to the French plenipoten- 
 tiaries at the Congress of Westphalia indicate, the astute 
 Cardinal had resolved to so frame the marriage-contract 
 that there would be little difficulty in contesting the 
 
 82 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 83 
 
 validity of any renunciation of her rights on the part 
 of the Infanta.^ 
 
 Since 1648, when the Peace of Westphalia was con- 
 cluded with the Emperor, more than one attempt had 
 been made to conclude peace on the basis of another 
 Franco-Spanish marriage. But, as Philip IV had no 
 male issue, and the Infanta would, in consequence, 
 have carried' with her to France the right of succession 
 to the crown of Spain, the Court of Madrid had 
 hitherto received the Cardinal's proposals with marked 
 coldness. 
 
 Of late, however, the situation had been materially 
 modified. In 1657, the Queen of Spain had given 
 birth to a son, an event which placed two lives be- 
 tween the Infanta and the throne, and very sensibly 
 diminished that princess's matrimonial value ; while 
 France had gained great advantage in the field, and it 
 was becoming increasingly difficult for Spain, with troops 
 disheartened by defeat and an impoverished Treasury, 
 to continue the struggle. 
 
 Indirect negotiations were accordingly opened, but as 
 the Court of Madrid showed its customary vacillation, 
 Mazarin resolved on a very adroit manoeuvre, with the 
 object of forcing it to come to a decision. 
 
 For some time past both France and Spain had been 
 making great efforts to secure the alliance of Savoy, a 
 State which had been originally on the side of France, 
 but had now for many years maintained a strict neutra- 
 lity. Savoy was then governed by Christine de France, 
 second daughter of Henry IV, and widow of Victor 
 Amadeus I, who, on the death of her husband in 1637, 
 
 ^ Mr. J. B. Perkins, " France under Richelieu and Mazarin." 
 
84 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 had been declared Regent and guardian of her son, 
 Charles Emmanuel II, and her three daughters.^ 
 
 The Duchess, a shrewd and sagacious woman, a worthy 
 daughter of Henry IV, at first declined to commit her- 
 self to either side. When pressed by Mazarin, however, 
 she finally replied that she would take the part of 
 France, on condition of the marriage of Louis XIV to 
 her second daughter Margherita. The Cardinal did not 
 see his way to satisfy her in this matter, having more 
 exalted views for his young master ; but after the Battle 
 of the Dunes, with Flanders half conquered and the 
 Milanese greatly weakened by the capture of Valenza 
 and Mortara, he was naturally reluctant to pause in his 
 triumphant career, and, since he was unable to push his 
 conquests in Italy without a passage for French troops 
 through Piedmont and the assistance of Savoy, he deter- 
 mined, in the event of a definite refusal from Madrid of 
 the Infanta's hand, and the consequent prolongation of 
 the war, to agree to the Duchess's terms. He, therefore, 
 accepted the project of marriage, but under the reserva- 
 tion that no definite decision should be arrived at until 
 Louis XIV had had an opportunity of seeing the 
 Princess Margherita ; and he requested the Duchess to 
 bring her daughter to Lyons, the place which he had 
 selected for the interview. Christine readily accepted 
 this proposition, and the end of November 1658 was 
 fixed for the meeting of the two Courts. 
 
 No secrecy whatever was made of the proposed meet- 
 ing, Mazarin hoping that so soon as the news reached 
 Madrid, Philip IV would hasten to intervene with an 
 offer of his daughter's hand, when, of course, he intended 
 
 1 Charles Emmanuel II had been declared of age in June 164.8, but 
 his mother continued to keep the authority in her hands down to the time 
 of her death, 27 December 1663. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 85 
 
 to break off immediately all negotiations with Savoy. 
 It was a masterly move, and, as we shall see, was attended 
 with complete success. 
 
 When this journey to Lyons was first mooted, Louis 
 XIV had decided to proceed thither accompanied only 
 by the Cardinal and his gentlemen-in-ordinary, leaving 
 the Queen and the rest of the Court in Paris. Subse- 
 quently, however, he begged his mother to accompany 
 him, declaring that he did not like to part from her for 
 even a brief period, and that her assistance was essential 
 to enable him to arrive at a decision on a matter of such 
 importance. The Queen consented willingly enough, 
 and determined to take with her Mademoiselle^ all her 
 maids-of-honour, and the Cardinal's nieces, who always 
 formed part of her entourage. 
 
 In the opinion of Marie Mancini's latest biographer, 
 Lucien Percy, it was that young lady who had in- 
 duced the King to make this alteration in his plans, 
 knowing that, in the event of the Queen going to 
 Lyons, she would accompany her, and would thus be in 
 a position to bring all her influence to bear upon Louis 
 to prevent him deciding in favour of the Princess 
 Margherita. 
 
 It is very probable that a similar idea had occurred to 
 Mazarin. The Cardinal could no longer pretend to be 
 ignorant of Louis's attachment to his niece, but as yet 
 he had not judged it necessary to interfere. Underrating 
 the independence and obstinacy of the girl's character, 
 he hoped to find in her a useful instrument, who, if 
 occasion arose, would endeavour to influence the King's 
 mind in the direction which he himself thought desirable. 
 It would certainly be extremely vexatious if, when 
 Philip IV, as he confidently expected him to do, should 
 ofi^er his daughter's hand and peace along with it, Louis 
 
86 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 should have fallen in love with the Princess Margherita 
 and insist upon marrying her. In that eventuality, he 
 might count upon Marie to save the situation. 
 
 On 26 October, the King and Queen, after hearing 
 Mass at Notre-Dame, set out for Lyons, accompanied by 
 a numerous and brilliant suite. During the first day's 
 journey, his Majesty remained in his coach with his 
 mother, Mademoiselle^ and the Princess Palatine,^ the 
 surintendante of the Queen's household. But on the 
 morrow, as the weather was fine, he suggested to 
 Mademoiselle that it would be more pleasant on horse- 
 back. " Mile, de Mancini, some of the Queen's ladies, 
 and myself did as he proposed. The King was always 
 near Mile, de Mancini, with whom he conversed in a 
 most gallant manner."^ 
 
 The journey resembled an ofiicial progress. Some 
 leagues from every town of importance the royal cortege 
 was met by the gentry of the neighbourhood dressed in 
 their bravest attire, who escorted it as far as the gates, 
 where the magistrates and citizens waited to receive 
 their young sovereign, whom few of them had ever seen, 
 and who, after running so many risks during the Fronde, 
 had but lately had so narrow an escape from death. 
 Everywhere the utmost enthusiasm prevailed ; on all 
 sides nothing was heard but praises of the young 
 monarch ; his handsome face, his fine figure, the skill 
 with which he managed his high-spirited horse, the grace 
 with which he acknowledged the salutations of his loyal 
 subjects — all delighted the crowds who flocked to do 
 him homage. 
 
 ^ Anne de Gonzague, second daughter of Charles de Gonzague, Due 
 de Nevers, and wife of Prince Edward of Bavaria, " Count Palatine," 
 fourth son of Frederick. V, Elector Palatine. She must not be con- 
 fused with her niece, Charlotte Elizabeth, the second wife of Monsieur. 
 
 2 " Menioires de Mademoiselle de Montpensier." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 87 
 
 At Dijon, where, on his arrival, the King was met by- 
 all the noblesse of Burgundy, with the Due d'Epernon, 
 the governor of the province, at their head — the Court 
 remained for a fortnight. The States of Burgundy 
 were at that time sitting, and Mazarin hoped that the 
 presence of their sovereign would serve as a spur to 
 their loyalty, and induce them to vote larger subsidies 
 than was their custom. 
 
 The King was in the highest spirits. He danced 
 every evening, and all the principal people in the 
 province, and even in the town, Mademoiselle tells us, 
 came to watch him. Every evening, too, he ordered a 
 grand collation in lieu of supper, thanks to which 
 arrangement he did not sup with the Queen, but 
 remained " four or five hours talking with Mile, de 
 Mancini." On the other hand, the poor Comtesse de 
 Soissons was entirely ignored by her former admirer, 
 and in a manner so pointed as to suggest that she had 
 contrived to displease seriously his Majesty, presumably 
 by complaining to the Cardinal about his intimacy with 
 her sister. 
 
 "During the journey," writes Mademoiselle^ "the King 
 did not address a word to the Comtesse de Soissons, 
 and at Dijon it was the same. One day, he did some- 
 thing which was remarked by all, although a mere baga- 
 telle. During a collation, the Queen sent to him to ask 
 for some rissoles, and I made the same request. He 
 sent some to the Queen, with whom the Comtesse de 
 Soissons was supping, but finding them insufiicient, she 
 sent to ask for more. The King then sent word that he 
 had enough for her and for me, but that there were not 
 enough left for himself and his company. Every one 
 believed that this was intended to apply to the Comtesse 
 de Soissons." 
 
88 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Before the Court quitted Dijon, the fine weather 
 with which it had been favoured since leaving Paris had 
 broken up ; notwithstanding which, Louis XIV still 
 continued to perform the greater part of each day's 
 journey on horseback. The cold and rain had driven 
 Mademoiselle and most of the fair equestrians to the 
 shelter of the coaches ; but Marie Mancini braved the 
 elements and remained his Majesty's inseparable com- 
 panion as far as Lyons, which was reached on Monday, 
 28 November. 
 
 Next morning, the Queen received warning that 
 Madame Royale — as the Duchess of Savoy was called 
 in France — and her daughter would reach Lyons on the 
 following Friday, 2 December. Their Majesties, the 
 Cardinal, Monsieur, and Mademoiselle went forward to 
 meet their guests. Made?noiselle rode in the royal 
 coach, an honour which was also accorded to Marechal 
 de Villeroi, the governor of the Lyonnais. Grooms 
 followed leading the gentlemen's horses. 
 
 "We found all the road filled with splendid equip- 
 ages," writes Mademoiselle. "Madame Royale and M. 
 de Savoie, her son,^ had a great number of mules, 
 with muleteers and magnificent housings, some of black 
 velvet, others of crimson, with their arms embroidered 
 on them in gold and silver. The mules of all persons 
 of rank had their bells. We met the litiere du corps of 
 Madame Royale, preceded by twelve pages dressed 
 in black bordered with black velvet, followed by her 
 guards with an officer at their head. These wore black 
 casaques braided with gold and silver. There was 
 
 1 Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy. He married Jeanne Baptiste 
 de Nemours, and died in 1675, leaving a son, Victor Amadeus, born 
 1666, who married Anne-Marie d'Orleans, daughter of Monsieur by his 
 first marriage with Henrietta of England, and was father of Marie 
 Adelaide of Savoy, Duchesse de Bourgogne. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 89 
 
 another litter belonging to Madame Royale, and several 
 others. We met a number of coaches, each drawn by- 
 six horses, followed by footmen in livery, all being 
 evidence of a great Court. When they heard that 
 Madame Royale was near, they came to inform the 
 King, who immediately mounted his horse and went 
 to meet her. The Queen said : * I confess I am im- 
 patient to , know what the King will think of the 
 Princess Margherita.' Yet she showed neither desire 
 for nor dislike to the marriage, but observed : ' If I 
 could have the Infanta, I should be overwhelmed with 
 joy. Nevertheless, I cannot but be content with what 
 pleases the King. At the same time, I think that he 
 would prefer the Princess of England.' " ^ 
 
 Presently Louis came galloping back, threw himself 
 from his horse, and approached the Queen's coach. 
 '''■Eh bien ! my son } " exclaimed Anne of Austria. The 
 King replied, " She is much smaller than Madame la 
 Marechale de Villeroi ; her shape is the most graceful 
 
 conceivable. Her complexion " He paused for 
 
 a moment, and then added, " Olive-coloured ; and it 
 becomes her well. She has beautiful eyes ; she pleases 
 me, and I find her to my liking." 
 
 Immediately afterwards the Duchess of Savoy ap- 
 peared ; the coaches stopped, and the two princesses 
 descended to greet one another. After an exchange of 
 compliments, which appears to have revealed Madame 
 Royale in the light of a confirmed flatterer, that lady 
 and her two daughters entered the Queen's coach. 
 The moment they were seated the King began to talk 
 to the Princess Margherita "as if he had known her 
 all his life," to the great astonishment of Mademoiselle, 
 
 ^ Henrietta-Anne, daughter of Charles I and Henrietta-Maria. 
 
90 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 for the King was naturally cold towards strangers, and 
 " very little inclined to be sociable." 
 
 When Lyons was reached, the King conducted the 
 Duchess of Savoy to the apartments which had been 
 prepared for her reception in the archbishop's palace, 
 while the Queen retired to her cabinet, where she was 
 immediately joined by the Cardinal, who said : " I have 
 some news to tell your Majesty which she does not 
 expect, and which will surprise her to the last degree." 
 " Is it that the King, my brother, sends to me to offer 
 the Infanta ? " eagerly inquired the Queen, " for that is 
 what I least expect." " Yes, Madame, it is that," rejoined 
 the triumphant Minister. 
 
 The Cardinal's stratagem had indeed been crowned 
 with complete success, for almost at the same moment 
 as the Duchess of Savoy and her daughters had entered 
 Lyons by one gate, Pimentel, a special envoy from 
 Philip IV, had entered by another, bearing an offer of 
 peace and the Infanta.' 
 
 Marie Mancini had not formed part of the suite 
 which had accompanied their Majesties to meet the 
 visitors from Savoy, but had remained at Lyons. So 
 soon, however, as the royal party returned, she hastened 
 to inquire of Mademoiselle what sort of impression the 
 young princess had made upon the King. To which 
 that lady — not, we may be sure, without a spice of 
 malice — replied : " It seemed to me that she pleased 
 him greatly." 
 
 1 Pimentel, travelling in the strictest incognito, since he was unprovided 
 with a passport and ran the risk of being made prisoner, if his identity 
 were discovered, had arrived at Ma9on on 19 November, from which 
 town he wrote to the Cardinal to acquaint him with the important mission 
 with which he was charged. Mazarin, however, kept his arrival a pro- 
 found secret, and his dramatic appearance on the very day of the entry of 
 the Princess Margherita had been carefully arranged by the Minister. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 91 
 
 Marie said nothing ; but the same evening she had 
 a long and very animated conversation with his Majesty. 
 What passed on this occasion is a matter for conjecture, 
 as etiquette obliged those present to remain at a dis- 
 tance. Mademoiselle, however, pretends that the young 
 lady was heard to say, in a sarcastic tone, to her com- 
 panion : " Are you not ashamed, Sire, at their wishing 
 to give you so ugly a wife } " 
 
 However that may be, by the following morning the 
 King's attitude towards the Princess Margherita had 
 completely changed. He called upon her at an early 
 hour, in order, so it was said, that he might have a view 
 of her figure en deshabille, since it was rumoured that 
 she was humpbacked, but was as cold as he had been 
 assiduous in his attentions on the day of her arrival ; 
 conduct, which greatly disconcerted the Duchess of Savoy, 
 though the princess herself did not appear to notice 
 anything. In the evening, at the Queen's, it was worse 
 still. "The King never ceased talking to Mile, de 
 Mancini before the Princess Margherita, to whom he 
 did not address a single word." From which it would 
 appear that, whatever Marie may have taught her royal 
 admirer, good manners had certainly not been included 
 in the curriculum.^ 
 
 The following day, the Princess Margherita's brother, 
 
 ^ It is very improbable that, as several writers have suggested, the 
 sudden change in Louis XIV's attitude towards the Princess Margherita 
 was due to some hint he had received from Mazarin rather than to the 
 influence of the jealous Marie, since Montglat, a well-informed and trust- 
 worthy chronicler, tells us that the Cardinal was at first inclined to regard 
 Pimentel's mission with considerable suspicion : " He feared that it was 
 merely a ruse of the Spaniards to cause the Court of Savoy to leave Lyons 
 discontented and offended, to the end that, on its return to Piedmont, it 
 might enter into a treaty with them and abandon France, in order to 
 avenge the insult which it had received, and that afterwards they would 
 refuse to give the Infanta to the King." 
 
92 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the Duke of Savoy, a handsome and amiable young 
 man, arrived at Lyons. He, like his sister, had come 
 with matrimonial intentions, having some thought of 
 offering his hand to Mademoiselle, and, in default of 
 her, to one of the Cardinal's nieces. Notwithstanding 
 her immense fortune, the Amazonian princess did not 
 please him, and he speedily transferred his attentions to 
 the beautiful Hortense Mancini, to whom it was an 
 open secret the Cardinal intended to bequeath the 
 bulk of his wealth. Mazarin would have been willing 
 enough to conclude so brilliant an alliance for his 
 favourite niece ; but the Duke was not content with 
 handsome settlements and the prospect of great wealth. 
 He demanded that Pignerol, which belonged at this 
 period to France, should be ceded to him, a proposition 
 which the Minister declined even to consider. 
 
 Some days passed without any discussion taking place 
 between the two Courts in regard to the object which 
 had brought them together, during which Louis XIV 
 showed the same coldness to the Princess Margherita and 
 the same empressement towards Marie Mancini. In the 
 meanwhile, Pimentel remained at Lyons, strictly pre- 
 serving his incognito and seeing no one, except Mazarin. 
 The Duke of Savoy, although unaware of the arrival 
 of the Spanish envoy, became convinced that the 
 Cardinal was merely using his sister as a pawn in his 
 political game, and his dissatisfaction being increased 
 by the failure of his own matrimonial negotiations and 
 a trivial dispute with Monsieur over a question of pre- 
 cedence,^ took his departure in anger, exclaiming, if 
 
 ^ " He (the Duke of Savoy) behaved to the King with great respect ; 
 but as, since the Regency, the Duke of Savoy, his father, had obtained 
 the favour of his Ambassadors being received as those of crowned heads, 
 this advantage, which he held only under the kindness of the King and 
 .he facility of the Minister, caused him to have the audacity to refuse to 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 93 
 
 we are to believe Mademoiselle: "Adieu, France, and 
 for ever. I quit thee without regret." 
 
 The Duchess of Savoy, less clear-sighted than her 
 son, and, besides, much more eager for the match, 
 refused to abandon hope ; and the Cardinal, consum- 
 mate diplomatist though he was, found the situation 
 distinctly embarrassing, since he was unwilling to break 
 off definitely all negotiations with Savoy until he had 
 satisfied himself that no serious hitch was likely to arise 
 in those which he had to conduct with Spain. Finally, 
 however, the Duchess learned of the arrival of Pimentel, 
 and, in a great state of agitation, sought out the 
 Cardinal and peremptorily demanded a positive answer. 
 Mazarin, perceiving it useless to dissemble further, then 
 informed her of the proposals which had been received 
 from Philip IV, adding that it was the imperative duty 
 of his young master to take this the only means of 
 giving peace to Europe and terminating a war which 
 had already lasted for more than twenty years, and the 
 prolongation of which could serve no useful purpose. 
 
 Madame Royale became *' pale as death," and *' con- 
 sidered whether she should swoon away," but, by a 
 great effort, recovered her composure, and replied, with 
 dignity, that she fully comprehended the exigencies of 
 the political situation, and the advantages which France 
 would derive from the marriage of Louis XIV with the 
 Infanta, but that she demanded at least some guarantees 
 for the Princess Margherita, in the event of anything 
 arising to prevent the King from espousing Maria 
 Theresa. 
 
 visit Monsieur, because he did not give him his right hand. The differ- 
 ence was in reality so great between them, that the late Duke, his father, 
 never covered his head in Madame Royale's presence, and in all things, 
 notwithstanding his position as husband, he showed her the greatest 
 respect." — " Memoires de Madame de Motteville." 
 
94 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 But if the Duchess succeeded in restraining her feel- 
 ings in the presence of the Cardinal, she gave full vent 
 to her chagrin and indignation before Mademoiselle^ who, 
 calling upon her later in the day, found her "greatly 
 changed," and saw that she had been weeping bitterly. 
 Evening, however, came, and, with it, the Cardinal, 
 bringing a paper signed by the King's own hand, 
 " wherein he undertook to espouse the Princess of 
 Savoy, if within a year from that date his marriage 
 with the Infanta had not been concluded."^ To this 
 document Mazarin, " who was somewhat conscience- 
 stricken," added a handsome present: a pair of fine 
 diamond earrings, a number of other trinkets, and a 
 quantity of perfumes and fans ; at sight of which, the 
 disconsolate Duchess straightway dried her tears and 
 hurried off to show her earrings to the Queen. " She 
 talked of nothing else, and every one admired the happy 
 change from tears in the morning to gaiety in the even- 
 ing." As for the Princess Margherita, the innocent 
 victim of all these intrigues, no change was observable in 
 her. "She always preserved an admirable tranquillity, 
 and acted in the matter as if it had concerned another." ^ 
 The Duchess of Savoy and her daughters took their 
 departure a few days later, their Majesties accompanying 
 them a little way on their homeward journey. " Madame 
 Royale wept ; her eldest daughter a little. As for the 
 Princess Margherita, she only shed a few tears, which 
 appeared to be rather those of anger than of tender- 
 
 ness." ^ 
 
 On returning to Lyons, the Queen declared herself 
 much relieved at having got rid of " all those people," 
 and made sport of the Duchess for having wept, observ- 
 
 1 " Memoires de Montglat." 
 
 2 " Memoires de Mademoiselle de Montpensier." * Ibid. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 95 
 
 ing that she was "the most consummate actress she 
 had ever seen." She said nothing against the Princess 
 Margherita, "for she admired her conduct and the 
 firmness and strength of mind with which she had borne 
 all that had happened." This poor princess, after losing 
 the most splendid crown in the world, was reduced to 
 marrying a petty Italian prince, the Duke of Parma. 
 She died in 1663, the same year as her mother, the 
 Duchess Christine. 
 
 A few days after the departure of the Princesses of 
 Savoy, news arrived that the Queen of Spain had given 
 birth to another son, and Philip IV wrote a very 
 affectionate letter to his sister to announce this happy 
 event, which confirmed her hopes for peace and the 
 marriage of Louis with the Infanta. 
 
 The Court remained at Lyons until the end of the 
 following January. Marie Mancini was ill for some 
 days, during which the King visited her constantly. 
 We may surmise that her illness was not wholly uncon- 
 nected with the events which were passing around her. 
 She had abandoned herself unreservedly to her passion 
 for the King, to the intoxication of a reciprocated attach- 
 ment, doubly sweet to one whose life up to that time 
 had been so sad and lonely, without troubling herself to 
 reflect what must be the ultimate issue of a sentiment 
 of this nature between two persons of such very different 
 stations. She had, in fact, thought only of the present 
 and closed her eyes to the future. The arrival of the 
 Princess Margherita, and the favourable impression 
 which she was reported to have made upon the King, 
 had abruptly opened them, and aroused her to a full 
 comprehension of the danger which threatened her. Her 
 passionate and violent nature awoke, and, with it, the 
 
96 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 pride and ambition which were the dominant traits in 
 her character. The thought of being supplanted, even 
 nominally, in the heart of the man she loved by another 
 woman was intolerable to her ; the thought of being 
 deposed from the place which she had come to look upon 
 as rightfully hers was even more bitter. Overestimating 
 the extent of her influence over Louis, she flattered 
 herself that, even if circumstances had not come to her 
 aid, she would still have experienced little difficulty in 
 weaning the King from any desire he might have had to 
 wed the Princess Margherita ; and, though she could 
 not disguise from herself that in the Infanta, or rather in 
 the great interests which the Infanta represented, she had 
 a far more formidable foe to contend with, she was in 
 no way dismayed. Nor did she intend to rest content 
 with a defensive attitude ; she herself was resolved to 
 enter the lists as a candidate for this dazzling prize. 
 Too proud and too shrewd to become the mistress of 
 the King, she foresaw that the young sovereign's passion 
 could ere long be goaded to the point of marriage ; 
 and, that resolution once taken, she firmly believed 
 that neither the opposition of the Queen and the 
 Cardinal, nor the duty he owed his realm, would be 
 able to turn him from his purpose. 
 
 On her recovery from her illness, Marie, " charmed 
 with the King's fidelity and the power she had over him, 
 resumed her usual post, which was always near him, 
 talking with him and following him wherever it was 
 possible, and the satisfaction she felt in believing herself 
 beloved made her love still more him whom she 
 already loved too much." ^ 
 
 1 "Memoires de Madame de Motteville." Madame de Motteville had 
 not accompanied the Court to Lyons, but she was kept well informed of 
 ail that was passing there by her friends' letters. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 97 
 
 Louis XIV certainly gave the young lady ample 
 excuse for her conduct. He scarcely quitted her side. 
 Every morning, he called upon her ; every evening, he 
 invited her to share his collation ; then accompanied her 
 to the Queen's, and when her Majesty had retired for 
 the night, escorted her home. "At first he followed 
 her coach, next he acted as coachman, and finally he 
 took a seat inside." He was lodged, as were Marie 
 and her sisters, in the Place Bellecour ; and on moon- 
 light nights the two young people often promenaded in 
 the Place until a very late hour. If his Majesty went 
 to the play, he invariably took Marie with him and 
 installed her by his side at one end of the tribune 
 reserved for him ; the other being usually occupied by 
 Monsieur and Mademoiselle. 
 
 All these attentions naturally made a great stir ; 
 nothing else was talked of, either by the Court or the 
 public, but the King's passion for the Cardinal's niece. 
 His Eminence, though frequently confined to his house 
 by the gout, was, of course, perfectly well aware of 
 all that was happening. Still, he made no attempt to 
 interfere. So far the King's attachment had served a 
 useful purpose in preserving Louis from the wiles of 
 ambitious beauties, who might have endeavoured to 
 undermine his own influence, and, in particular, in 
 detaching him from all thought of marriage with the 
 Princess of Savoy ; and as yet he could not bring him- 
 self to believe that his young master could be so regard- 
 less of his own dignity, and so indifferent to the 
 interests of his kingdom, as to desire to carry the affair 
 to its legitimate conclusion. 
 
 That he might be tempted to carry it to its illegiti- 
 mate one was in the Cardinal's opinion far more 
 probable ; the moonlight promenades in the Place 
 
98 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Bellecour had occasioned him no little uneasiness ; and 
 he accordingly enjoined upon Madame de Venel, the 
 gouvernante of Marie and her sisters, to keep the strictest 
 watch over her charges. The young ladies slept upon 
 the ground-floor, and the windows of their chamber, 
 which opened on to the Place, were so low as to afford 
 an easy means of access to any one who desired to enter. 
 The gouvernante promised implicit obedience, and kept 
 her word, the result being an amusing incident. 
 
 " Madame de Venel," writes Hortense, " was so 
 accustomed to her profession of guardian (or rather of 
 spy), even at night, that she rose in her sleep to see 
 what we were doing. One night, as my sister Marie lay 
 asleep, with her mouth open, Madame de Venel, coming, 
 all asleep as she was, to grope in the dark, happened to 
 thrust her finger into her mouth so far, that my sister, 
 starting out of her sleep, made her teeth meet in the 
 lady's finger. Picture to yourselves the amazement that 
 they were both in, when they were thoroughly awake, 
 to find themselves in this position. My sister was 
 extremely angry at this inquisition. Next day, the 
 story was related to the King, and all the Court laughed 
 over it. 
 
 The Court left Lyons at the end of January 1659. 
 The weather was bitterly cold, notwithstanding which 
 Louis XIV announced his intention of making the 
 greater part of the journey on horseback. Mademoiselle 
 and most of the elder ladies preferred the warmth and 
 shelter of their coaches, but several of the younger 
 readily agreed to accompany his Majesty and his suite, 
 this mode of travel providing excellent opportunities 
 for flirtation. Among these, it is hardly necessary to 
 observe, was Marie Mancini, who, attired in a velvet 
 1 "Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 99 
 
 justaucorps trimmed with fur and a black velvet cap 
 decorated with a plume, presented, we are assured, a 
 particularly charming appearance, and had the honour of 
 her sovereign's escort nearly the whole of the way, the 
 rest of the equestrians being careful to keep at a respect- 
 ful distance, so as not to embarrass the lovers. As 
 the Cardinal and the jealous Comtesse de Soissons were 
 making the return journey, as far as Nevers, by water, 
 and Madame de Venel remained in her coach with 
 Hortense, who was very susceptible to cold, there was 
 no one to interfere with her enjoyment of the King's 
 society, and she was in the highest spirits, while Louis 
 shared her good humour. "The King," writes Mademoi- 
 selle, *' was in a much better humour since he had fallen 
 in love with Mile, de Mancini ; he was gay, and talked to 
 every one." 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Marie Mancini's confidences — Alarm of Anne of Austria and Mazarin 
 at the King's passion for Marie — Louis XIV plays a practical joke 
 on Madame de Venel — Visit of Don Juan of Austria to Paris — His 
 jester and Marie Mancini — The " debauch of Roissy " — Philippe 
 Mancini disgraced and imprisoned by the Cardinal — Pimentel in Paris 
 — Astonishment of the Spanish envoy at the King's attentions to 
 Marie — Increasing alarm of the Cardinal and the Queen — Louis XIV 
 demands the Cardinal's permission to marry his niece — Question of 
 Mazarin's conduct in this matter considered — Painful scene between 
 the King and Anne of Austria — The Cardinal determines to exile 
 Marie — Despair of the King and firmness of Mazarin — Interview 
 between Louis XIV and Marie — The pearls of Henrietta Maria — 
 The King's grief — Departure of Marie and her sisters for La 
 Rochelle. 
 
 ** I ""HE Court was very gay that winter. " On our 
 "■• return to Paris," writes Marie Mancini, "our 
 only care was to amuse ourselves ; there was not a 
 day, or, to speak more correctly, not a minute, which 
 was not devoted to pleasure ; and I may say that never 
 had time been spent as we spent it. His Majesty, 
 wishing to ensure the continuance of our amusements, 
 commanded all who formed our circle to amuse us in 
 turn. There was nothing but a succession of enter- 
 tainments and balls; and although these frequently took 
 place in country spots, there was, nevertheless, nothing 
 more magnificent ; to be convinced of which, it will be 
 enough to know that these entertainments were given 
 by persons of the first quality, and that love, which is 
 full of resource and inspires everything into which it 
 
 100 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS loi 
 
 enters, arranged them with care. For, in a word, there 
 was not a cavalier who did not take part in them. The 
 Grand Master ^ put forth every effort to please my 
 sister Hortense, the Marquis de Richelieu took the same 
 care for Mile, de la Motte-Argencourt,^ the Marquis 
 d'Alluye for Mile, du Fouilloux, whom he subsequently 
 married, in whom his Majesty and myself had the 
 utmost confidence, and several others who had similar 
 engagements, and of whom space forbids me to speak 
 here. The gallant adventures which accompanied our 
 entertainments and our promenades would demand a 
 whole volume ; so I shall pass over them in silence, and 
 content myself with recounting one, which will show 
 with what delicacy the King loved, and that he lost no 
 opportunity of giving me proof of it. It was, if my 
 memory does not deceive me, at Bois-le-Vicomte, as I 
 was walking very quickly under a row of trees, his 
 Majesty wished to give me his hand, and mine, happen- 
 ing to strike, although rather lightly, against the pommel 
 of his sword, he drew it sharply from its scabbard and 
 threw it far away. I know not how to describe the 
 manner in which he performed this action ; there are no 
 words to express it." 
 
 Since his return from Lyons, indeed, the King's 
 passion for Marie had increased in a positively alarming 
 manner, and they were scarcely ever apart. " The King 
 never came into the Queen's presence without Mile. 
 Mancini," says Madame de Motteville. " She followed 
 him everywhere and whispered in his ear, in the presence 
 of even the Queen herself, undeterred by the respect 
 
 ^ The Grand Master of the Artillery, Armand de la Porte, Marquis 
 de la Meilleraye, afterwards Due de Mazarin. 
 
 * Apparently, she means Mile, de la Motte-Houdancourt. Mile, de 
 la Motte-Argencourt had been sent to a convent (see p. 65 supra.) 
 
102 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 and decorum which she owed her. . . . The Kind's attach- 
 ment to the Cardinal's niece gave the Queen pain. She 
 feared a result that would be unworthy of the King ; 
 and she desired that the Infanta, bringing him a pure 
 heart that was wholly his, might not find his heart 
 already occupied by an affection in every way unworthy 
 of him, through the boldness which she knew existed in 
 the girl's disposition. At this moment, these intentions 
 seemed to be in keeping with what he owed himself; 
 but a passion, however feeble, when fed and sustained 
 by another stronger and more violent, might change 
 them ; and this was what the Queen feared. 
 
 Mazarin, too, who, as we have seen, had not opposed 
 the King's inclination so long as he believed it might 
 serve his own ends, was becoming seriously alarmed ; 
 for, even supposing that Louis had no serious inten- 
 tions, such conduct was in the highest degree indiscreet 
 on the part of a sovereign who proposed to contract an 
 alliance with the proudest house in Europe, and might, 
 if rumours of it were to reach Madrid, prove a formid- 
 able hindrance to the progress of the negotiations with 
 Spain. Both he and the Queen, accordingly, resolved 
 to put an end to the affair as speedily as possible, and, 
 in the meanwhile, took Madame de Venel into their confi- 
 dence, and bade her keep the strictest watch over the 
 movements of Mile, Marie. 
 
 Madame de Venel promised obedience, and set about 
 her congenial task with such good-will as to draw upon 
 her the dislike of the King. " One day, when the King 
 was distributing sweetmeats to the ladies of the Court, 
 in boxes gallantly ornamented with different coloured 
 ribbons, Madame de Venel received hers and opened it. 
 But what was her terror to see emerge a dozen mice, a 
 kind of animal of which, it was known, she entertained 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 103 
 
 the greatest horror ! Her first Impulse urged her to 
 precipitately quit the company ; but, immediately calling 
 to mind the promise which she had given the Queen 
 never to let Mile, de Mancini out of her sight, she 
 retraced her steps and re-entered the apartment. The 
 King, who had just seated himself on a sofa with Mile, 
 de Mancini, and was already felicitating himself on the 
 success of his enterprise, astonished at seeing Madame 
 de Venel return so soon, said to her : * What ! Have 
 you recovered from your alarm already, Madame ? ' 
 * No, Sire,' replied she, * it is because I have not re- 
 covered from my alarm that, in order to regain my 
 courage, I thought it necessary to keep close to the son 
 of Mars.' And, with that, she seated herself on the sofa 
 between them." ^ 
 
 In the meantime, the negotiations with Spain were 
 progressing steadily. Pimentel had arrived in Paris 
 soon after the return of the Court from Lyons, and 
 numerous interviews had taken place between him and 
 Mazarin, in which the principal bases of the treaty had 
 already been agreed upon. The advent of Pimentel had 
 greatly perturbed Marie Mancini, who was still more 
 alarmed when, in March 1659, Spain made a further 
 step in advance, and Don Juan of Austria, natural son 
 of Philip IV and the actress Calderona, came to visit 
 the Queen on his way from Flanders to Madrid. Don 
 Juan came incognito, notwithstanding which the Queen 
 addressed him as " My nephew," and he was lodged at 
 the Louvre. He gave himself very haughty airs, ever? 
 in the presence of the King, and scarcely deigned to 
 notice Monsieur and Mademoiselle, to their intense morti- 
 fication. 
 
 1 Manuscript " Memoire sur Madame de Venel," published by Lucien 
 Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
I04 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 According to the custom of the time, the Prince had 
 with him a jester, a girl called Capitor, the fame of 
 whose wit had preceded her. She arrived in Paris 
 shortly after her master, dressed as a man, with closely- 
 cropped hair, a hat, and a sword. " She was ugly and 
 cross-eyed," says Mademoiselle^ " but had an infinitude 
 of wit, and was a very pretty fool. The King took so 
 great a fancy to her that she never quitted the Louvre. 
 The Queen and Monsieur were greatly diverted by her, 
 and 1 myself also." 
 
 But, alas ! Senorita Capitor was continually talking 
 of and praising the Infanta, a habit which did not at all 
 tend to commend her to Marie Mancini, who conceived 
 the greatest dislike to her, spoke of her as " the fool," 
 and jeered at her. Capitor retaliated and let fall some 
 biting jests at the young lady's expense, which duly 
 reached the latter's ears, and so enraged her that she 
 complained to the King, who gave orders that the girl 
 should be sent away. The Queen, Monsieur, and 
 Mademoiselle, and nearly all the ladies of the Court, 
 made her presents, and many begged her to mention 
 them to the Infanta. The King derided these last, and 
 "the Queen perceived that Mile, de Mancini allowed no 
 opportunity to slip of ruining in the mind of Louis XIV 
 all those who, whether near or far, belonged to the 
 Infanta."^ 
 
 Shortly after the departure of Don Juan, an incident 
 occurred which, for a moment, diverted attention from 
 Marie Mancini to her brother Philippe, and " obliged 
 the Court to praise the Cardinal not only in his presence, 
 but in all places." 
 
 A party of gay young noblemen, amongst whom was 
 Philippe Mancini, the Marquis de Manicamp, the 
 1 " Memoires de Mile, de Montpensier." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 105 
 
 Comte de Guiche, and Bussy-Rabutin, were invited by 
 the Comte de Vivonne, First Gentleman of the Chamber, 
 to spend Holy Week with him at his country-house at 
 Roissy ; and, by a singular coincidence, the King's 
 Almoner, the Abbe Le Camus, was also one of the 
 guests. People were not slow in recounting the most 
 unheard-of things in regard to the doings of this 
 pleasure-party, so out of place during the Holy Days. 
 " They were accused of having chosen the time with 
 sacrilegious intent, the least of which was the eating of 
 meat on Good Friday ; they were even accused of 
 having committed certain impieties, unworthy not 
 only of Christians, but of men of sense." ^ It was said 
 that they had eaten a sucking-pig, after causing it to be 
 baptized by the Abbe Le Camus ; nor was it long 
 before the sucking-pig became a man, whom they had 
 killed and partially devoured. As a matter of fact, they 
 had done nothing worse than play some harmless prac- 
 tical joke on a notary who happened to be passing that 
 way, and who was so little offended that he sub- 
 sequently joined them at supper. Their real offence, 
 however, lay in having composed a song in which 
 various prominent members of the Court were some- 
 what roughly handled. Very imprudently, a copy of 
 this song was circulated, and eventually found its way 
 into the hands of the Queen, and from hers to the 
 Cardinal's, who, " to show that he did not intend to 
 protect the crime, determined to punish all the accom- 
 plices in the person of his nephew, whom he dismissed 
 from the Court and his presence," and imprisoned in 
 the citadel of Brissac. 
 
 This action on the part of the Cardinal was the more 
 unjust since, according to Bussy-Rabutin, who, as we 
 
 1 " Memoires de Madame de Motteville." 
 
io6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 have mentioned, was one of the party, the luckless 
 Mancini, seeing the turn events were taking at Roissy, 
 had quitted the company soon after his arrival and shut 
 himself up in his room, and on the morning of Good 
 Friday had returned to Paris. But Mazarin, who 
 heartily disliked his nephew, was delighted at the 
 opportunity of proving that he did not favour his 
 family. Moreover, the intimacy existing between the 
 young man and the King did not at all commend itself 
 to his Eminence, who suspected that, if occasion arose, 
 Philippe might be employed as an intermediary between 
 Louis XIV and Marie ; and the pretext for getting rid 
 of him seemed too good to be lost. 
 
 The negotiations with Spain continued to advance. 
 Pimentel was again in Paris, occupying a suite of apart- 
 ments at the Palais-Mazarin, and he and the Cardinal 
 were constantly closeted together.^ It was an open 
 secret that everything hinged upon the marriage be- 
 tween Louis XIV and the Infanta, for the concessions 
 demanded by France were such as, in ordinary circum- 
 stances, Philip IV would most certainly refuse, but 
 might accord without loss of dignity to his son-in-law. 
 
 For some time, Pimentel kept within the walls of the 
 Palais-Mazarin, and did not show himself in public, a 
 precaution which is somewhat difficult to account for, 
 in view of the fact that all Paris was aware of his visit 
 and its object. At length, however, the preliminary 
 negotiations having been concluded, he accepted an 
 invitation to attend a magnificent fete given by the 
 Minister Lionne at his chateau at Berny. The King and 
 Queen, the Cardinal, Marie Mancini, and nearly the 
 
 ^ As the Palais-Mazarin was not yet finished, the Cardinal still 
 occupied his apartments at the Louvre. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 107 
 
 whole of the Court were present, and the entertainment 
 was worthy of the illustrious guests. There was a 
 concert, a play, and a splendid supper, followed by 
 a display of fireworks on the canal, and the festivities 
 terminated with a ball. His Majesty complimented his 
 host warmly on the entertainment he had provided, 
 declared that he had never visited a country-house which 
 he had admired more, nor enjoyed himself so much in a 
 single day. The latter statement was probably true 
 enough, seeing that, undeterred by the presence of 
 Pimentel, he did not quit Mile. Mancini's side for a 
 moment, to the intense astonishment of the Spanish 
 envoy, who, although he had heard rumours of the 
 King's infatuation, had not yet had an opportunity of 
 seeing the lovers together. So scandalized was he at 
 such conduct on the part of a monarch who aspired to 
 the hand of his master's daughter, that on the morrow 
 he could not refrain from unbosoming himself to 
 Mazarin. 
 
 The Cardinal was now thoroughly alarmed. The 
 remonstrances which he had addressed to his niece, and 
 the hints he had from time to time thrown out in the 
 presence of his young sovereign, had fallen on barren 
 ground ; and it appeared to him that the King had 
 deliberately chosen the fete at Berny to flaunt his 
 passion in the face of the whole world. 
 
 The Queen, on her side, was no less disquieted ; she 
 could no longer conceal from herself the extraordinary 
 influence v/hich this young girl exercised over her im- 
 pressionable son. Very submissive hitherto to his 
 mother's wishes, Louis seemed now to trouble himself 
 very little about them, and, in certain circumstances, 
 did not fear even to brave them openly. A recent 
 incident had shown her this but too plainly. 
 
io8 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 During the Carnival, a very gorgeous ballet had been 
 performed at the Court, in which Marie Mancini had 
 particularly distinguished herself, and, as the reigning 
 favourite, had of course been rewarded with loud 
 applause. To please her, the King announced that the 
 ballet would be danced again during Lent. This de- 
 cision was extremely repugnant to the Queen, who 
 remonstrated with her son in the strongest terms, finally 
 declaring that, if he kept to hL intention, she would 
 not only refuse to be present, but would go to spend 
 Lent at Val-de-Grace. " Ek bien ! You can go," re- 
 torted the King brusquely. Then Marie, delighted to 
 find that she had only to express a wish for it to be 
 obeyed, herself begged the King to do as her Majesty 
 desired, a request with which Louis at once complied. 
 
 It had been decided that the final negotiations with 
 Spain should take place at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where 
 Mazarin and Don Louis de Haro, the Spanish Prime 
 Minister, were to confer together and draw up the terms 
 of the definitive treaty ; and the Cardinal pointed out 
 that it was imperative that the King and Queen should 
 follow him to Bayonne, in order to be at hand in the 
 event of any serious difficulty arising. Anne of Austria, 
 therefore, implored her son to give her his solemn 
 assurance that he would raise no opposition to the 
 projected marriage with the Infanta ; to which Louis 
 replied, coldly and evasively, that he had no intention 
 of opposing it, but that there was time enough to 
 consider it, as the conditions of the treaty had not yet 
 been decided on by either side. 
 
 The King did not fail to render an account of what 
 had passed between his mother and himself to Marie, 
 vowing that nothing should induce him to consent to 
 the match, and that he would wed no one but her ; 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 109 
 
 while the girl, on her side, left no means untried to 
 confirm him in this resolution, and to prejudice his 
 mind against the Cardinal and the Queen. "The 
 opposition of the Cardinal," says Madame de la 
 Fayette, whose recital is confirmed by all contemporary 
 " Memoires '' and by numerous unpublished documents, 
 " only served to embitter her against him and to cause 
 her to render him all kinds of ill turns. She did not 
 do the Queen any less injury in the mind of the King, 
 both by condemning her conduct during the Regency, 
 and by informing him of all that malice had invented 
 against her. Finally, she succeeded in making herself 
 so absolutely mistress of his mind, that, during the 
 time that the preliminary negotiations in regard to the 
 peace and the marriage were in progress, he demanded 
 of the Cardinal permission to espouse her." ^ 
 
 Some historians maintain that Mazarin was for a 
 moment allured by the prospect of seeing his niece 
 Queen of France, and that, had it not been for the 
 strenuous opposition of Anne of Austria, he would 
 have allowed Louis XIV to have his way. This con- 
 tention appears to rest principally on a supposed 
 conversation between the Cardinal and the Queen, 
 which is related by Madame de Motteville in her 
 " M6moires." "The aversion which the Queen enter- 
 tained for Mile, de Mancini," she says, " was greatly 
 increased by a speech which her uncle made to her. He 
 was the slave of ambition and capable of ingratitude, 
 and had an innate desire to prefer his own interests to 
 those of every one else. His niece, intoxicated by her 
 passion and persuaded of the power of her own charms, 
 had the presumption to imagine that the King loved 
 her enough to do all things for her ; and accordingly 
 1 " Histoire de Madame Henriette d'Angleterre." 
 
no FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 she let her uncle know that on the terms on which she 
 stood with the King, it was not impossible that she 
 might become Queen, provided he would contribute 
 his influence to further her ambition. The Cardinal 
 could not refuse himself so fine an adventure, and he 
 one day spoke of it to the Queen, laughing at the folly 
 of his niece, but in a manner so ambiguous and em- 
 barrassed that he allowed her to see clearly enough 
 what he had in his mind to cause her to reply in these 
 words : * I do not believe, Monsieur le Cardinal, that 
 the King could be capable of such baseness ; but, if 
 it were possible that he should think of it, I warn you 
 that all France will revolt against you and him, and that 
 I will put myself at the head of the rebels and induce 
 my second son [Philippe, Due d'Anjou] to join them.' " 
 M. Chantelauze pronounces without hesitation for the 
 authenticity of this conversation. He pretends that 
 Madame de Motteville's evidence is " above suspicion," 
 that it is " irrefutable," because *' no one had more know- 
 ledge of the private affairs of the Queen." ^ On the 
 other hand, the best-informed biographers of both 
 Mazarin and Marie Mancini, such as M. Cheruel, 
 M. Amedee Renee, M. Charles Livet, Lucien Perey, 
 and Mr. J. B. Perkins, are unanimous in discrediting it. 
 They point out that, in the first place, the writer, who 
 was a bitter enemy of Mazarin, does not venture to 
 assert that she had her information from the Queen's 
 own lips. In the second, that the Cardinal was at this 
 time, as Madame de Motteville herself admits, a few 
 pages further on in her " Memoires," absolute master 
 of the Queen's mind,^ and it is, therefore, in the highest 
 
 1 « Louis XIV et Marie Mancini." 
 
 2 '*The Cardinal exercised so absolute an empire over the Queen's 
 mind that she did not dare to do anything without his advice, and that he 
 did not allow her to dispose of a simple benefice." 
 
From an engraving after tlie paintinj by Sir Peter Lely 
 
 ^:ARII•: maxcixi 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS in 
 
 degree improbable that she would have addressed him 
 in such terms. And, finally, that the surer record of 
 Mazarin's letters, and his conduct throughout the affair, 
 show that he had always resolutely opposed a step which 
 would not only have been fraught with disaster to 
 France, but would have been fatal to his own interests. 
 " Mazarin," says Mr. Perkins, *• had nothing to gain by 
 it and much to lose. He would become the uncle of a 
 queen, instead of the successor of Richelieu. To have 
 his niece the Queen of France might, under some cir- 
 cumstances, have gratified his vanity, but the negotia- 
 tions for the Spanish alliance had been practically 
 arranged when the passion of Louis XIV reached its 
 height. The Cardinal would have sacrificed the treaty 
 which he believed would help to ensure him permanent 
 fame ; he would have incurred the enmity of the nation 
 for the continuance of the war ; the enmity of the 
 Queen for interfering with her favourite scheme, and 
 the enmity of Louis so soon as his passion had abated, 
 and he realised that the greatest prince in the world had 
 made a misalliance. Had Marie been able to control 
 the King's policy, it would not have advanced the 
 interests of Mazarin. He already possessed to the 
 fullest extent the affection and confidence of Louis XIV, 
 and he had little hold on his niece, who was impatient, 
 ungovernable, and wasted very little love on her 
 uncle." ^ 
 
 The Queen, learning from the Cardinal of the un- 
 heard of step which her son had just taken, sum- 
 moned him to her cabinet, when she employed every 
 argument she could think of to divert him from his 
 purpose, appealing in turn to his sense of duty, his 
 1 " France under Richelieu and Mazarin." 
 
112 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 honour, and his delicacy. All was in vain. "The 
 young King was no longer his own master ; he belonged 
 to those black eyes which looked into his own from his 
 lever to his coucher, at table, in the drive, at play, 
 and in the dance, in every nook and corner of the 
 Louvre ; to those burning eyes which accompanied the 
 murmurs and cries of a tragic and passionate voice." ^ 
 His reply to his mother's entreaties was to fly into a 
 violent passion, and vow that no one save Mile. 
 Mancini should share his throne. He left the Queen 
 plunged in the depths of despair, already perhaps seeing 
 in imagination her idolised son the byword of Europe, 
 the Cardinal's schemes ruined, France and Spain once 
 more at one another's throats, and she herself, like her 
 mother-in-law Marie de' Medici, condemned to wander 
 in exile and die miserably in a foreign land. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mazarin had had an interview with his 
 niece, with equally fruitless results. The girl obstinately 
 declined to renounce her love and her ambition, nor 
 could he obtain from her the smallest concession. As 
 he was on the point of starting for the Pyrenees to meet 
 the Spanish plenipotentiaries, and recognised the im- 
 prudence of leaving Marie behind him to labour for an 
 end totally opposed to his own, he at once resolved to 
 remove her out of the reach of the infatuated King, and 
 accordingly informed the young lady that it was his 
 intention to send her and her sisters, Hortense and 
 Marianne, in charge of Madame de Venel, to La 
 Rochelle. 
 
 Marie does not appear to have been greatly distressed 
 at this announcement, since she could not bring herself 
 to believe that the King would permit the Cardinal to 
 carry out his resolve ; while, when Mazarin requested 
 
 1 ArvMe Barine, " Princesses et grandes dames : Marie Mancini." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 113 
 
 the Queen to break the news to her son, Anne declined 
 and implored him not to separate the lovers, as she 
 feared that, in his first indignation at learning of the 
 forthcoming exile of his mistress, Louis might create 
 some scandal which would put an end to the negotia- 
 tions for his marriage with the Infanta. 
 
 Mazarin, however, was adamant, and, as the Queen 
 refused to act as his ambassador, he ordered his niece to 
 acquaint Louis XIV with his decision. The announce- 
 ment threw the young monarch into the last excess of 
 grief and indignation. He vowed that no power on 
 earth should separate him from his beloved ; he 
 threatened to publicly disgrace the Cardinal, and for 
 three whole days he did not address so much as a word 
 to his mother. Finding the Minister inflexible, he 
 suddenly changed his tone, threw himself at the feet of 
 the Queen and the Cardinal, and besought them on his 
 knees to grant the dearest wish of his heart. " I will 
 marry Mile, de Mancini," said he ; *' I will break with 
 the Infanta ; I will do anything rather than see her 
 suffer for love of me." 
 
 The Cardinal replied, that " having been chosen by 
 the late King, his father, and since by the Queen, to 
 assist them with his counsels, and having hitherto 
 served them with inviolable fidelity, he was resolved not 
 to abuse the confidence reposed in him by suffering him 
 to commit an act so contrary to his reputation ; that he 
 was master of his niece, and would stab her to the heart 
 rather than elevate her by so great an act of treason."^ 
 
 Such was the King's grief, that Anne of Austria, in 
 
 spite of the horror with which such a misalliance inspired 
 
 her, could not refrain from begging the Cardinal not to 
 
 insist on the exile of his niece. But Mazarin, remem- 
 
 1 " Menioires de Madame de Motteville." 
 
114 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 bering the vast interests at stake, was not to be diverted 
 from his purpose, and all that Louis could obtain from 
 him was a formal promise to grant him an interview 
 with Marie during the forthcoming journey of the 
 Court to Bayonne. 
 
 On leaving the Queen and the Cardinal, Louis 
 hastened to Marie Mancini's apartments, which were 
 situated above his own, to acquaint her with the result 
 of the interview. He did not conceal from her that he 
 despaired of shaking her uncle's resolution, but sought 
 to comfort her by the assurance that nothing should 
 induce him to wed the Infanta or to abandon the hope 
 of overcoming the opposition of his mother and 
 Mazarin. 
 
 Marie was but partially consoled by these promises. 
 "Why," she asked, "if your Majesty is so determined, 
 does he permit this order of exile to be executed ? 
 Does he not see that, if I am once sent away, the 
 Cardinal can easily send me further, perhaps even to 
 Italy, according to his good pleasure, and separate us 
 for ever?" 
 
 The King endeavoured to reassure her, pointing out 
 that the promise which Mazarin had given him that 
 they should meet during the journey of the Court to 
 the South was a proof that he had no such intention. 
 To these assurances he added the most tender pro- 
 testations, nor did he leave her until he had succeeded, as 
 he imagined, in somewhat allaying her fears. 
 
 Left to herself, the unhappy Marie gave full vent to 
 the despair which she had with difficulty restrained 
 during the visit of the King; the blind confidence 
 which she had hitherto reposed in him was beginning 
 to waver. " This would be," she writes, " the place 
 to speak of the intentions which his Majesty is said to 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 115 
 
 have had in my favour, did not modesty forbid me, and, 
 for the same reason, I shall not enlarge upon the 
 obvious displeasure which the prince felt at witnessing 
 my departure. But I cannot keep silence in regard to 
 the grief which this separation occasioned me ; nothing 
 in my life affected me so sensibly ; all that one is able 
 to suffer appeared to me as nothing in comparison with 
 this absenc,e ; there was not a moment when I did not 
 desire death as the only remedy for my woes. Briefly, 
 I was in a condition which neither what I have just said 
 nor the strongest expressions could possibly explain." 
 
 During the few days' grace which Mazarin had 
 allowed his niece, the King did not quit her side, seek- 
 ing by every means in his power to prove to her that 
 she alone occupied his thoughts ; and, undeterred by 
 the remonstrances of the Queen and the Cardinal, lost 
 no opportunity of proclaiming the passion and grief 
 which the coming separation occasioned him. A chance 
 of testifying to the lady and the whole Court that he 
 was very far from abandoning the hope of seeing her 
 one day Queen of France happened to present itself at 
 this moment, and the infatuated youth hastened to take 
 advantage of it. 
 
 Henrietta Maria, the widowed Queen of Charles I, 
 then residing at Saint-Germain, desired to sell a magnifi- 
 cent string of pearls, in order to add to her meagre 
 budget (the unfortunate princess subsisted entirely on 
 Louis XIV's bounty, and had been compelled to part 
 little by little with nearly all her jewels). Marie 
 Mancini had greatly admired these pearls on the rare 
 occasions on which the Queen had worn them at Court, 
 and no sooner did Louis learn that they were for sale, 
 than he gave orders for them to be purchased, to present 
 to his inamorata. Marie tells us that she at first refused 
 
ii6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 to accept them, sorrowfully pointing out that henceforth 
 she would have no opportunity of wearing them. " But 
 his Majesty insisted in a manner so pressing, and ac- 
 companied his request with words so full of promise," 
 that eventually she allowed herself to be persuaded. 
 
 For the money required for the purchase of these 
 pearls — 78,000 livres — Louis, who never possessed a 
 sol of his own, had to apply to Mazarin, who, we may 
 presume, gave orders for its payment with a very bad 
 grace, though somewhat consoled by the reflection that 
 the jewels would remain in his family. He was still 
 less pleased when his Majesty demanded a further sum 
 of one thousand pistoles, without informing him of the 
 object for which it was required. The Cardinal sus- 
 pected, and with good reason, that the money was 
 intended for the payment of certain secret agents, in 
 the event of his placing any obstacles in the way of the 
 King corresponding with his niece. However, he was 
 unable to refuse the money. 
 
 Three days before the departure of Marie and her 
 sisters for La Rochelle, Mazarin left for Vincennes, 
 perhaps to be out of the way when the final leave- 
 takings should take place ; and the King took advantage 
 of his absence to seek an interview with his mother, 
 who, he flattered himself, might prove more amenable 
 to reason, with the Cardinal no longer at hand to 
 support her. In this, however, he was mistaken. 
 
 "The evening preceding the day of Mile, de Man- 
 cini's departure," says Madame de Motteville, "the King 
 came to the Queen in a state of profound depression. 
 She drew him aside and spoke to him for a long time ; 
 but, as the sensibility of the heart which loves demands 
 solitude, the Queen herself took a light which stood on 
 her table, and, passing from her chamber into her bath- 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 117 
 
 room, requested the King to follow her. After they 
 had been about an hour together, the King came out 
 with swollen eyes, and the Queen followed him, so 
 touched by the state in which she was obliged to place 
 him, that it was easy to see that the King's suffering 
 cost her much. At that moment, she did me the 
 honour to say to me, in a low tone : ' I pity the King ; 
 he is both loving and reasonable ; but I have just told 
 him that I am certain that he will one day thank me for 
 the pain I have caused him ; and, from what I see in 
 him, I do not doubt it.'" 
 
 During this interview, Louis had used every per- 
 suasion to gain his mother over to his side, but without 
 success. He had, however, obtained a renewal of the 
 promise to permit him to see Marie again during the 
 journey to the South ; while, before leaving for Vin- 
 cennes, the Cardinal, perceiving the state of exasperation 
 into which the coming separation from his mistress had 
 thrown his young sovereign, and judging it to be the 
 wisest course to humour him so far as possible, had 
 consented to a regular correspondence being established 
 between the lovers. 
 
 From the Queen's apartments, Louis passed to those 
 of Marie, to mingle his tears with hers, and to renew 
 the vows which he had already made so many times. 
 Hortense Mancini was the only witness of this inter- 
 view, which lasted until a late hour, when the King 
 returned to his own apartments, " mournful, silent, and 
 without speaking to any one." 
 
 The following morning, 22 June 1659, he again 
 repaired to Marie's apartments, and did not leave her 
 till the hour fixed for her departure, when he conducted 
 her to her coach, " allowing his grief to be perceived by 
 every one." It was then that Marie Mancini addressed 
 
ii8 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 to her royal lover those well-known words so full of 
 tenderness and of reproach : " SirCy vous etes roi^ vous 
 pleureZy et je pars ! " 
 
 The King leant towards her and murmured some 
 words in her ear which were inaudible to those standing 
 by. Whatever they were, they do not appear to have 
 afforded the poor girl much consolation, for she threw 
 herself back in the coach, and, sobbing bitterly, mur- 
 mured to Hortense : " Ah ! I am abandoned ! " 
 
 The coach drove away, and Louis XIV, having taken 
 a hurried leave of his mother, entered his own and set 
 off for Chantilly, where he remained for some days, 
 " in order to recover his equanimity." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Departure of Mazarin for the Pyrenees — Illness of Marie Mancini — 
 Angry scene between Louis XIV and Anne of Austria — The King 
 writes every day to Marie — Uneasiness of the Cardinal — His letter 
 to the King from Poitiers — Arrival of Marie and her sisters at La 
 Rochelle — Marie promises to submit to her uncle's orders — But has 
 no such intention — Letter of Mazarin to Louis XIV from Montlieu 
 — Violent scene between the King and the Queen-Mother — Letter of 
 the Cardinal to Louis XIV from Libourne — Anxiety of Mazarin — 
 His outspoken letter to the King from Cadillac — Evasive reply of his 
 Majesty — Eloquent letter of Mazarin from Saint-Jean-de-Luz — His 
 anxiety to prevent a meeting between the King and Marie during the 
 journey of the Court to the South — His letter to the Queen — Madame 
 de Venel ordered by Anne of Austria to bring the Cardinal's nieces to 
 Saint- Jean-d'Angely. 
 
 /^N 26 July, the King and Queen visited Mazarin at 
 ^■^^ Vincennes, for a final conference before his depar- 
 ture for the Pyrenees, at the conclusion of which the 
 Cardinal started for Notre-Dame-de-Clery, where he 
 intended to rejoin his nieces and accompany them part 
 of the way to La Rochelle. 
 
 On his arrival, he found Marie in a high fever, the 
 result of the violent emotion which she had lately 
 undergone, and, for some days, the poor girl's condition 
 was such as to cause her relatives no little uneasiness. 
 The King, who had returned to his solitude at Chantilly, 
 was in ignorance of the illness of his mistress, and was, 
 in consequence, greatly surprised at receiving no reply 
 to the long and tender letters which he daily despatched 
 to her. At length, however, the Comte de Vivonne, 
 
 119 
 
I20 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 who, it had been arranged, was to act as intermediary in 
 the event of Marie not being able to address herself 
 directly to the King, received warning of the young 
 lady's plight from one of her waiting-women, and com- 
 municated the news to his Majesty. Louis at once 
 started for Fontainebleau, where the Court then was, 
 and despatched one of his Musketeers to Notre-Dame- 
 de-Clery, charged with a letter for Mazarin, commanding 
 him to treat his niece with every possible consideration 
 and kindness, and to inform him immediately of her 
 state of health, and a second for Marie, the contents of 
 which we can well imagine. All the Court knew of the 
 departure of the Musketeer, and the Queen, whom his 
 Majesty had greeted on his arrival with icy coldness, 
 ventured to inquire of her son what news he had of 
 Mile. Mancini. Upon which the King "flew into a 
 violent passion, crying out in a voice so loud that he 
 could be heard by those in the adjoining apartment, that 
 it was useless to ask news about those whom one 
 intended to kill." 
 
 To his Majesty's letter, the Cardinal replied that his 
 niece " had had a little fever, through want of sleep, 
 but that she was now in good health and covered with 
 confusion at the honour which you have done her." 
 "I love her as I should," he continues, "and I shall 
 give her proof of it as I ought, in response to the 
 affection which she shows for me, and her resignation 
 to what I desire of her, which will always be very greatly 
 to her advantage." To the Queen, Mazarin wrote with 
 a good deal more candour : " Marie is more afllicted than 
 I can express, but she shows herself entirely resigned to 
 my wishes, and that she will never have any others." 
 
 Other messengers, bearing letters from the lovelorn 
 prince — " all very long and very tender," the lady tells 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 121 
 
 us — continued to follow the Cardinal and his nieces on 
 their journey southwards. At Chambord, a Musketeer 
 overtook them with five letters for Marie, and another 
 for Mazarin. An hour later, came yet another epistle, 
 accompanied by a " speaking portrait " of his Majesty 
 for Mile. Mancini, who was at no pains to conceal from 
 her uncle the joy which the gift occasioned her. In 
 short, the letters rained upon them day and night in a 
 perfect deluge, to the intense annoyance of the Cardinal, 
 who, in authorizing a correspondence between the King 
 and his niece, had not bargained for anything of this 
 nature, and began to fear that, in separating the lovers, 
 he had only added fuel to the flame. 
 
 Not only did the Cardinal find the letters too 
 numerous, but the method chosen by the King of com- 
 municating with his beloved, by means of special 
 couriers, was very far from commending itself to him. 
 In the first place, he was advised that it had become the 
 universal topic of conversation at the Court, which 
 meant that it must sooner or later reach Madrid. In 
 the second, the system deprived him of all chance of 
 surveillance, and prevented him from obtaining, through 
 the good offices of his faithful ally, Madame de Venel, 
 any knowledge of the contents of the bulky epistles he 
 saw arriving. He, accordingly, begged his Majesty to 
 abstain from direct communication with his niece, and 
 to send his letters by the ordinary Court couriers, under 
 cover to Colbert, to be forwarded by him to his relative 
 Colbert de Terron, Governor of La Rochelle, who, like 
 the future Comptroller-General, was believed to be 
 devoted to his Eminence's interests. 
 
 On reaching Poitiers, Mazarin parted from his nieces, 
 the latter continuing their journey to La Rochelle, 
 while the Cardinal took the road to Bayonne. Before 
 
122 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 quitting Poitiers, however, Mazarin wrote to the King 
 as follows : — 
 
 Mazarin to Louis XIV 
 
 "... The confidante [the Queen] has written to 
 inform me of the state in which she found you, and I 
 am in despair, for it is absolutely necessary that you 
 remedy it, if you do not wish to be unhappy, and to 
 make all your faithful servants die of grief. The means 
 which you employ are by no means calculated to cure 
 you, and, unless you resolve in earnest to alter your 
 conduct, your malady will grow worse and worse. I 
 conjure you by your glory, by your honour, by your 
 duty towards God, by the welfare of your kingdom, 
 and by everything which is able to affect you, to labour 
 strenuously to master yourself, and not to make the 
 journey to Bayonne unwillingly ; for, briefly, you will be 
 guilty before God and before men if you go not thither 
 with the purpose with which you ought to go, by reason, 
 by honour, and by interest. I trust that the person you 
 wot of (Marie Mancini) will contribute materially to 
 that end, since I have spoken to her in the terms which 
 were necessary to dispose her so to do."^ 
 
 This urgent letter did not produce the smallest effect 
 upon the King. He sent, as Mazarin had requested, 
 letters by the ordinary couriers ; but this did not pre- 
 vent him from despatching to Marie other messengers, 
 bearing epistles not less voluminous than those entrusted 
 to the couriers of the Court, and, " instead of making 
 
 1 This and the other letters of Mazarin to Louis XIV, Anne of 
 Austria, and Madame de Venel which ^appear in this volume are in the 
 Archives of the Ministere des Affaires Etrang^res and the Bibliotheque 
 Nationale, and have been published, wholly or in part, in several works, 
 notably by M. Chantelauze, in his " Louis XIV et Marie Mancini." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 123 
 
 use of the remedies which might be able to moderate 
 his passion, omitted nothing which might serve to 
 augment it,"^ so that the poor Queen wrote to the 
 Cardinal that she was in the last stage of anxiety as 
 to the ultimate issue of the affair. As for Marie, 
 the daily arrival of the welcome epistles from Fon- 
 tainebleau had naturally revived the hopes that her 
 uncle's determined action had temporarily crushed. 
 " There are scarcely any misfortunes," she writes in her 
 " Memoires," " which do not flatter themselves by some 
 hope to mitigate their grief. I did not refuse this 
 remedy to mine, when I saw that his Majesty thought 
 of nothing but despatching couriers to me charged with 
 five letters of several pages ; and, taking into considera- 
 tion the fact that the peace was not yet concluded, and that 
 there were great obstacles to overcome, I dared sometimes 
 to promise myself that it would not be concluded." 
 
 It is hardly necessary to observe that Marie's letters 
 were not less numerous and voluminous than those of 
 the King, and, inspired as they were by genuine de- 
 votion, contributed to keep alive a passion of which 
 the roots were too deep to be easily eradicated. It is 
 unfortunate, indeed, that not even one of these letters 
 has been preserved, for they must have been well worth 
 reading. 
 
 The faithful Madame de Venel did not fail to acquaint 
 the Cardinal with the continuance of the correspondence. 
 " Matters," she writes, " seem to me a little worse than 
 they seemed to you, and it would perhaps be not with- 
 out advantage to the service of your Eminence, if it 
 were possible to examine the contents of the first 
 packet despatched from La Rochelle." With character- 
 istic discretion, the lady begs her employer not to make 
 
 ^ Mazarin to the Queen, July 1659. 
 
124 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 any reply to this portion of her letter, and to burn it so 
 soon as read. 
 
 At the same time, Mazarin was receiving very dis- 
 quieting reports from Fontainebleau In regard to the 
 health of the King, whom his chief physician, Vallot, 
 declared to be " suffering from fever and insomnia, and 
 to be growing sensibly thinner." On the other hand, 
 the Cardinal's dme damnee^ Bartet, reported that Louis 
 appeared to be less incensed against his mother, and that 
 " it was hoped that the deplorable effects produced on 
 his Majesty's mind as regards the Queen tended to 
 diminish." 
 
 The Cardinal's nieces and th.Q.\v gouvernante arrived at 
 La Rochelle on 1 1 July, and were received as though 
 they had been Princesses of the Blood ; cannon fired 
 salutes, the municipal authorities waited upon them to 
 pay their respects, and at night the town was illumin- 
 ated. A day or two after their arrival, Marie wrote 
 to her uncle a letter, in which she did not attempt to 
 conceal her weakness, but promised submission to his 
 wishes. " I have seen, by what you have written and 
 by what Madame de Venel has received, your orders 
 to me to subordinate my feelings to yours ; that will 
 not be an easy matter. I recognise always more fully 
 my weakness, notwithstanding which, I have no other 
 desire than to do all my life all what you may command 
 me, and what I shall see is likely to please you. It will 
 not be accomplished without great difficulty, for the 
 thought causes me furious suffering." 
 
 This letter was quickly followed by another, in which 
 she promises to cease writing to " the person he wots 
 of (the King), if such were his desire," and concludes 
 by declaring that she is *' resolved to obey him and to 
 keep all her life the quality of his humble servant." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 125 
 
 These assurances appear to have been intended to 
 throw the Cardinal off his guard. The King had not 
 failed to recommend his inamorata to take measures to 
 secure the good-will of all those about her who might 
 prove of service to her, " even engaging her to promise 
 them in his name whatsoever she might judge necessary 
 to gain them over to their cause " ; and, while the 
 young lady, was assuring her uncle of her desire to 
 obey him in all things, she was busily employed in 
 executing his Majesty's instructions. Thus a secret 
 struggle was going on between the Cardinal and Marie; 
 the one endeavouring to make himself acquainted with 
 the contents of the lovers' correspondence, the other 
 striving to evade the vigilance of the Argus-eyed spies 
 placed around her by her uncle. 
 
 Under date 12 July, we find the chief of these, 
 Madame de Venel, informing the Cardinal that she 
 " has experienced great difficulty in having Mademoi- 
 selle's letter enclosed as his Eminence had instructed 
 her." " She argues the matter warmly," the gouvernante 
 continues, " and says that she cannot conceive why, 
 when the letters can be sent direct, I cause them to be 
 despatched by a circuitous route. However, she gave 
 it to me, and I sent it to M. Colbert." 
 
 But, if Marie consented to entrust some of her letters 
 to the King to the care of the Cardinal's agents, his 
 Eminence was not long in ascertaining that these were 
 very far from being the only ones she despatched to 
 Fontainebleau, and that nothing else was talked of at 
 the Court but the arrival and departure of the mes- 
 sengers of love. In great alarm, he wrote to the King, 
 urging him in the strongest terms to put an end to the 
 correspondence. 
 
126 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Mazarin to the Kim. 
 
 '<b' 
 
 " Montlieu, 12 July 1659. 
 
 " You will find enclosed a packet which has been 
 addressed to me at a place near La Rochelle, and you 
 will permit me to tell you, with the respect and sub- 
 mission that I owe you, that, although 1 have always 
 carried my complacency for what you have desired to 
 the last extreme, when I perceived it possible to do so 
 without prejudice to your service and glory, neverthe- 
 less, my reputation is at stake, and also that of a person 
 whom you honour with your kindness [Marie Mancini], 
 and who will assuredly receive an irreparable injury, 
 if you have not the goodness to break off the corre- 
 spondence which you carry on with her with so much 
 publicity. I conjure you to do so, and, although, being 
 as you are the most just and the most reasonable of 
 all men, 1 ought not to doubt that, from this motive 
 alone, you will accord me this favour, I desire, notwith- 
 standing, to receive it as the greatest recompense you 
 are able to give me for the small services that I have had 
 the happiness to render you ; and I venture also to say 
 that you owe it, too, to yourself at the present juncture, 
 when you are on the eve of undertaking a journey for 
 an object which is not in accord with the aforesaid 
 correspondence, which does you more injury than if the 
 person in question were at the Court, and you were 
 frequenting her society, as you did in Paris. 
 
 " If you were aware of how people speak of it in the 
 aforesaid place, and if you knew what was said about it 
 at Fontainebleau and among the persons who accompany 
 me, you would not be annoyed at my supplications, and 
 you would not wait for them to give orders concern- 
 ing it. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 127 
 
 " I have also a number of advices which have reached 
 me from Flanders, Germany, and other places, which 
 speak of all this with a freedom which has astonished 
 me. And, as I desire your credit more than anything 
 which can concern myself, I am not able to refrain 
 from acquainting you with all these particulars, in order 
 that, being free to reflect upon them, you may be free to 
 do that which I beg of you very humbly. I ask your 
 pardon, if I press you in a matter which will not perhaps 
 be at first to your liking, and to believe that I would 
 willingly consent to give my life to have the happiness 
 of never proposing to you anything but agreeable things 
 which were consistent with decorum and your private 
 reputation, which I assuredly desire more than life. 
 
 " I beg you to confer with the confidante [the Queen] 
 concerning this matter, and to believe me the most 
 devoted of your servants." 
 
 Louis XIV had hitherto received the Cardinal's letters 
 without testifying any resentment. But it was other- 
 wise with those which Mazarin addressed to the Queen, 
 and which the latter had the imprudence to read to him. 
 In one of these, the Cardinal indulged in some very 
 plain speaking about his niece, whom he accused of 
 openly boasting of the favour of the King, and added 
 that she was altogether unworthy of the young sove- 
 reign's affection. On hearing this, Louis quite lost his 
 temper, and upbraided his mother in the most violent 
 manner, accusing her of having embittered the Cardinal's 
 mind against his niece, and vowing that he would never 
 forgive her, since, previous to Marie's departure for 
 La Rochelle, she had promised the contrary. Then he 
 wrote to Mazarin in terms more measured, but very 
 firm, informing him that he himself was the best judge 
 
128 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 of what persons were worthy of his affection, and stood 
 in need of no lesson from him, although he was willing 
 to believe that the Minister had spoken entirely in his 
 (the King's) interest. 
 
 To this letter, which caused him much uneasiness, 
 the Cardinal replied at once and sought to excuse 
 himself. 
 
 Mazarin to the King. 
 
 "Libourne, 14 July 1659. 
 
 " Magalotti has delivered to me your letter of the 
 first of this month, and I have been surprised at what 
 you write me concerning the person [Marie] about 
 whom I have written to the confidante [the Queen] ; 
 for I well understand that you know her, and that you 
 are incapable of bestowing your affection easily on 
 persons undeserving of it. Moreover, I not only 
 thought that possible, but I believed that they boasted 
 about it, which is certainly the case ; and it was essential 
 to your reputation that this report should not be 
 circulated, and that every one should be deceived. 
 Nevertheless, I am greatly beholden to you for the 
 way in which you write to me regarding this matter, 
 assuring you that I am touched as I ought to be by all 
 the kindness that it pleases you to bestow on me. 
 
 "The confidante [the Queen] informs me, by her letter 
 of the I St, that she has not had reason to be satisfied 
 with you on a certain occasion, and recalls what she 
 wrote to me the preceding day. I have not yet re- 
 ceived that letter, and I am suffering the greatest 
 anxiety conceivable, not knowing what it contains, and 
 being in despair at the slight which the confidante 
 thinks she has received, although I cannot imagine that 
 the matter is of importance. For, if such were the 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 129 
 
 case, even though I might die on the way, I should 
 take post to repair to the place where you are. But I 
 do not understand how that can be, since you have not 
 done me the honour to write to me about it. I shall 
 pass an anxious time until I receive an explanation. 
 
 " I send you a note, wherein I am instructing Colbert 
 to pay to Blouin^ one thousand pistoles, or eleven 
 thousand livres. He will find this sum, and larger 
 sums, should you require them ; and you must know 
 once for all that, since I have nothing which is not 
 yours, you may dispose of what belongs to me up to 
 the last sol ; and you cannot do anything which could 
 afford me greater pleasure." 
 
 The Queen's delayed letter reached Mazarin, at Cadil- 
 lac, on 16 July. It recounted the violent scene which 
 her Majesty had had with Louis XIV, and threw the 
 Cardinal into the last stage of anxiety. He replied 
 immediately as follows : — 
 
 Mazarin to the Queen. 
 
 "Cadillac, 16 July 1659. 
 
 " I have received, by the ordinary courier, your letter 
 of the 9th, concerning which I wrote to you. I suffer 
 much uneasiness, but its contents have given me still 
 more, and to such a degree that I thought of setting out 
 to return ; and I believe that I should have done so, had 
 it not been for the scandal and the consequences that a 
 resolution of such importance would have produced at 
 the present juncture. 
 
 " I fear to lose my reason, for I can neither eat nor 
 sleep, and I am overwhelmed by grief and anxiety at a 
 time when I am greatly in need of tranquillity." 
 
 1 First valet-de-chambre to the King. 
 
I30 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 The poor Cardinal did not exaggerate the condition 
 into which the Queen's news had thrown him. His 
 anxiety, indeed, brought on a violent attack of gout, 
 complicated by gravel, which necessitated his remaining 
 At Cadillac for some days longer, and the consequent 
 Dostponement of the Conferences with the Spanish pleni- 
 potentiaries, which were to have opened on 20 July. 
 
 On the same day on which he wrote to the Queen, 
 Mazarin also despatched a long and urgent letter to 
 Louis XIV, which he entrusted to one of his own 
 guards, with orders to travel at the utmost speed and to 
 bring back the King's reply without the delay of a 
 moment. Never did subject, never did Minister, ad- 
 dress to his sovereign language more eloquent, more 
 outspoken, or more courageous. 
 
 Mazarin to the King. 
 
 "Cadillac, 16 July 1 659. 
 
 *',... Even if you had not commanded me so 
 precisely as you have done to speak to you with all 
 freedom, where your service was concerned, I should 
 not fail to do so at this juncture, although I knew that 
 it would be distasteful to you, and that I should run the 
 risk of losing your good graces. 
 
 "I have seen what the confidante [the Queen] has 
 written me touching your displeasure and the way in 
 which you have expressed it to her. But, since I know 
 that her affection for you is proof against everything, 
 and that your natural goodness, as well as your duty, 
 gives you much uneasiness, so soon as you are aware 
 of having displeased her, and that you return at once 
 to testify to her the utmost tenderness, that will not 
 occasion me much distress. But I confess to you that I 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 131 
 
 am extremely grieved to learn, from the advices which 
 are received from all quarters, of the manner in which 
 people speak of you, at a time when you have done me 
 the honour to announce to me that you were resolved to 
 devote yourself with extraordinary application to affairs, 
 and to set earnestly to work to become in all things the 
 greatest king in the world. 
 
 "Letters from Paris, Flanders, and elsewhere ad- 
 vise me that you are no longer recognisable since my 
 departure, and that not because of me, but on account of 
 some one who belongs to me [Marie Mancini] ; that you 
 have entered into engagements which will prevent you 
 giving peace to all Christendom and rendering your 
 State and your subjects happy by your marriage, and 
 that if, to avoid so great a calamity, you pass on to 
 make it, the person you espouse will be most miserable, 
 and that through no fault of her own. 
 
 " It is said (and that is confirmed by letters from the 
 Court to persons in my suite) .... that you are always 
 shut up to write to the person you love, and that you 
 waste more time in that way than you did in conversing 
 with her when she was at Court. It is further said that 
 I approve of this and connive at it, in order to satisfy 
 my ambition and hinder the peace. 
 
 " It is said that you are at variance with the Queen, 
 and even those who write in the mildest terms say that 
 you avoid her as much as possible. 
 
 *' I find, moreover, that the consent I gave, at your 
 earnest request, to an occasional interchange of news 
 between yourself and this person has ended in a con- 
 tinual commerce of long letters ; that, in fact, you write 
 to her every day and receive a reply. And when cour- 
 iers are wanting, the first who sets out is charged with 
 as many letters as days have elapsed since you were able 
 
132 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 to despatch them, which cannot be without scandal, and 
 I may say without some injury, to this person's reputa- 
 tion and mine. 
 
 " What is worse, is that I have recognised, by the 
 answers which this person has made me when I have 
 sincerely wished to advise her for her good, and by the 
 advices that I have had from La Rochelle, that every day 
 you omit nothing to entangle her more and more, assuring 
 her that your intentions are to do things for her which 
 ought not to be, and which no man of your station 
 could wish to do, and which, in short, are, for several 
 reasons, impossible. 
 
 "... God has established kings (after matters which 
 concern religion, for the maintenance whereof they 
 ought to use every possible means) to watch over the 
 welfare, security, and repose of their subjects, and not 
 to sacrifice that welfare and repose to their private 
 passions ; and when there have appeared persons so 
 unhappy as to oblige, by their conduct, the divine 
 Providence to abandon them, histories are full of the 
 revolutions and miseries they have drawn upon their 
 persons and States. 
 
 " And, therefore, I solemnly warn you not to hesitate 
 any longer, for though, in a certain sense, you are the 
 master to do as you please, yet must you give account 
 of your actions to God for the saving of your soul, and 
 to the world for the saving of your credit and reputa- 
 tion. . , , If your subjects and State were so unhappy 
 that you did not take the resolution which you ought, 
 nothing in the world could prevent them from fall- 
 ing into greater evils than they have yet suffered, 
 and all Christendom with them. And I can assure you, 
 from certain knowledge, that the Prince de Cond^ and 
 many others are watching closely to see what will 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 133 
 
 come of this matter, hoping, if things fall out in accord- 
 ance with their wishes, to derive great advantage from 
 the plausible pretext which you will give them, on 
 account of which the said prince will have no doubt 
 about securing the support of all the Parliaments, the 
 great personages, and the nobility of the realm, nay, all 
 your subjects generally ; and, moreover, will not fail to 
 loudly proclaim that I have been the counsellor and the 
 solicitor of all that you have done. 
 
 " I am also obliged to tell you, with the same frank- 
 ness, that, if you do not alter without any delay your 
 conduct, and do not master the passion which at present 
 dominates you, so that every one sees that not only 
 will the projected marriage be accomplished, but that 
 you do it willingly, and in the hope that it will prove 
 happy, as well as the person you will espouse, it is im- 
 possible that the aversion you entertain towards it, and 
 the ill-treatment the Infanta is likely to receive, will not 
 be known in Spain, since, on the eve of your marriage, 
 you do nothing to prevent it being seen, in a thousand 
 ways, that all your thoughts and affections are else- 
 where. In which event, I hold it certain that they 
 will take at Madrid the same resolutions which we 
 ourselves should take in a like case to this. That is 
 why I implore you to consider what blessing you can 
 expect from God and men if, for this cause, we are com- 
 pelled to recommence the most sanguinary war which 
 has ever been seen, with as much prejudice as we have 
 reaped advantages in the past, and as God has favoured 
 your cause and the pious intentions which you and the 
 Queen have always had. 
 
 " I point all this out to you the more plainly, because 
 Pimentel, during the journey, observed to me, on two or 
 three occasions, that you were too much in love to wish 
 
134 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 to marry so soon, and that people had written to him 
 the same thing from Flanders, in terms which occasioned 
 him much uneasiness. 
 
 " I conclude all this discourse by declaring to you 
 that, if I find not, by the answer which I implore you 
 to make me with all speed, that there is room for 
 hope that you are taking, without reservation, the path 
 that is necessary for your own welfare, for your honour, 
 and for the preservation of your kingdom, I have no 
 other course open to me, in order to give you this last 
 mark of my fidelity and of my zeal for your service, 
 than to sacrifice myself, and, after giving into your 
 hands all the benefits with which it has pleased the late 
 King, yourself, and the Queen to overwhelm me, to 
 embark, with my family, to go and pass the remainder 
 of my days in some corner of Italy, and to pray to God 
 that this remedy which I shall have applied to your 
 malady may bring about the cure which I desire above 
 all things in the world, being able to say, without 
 exaggeration and without using the terms of submission 
 and respect I owe you, that there is no affection com- 
 parable to that which I have for you, and that it 
 would be impossible for me to prevent myself dying of 
 grief, should I see you do anything which may blacken 
 your reputation and expose your person and your State. 
 
 " I believe you know me well enough to credit that 
 what I write comes from the depths of my heart, and 
 that nothing can prevent me from turning back and 
 carrying out the resolution of which I have just spoken 
 to you, if I see not, by the answer that you will make 
 me and by your future conduct, that you have mastered 
 the passion to which you are at present enslaved. . . ." 
 
 While awaiting the King's answer, the unhappy 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 135 
 
 Cardinal received several alarming letters from Madame 
 de Venel, in one of which she informed him that a 
 special courier had just arrived from his Majesty, with 
 a letter for Mile. Mancini, after perusing which the 
 young lady had informed her waiting-women that the 
 King was coming to visit her on his way to Bayonne. 
 
 Louis XIV's reply to the letter from Cadillac, together 
 with two Qther letters, written respectively on the i6th 
 and 20th inst., reached Mazarin at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 
 and occasioned him more uneasiness than ever. The 
 young monarch skilfully avoided giving a categorical 
 answer to the Minister's demand — that is to say, to break 
 off his relations with Marie ; but he expressed his 
 willingness to follow in all things the counsels of the 
 Queen. The Queen, it would appear, alarmed by the 
 change in her son's health and his unhappiness, no 
 longer supported Mazarin as loyally as heretofore, and 
 Louis had good hopes of ultimately bending her to his 
 will. 
 
 Here is the reply which the Cardinal made to the 
 King's letters. 
 
 Mazarin to the King. 
 
 " Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 27 July 1659. 
 
 " My pain giving me a short respite, I take up my 
 pen to inform you that I am in receipt of your letters of 
 the 1 6th, 20th, and 22nd of this month, among which is 
 the reply that you have had the goodness to make me to 
 the despatch which I wrote you from Cadillac. You do 
 me the great honour to tell me that you are persuaded 
 that I desire nothing but your credit and the welfare of 
 your State, and that, in consequence, you are more than 
 ever resolved to follow my counsels ; but, at the same 
 time, you do the contrary. I begged you to write no 
 
136 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 more to La Rochelle, and you replied that that would be 
 too hard for you, and that the confidante [the Queen] 
 had approved your reasons ; so that I must conclude 
 that I have influence over your mind, and that you have 
 the goodness to follow my counsel, provided it happens 
 to accord with your own wishes. 
 
 " You only speak now about following those of the 
 confidante, because, in some fashion, they are in accord 
 with your own ; and, without entering into any further 
 explanation in regard to my letter from Cadillac, you 
 assure me beyond measure of your benevolence and of 
 your desire to defer to my counsels, but without telling 
 me anything definite of your wishes concerning the 
 matters on which I have to negotiate with Don Luis 
 [de Haro]. You conclude by saying that you will not 
 fail to follow the counsels of the confidante, and that 
 you have no doubt that this will meet with my approval ; 
 that is called, in good French, evading the question and 
 giving change. You are the master of your conduct, 
 but you cannot compel me to approve of it, when I 
 know for certain that it is prejudicial to your honour, to 
 the welfare of your State, and to the repose of your 
 subjects. Finally, as I could not commit a greater crime 
 in regard to you than to disguise from you matters of 
 importance to your service, I declare to you that I can 
 know neither repose nor contentment, if I do not see, 
 by the results, that you are obtaining the mastery over 
 yourself, for otherwise all is lost, and the only remedy 
 which remains for me to employ is to withdraw and to 
 take away with me the cause of the evils which we are 
 on the eve of seeing arrive. 
 
 " I have the ambition which an honest man ought to 
 have, and perhaps, in certain things, I go too far. I love 
 my niece dearly, but, without exaggeration, I love you 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 137 
 
 still more ; and I am more interested in your credit and 
 the preservation of your State than in anything in the 
 world. Wherefore, I can only repeat what I did myself 
 the honour to write to you from Cadillac, and, although, 
 just at present, it is not agreeable to you, I am sure that 
 you will one day love me well for it, and that you will 
 have the kindness to confess that I have never rendered 
 , you a more important service than this one. The con- 
 fidante loves you with the utmost tenderness, and it is 
 impossible for her, as it is impossible for me, not to 
 treat you with consideration. Although she is aware 
 that your wishes are often not in accordance with 
 reason, she does not interfere, because she is not proof 
 against the sight of your suffering. For myself, I 
 believe that I have for you the same affection as the 
 confidante ; but this affection renders me only the more 
 firm and resolute to oppose what is absolutely contrary 
 to your reputation and service ; for, were I to do other- 
 wise, I should be helping you to ruin yourself. 
 
 " You take the trouble to tell me that you are ready 
 to believe what I write concerning the things that are 
 said about you and the correspondence you are carrying 
 on with La Rochelle, but that neither you nor the con- 
 fidante have heard any one speak about it. That no one 
 should speak to you of it does not surprise me ; and, as 
 for the confidante, she cannot know what I know ; but 
 assuredly she is acquainted with many things which she 
 does not tell you, from fear of displeasing you. 
 
 " I greatly wish that M. de Turenne had had the 
 courage to inform you of what is being said concerning 
 this affair of yours, when you would have known that 
 I state nothing on my own authority. To conclude, I 
 answer you that all Europe argues about this passion of 
 yours, and that every one speaks of it with a freedom 
 
138 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 which is very prejudicial to us. At Madrid, even, the 
 affair has created a scandal, for they have not failed to 
 write from Flanders and Paris, with intent to break off 
 the negotiations for the projected alliance and prevent 
 the execution of the peace. When I shall have the 
 honour to see you, I will show you papers which will 
 make you understand more about this matter than I 
 have written to you. And, unless you remedy it with- 
 out any delay, the affair will grow more serious every 
 day, and will become incurable. 
 
 " I ought further to complain of the great care you 
 take to send to La Rochelle what I write to you. 
 Consider, I beg of you, if that be courteous towards me 
 or advantageous for you, and if that be the way to 
 contribute towards the cure of the person to whom you 
 write, . . ." 
 
 This eloquent and persuasive letter produced no 
 more effect upon Louis XIV than those which had 
 preceded it. Madame de Venel reported from La 
 Rochelle that special couriers continued to arrive from 
 Fontainebleau, bringing not only letters from the King 
 to his beloved, but also the letters which the Cardinal 
 had written to his young master, in consequence of 
 which, Marie was so exasperated against her uncle, that 
 she refused even to write to him to felicitate him on 
 his restoration to health. 
 
 Soon a new subject of alarm presented itself to the 
 anxious Minister. The Court was making preparations 
 for its departure for Bayonne, and, as will be remem- 
 bered, the King had obtained the formal permission of 
 the Cardinal and the Queen to allow him to see Marie 
 Mancini again on his way to the South. Mazarin was 
 fully resolved to do everything possible to induce Louis 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 139 
 
 XIV to renounce this project; but, in view of the King's 
 determination and the weakness of Anne of Austria, he 
 was at a loss how to proceed. He foresaw that this 
 interview would not only have the effect of fanning the 
 flame of a passion which absence had been powerless to 
 extinguish, but might create a scandal at the very open- 
 ing of the Conferences. It was indeed, he thought, 
 more than possible that the infatuated young King was 
 actually counting upon it to bring about a rupture with 
 Spain. The anxiety which this thought occasioned him 
 aggravated his disease and brought on a serious relapse, 
 so that for several days he was obliged to cease all 
 correspondence. On his recovery, he wrote to the 
 Queen, imploring her to prevent the meeting he had so 
 much cause to dread at all costs. 
 
 Mazarin to the Queen. 
 
 " Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 29 July 1659. 
 
 " I have been extremely mortified at not having been 
 in a fit state to write to you for some days, since that is 
 for me one of the greatest consolations that I can have, 
 and particularly in the agitation of mind in which I am. 
 I have read your four letters several times, and I cannot 
 thank you enough for the continuation of your kind- 
 ness, but for which 1 should pass a worse and a more 
 unhappy life, seeing that I am separated from you and 
 from the confidant [the King], and the latter does not 
 do the things that I should wish, in order to oblige 
 every one to regard him as the wisest of all kings, who 
 prefers the grandeur and glory of his State to every 
 other consideration and pleasure. I see plainly, by your 
 letters and by those of the confidant, that your affection 
 for him has not allowed you to continue firm ; but 
 
I40 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 assuredly he will do himself some injury ; and, for my- 
 self, I do not change my opinion, and I confirm to the 
 confidant, in a letter which I am writing him, the same 
 things which I wrote to him from Cadillac. You will 
 see the letter, and it is impossible for you not to ap- 
 prove of my reasons, if the compassion which you feel 
 towards him, when you see him suffering, does not pre- 
 vent you from so doing. 
 
 " I complain to the confidant that he has written to 
 La Rochelle all that I have written to him. I am 
 assured of it, and he has treated me very ill in behaving 
 in this way. 
 
 " Marianne writes to me to complain of Hortense, 
 and with reason, for she is always closeted with Marie, 
 whose confidante she is, and both of them drive away 
 Marianne, so that she can never remain with them.^ I 
 observe that Hortense is taking the same road as the 
 other, and that she has less deference for Madame de 
 Venel than her sister has. You may judge how much 
 annoyance this occasions me ; but I promise you that, in 
 one fashion or another, I shall put the matter right, 
 whatever may happen. It is a great misfortune when 
 one has reason to be dissatisfied with one's family. 
 
 ^ Marianne had written to her uncle : " I make use of another hand 
 besides my own to let your Eminence know the miseries which my sisters 
 inflict upon me, and, if he does not believe me, he can ascertain, through 
 Madame de Venel, that I adhere strictly to the truth. For five or six 
 days, they have not allowed me to enter their room, but have driven me 
 out with the greatest fury imaginable. Marie is unwilling to suffer any 
 one, save Hortense, near her. I beg your Eminence to find some remedy 
 for this. I know not what to do, and Madame de Venel herself is very 
 angry with them. I have nothing else to tell you this evening." 
 
 The explanation of this state of affairs is that the worthy Madame de 
 
 ^ Venel had persuaded Marianne to spy upon her sisters ; to inform her 
 
 whenever she saw Marie writing a letter, and even to listen at the key-hole 
 
 to the conversations between her and Hortense, and that the little girl had 
 
 been detected. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 141 
 
 " Madame de Vend does all that she can, but they 
 have little regard for her. I trust that the confidant 
 [the King] will have the kindness to accord me the 
 favour of not going to see them ; for assuredly that 
 would be badly received, and the scandal would be a 
 public one. But, should I be so unfortunate as to fail 
 to obtain so reasonable a request, and your good offices 
 be powerle,ss to effect anything against the strength of 
 his passion, I implore you, a mas no podo, to make my 
 nieces come with Madame de Venel to Angoul^me, and 
 to write her a letter in which you will order her to 
 bring them to the same place, because you wish to see 
 them as you pass through ; and after they have remained 
 there a night, you will arrange for them to return. I 
 beg you, in that case, to send a gentleman to carry 
 your letter to Madame de Venel and accompany them ; 
 but, in God's name, do everything possible to avert 
 this blow, which, in whatever way it comes, cannot fail 
 to have a very disastrous effect. . . ." 
 
 The Queen either could not or would not attempt to 
 prevent the dreaded interview ; but she wrote to Madame 
 de Venel, directing her to bring her charges to Saint-Jean- 
 d'Angely. The bearer of the letter, M. du Fouilloux, 
 brother of Marie's friend and a great favourite of the 
 King, brought also a long letter from his Majesty to 
 Mile. Mancini. His arrival and the news he brought 
 caused that young lady the greatest joy, and threw poor 
 Madame de Venel into the utmost consternation, for, 
 having received no orders on the subject from the 
 Cardinal, she knew not what to do. She at once des- 
 patched a courier to his Eminence, to inform him of what 
 had occurred and the impossibility, under the circum- 
 stances, of refusing to obey the commands of the Queen. 
 
142 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Madame de Venel to Mazartn. 
 
 •' lo August 1659. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — The letter which I am sending to 
 your Eminence will serve as my excuse. I am, with 
 very sensible displeasure, compelled to set out without 
 having had a word of advice from your Eminence 
 regarding what I ought to do. . . . For the love of 
 God, let your Eminence have the goodness to advise 
 me what I should do, since I would prefer to die rather 
 than have the unhappiness to displease your Eminence. 
 M, du Fouilloux, who has brought the Queen's letter, 
 has instructions to attend Mesdemoiselles to Saint-Jean. 
 I shall not fail to send word to your Eminence of what 
 happens there. 
 
 ** I am, etc, 
 
 "P.S. — Mesdemoiselles will sleep to-morrow (Mon- 
 day) at Surgeres, and Tuesday at Saint-Jean, where the 
 Court will arrive on Wednesday." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Interview between Louis XIV and Marie Mancini at Saint-Jean- 
 d'Angely — The King more enamoured than ever — Letter of Marie 
 to her uncle — Angry letter of Mazarin to Madame de Venel — Alarm 
 of Marie, who seeks to pacify the Cardinal — Marianne's verses — 
 Continuation of the correspondence between the King and Marie — 
 Remarkable letter of Mazarin to Louis XIV — Curt response of his 
 Majesty — The King accuses Anne of Austria of embittering the 
 Cardinal against his niece — Letters of Mazarin to the Queen-Mother 
 and the King — Despair of Louis XIV at finding that all obstacles to 
 his marriage with the Infanta have been surmounted — Marie Mancini 
 breaks off all correspondence with the King — Letter in which she 
 informs her uncle of her resolution — Joy of the Cardinal — His letters 
 to Madame de Venel and his niece. 
 
 T 
 
 HE Cardinal's nieces left La Rochelle on 1 1 Au- 
 gust and reached Saint-Jean-d'Angely the follow- 
 ing day, where they awaited the Court, which did not 
 arrive until the morning of the 13th. In his letter, 
 the King had informed Marie that he intended to pre- 
 cede the Queen and reach the town an hour before 
 her. Such, however, was his impatience to behold once 
 more the object of his adoration, that he arrived fully 
 two hours earlier than he was expected. " He alighted 
 immediately at our lodging," writes Hortense, "and, 
 after the first salutations had been exchanged, he passed 
 into the reception-room, where he conversed alone with 
 Marie until the moment when they came to warn him 
 of the arrival of the Queen. He then entered our 
 coach and escorted us to the Queen, who received us 
 with all the graciousness imaginable. Marianne was 
 
 143 
 
144 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 so touched that she remained like one petrified, being 
 unable to utter a word. Finally, she began weeping, 
 which was very unlike her."^ 
 
 The Princesse de Conti and the Comtesse de Soissons 
 were with the Queen when the girls arrived. The latter 
 had never forgiven her younger sister for having sup- 
 planted her in the King's affections, and, with character- 
 istic spitefulness, now endeavoured to do the lovers an 
 ill turn, by inviting Marie to sup with her and vowing 
 that she would take no refusal. But Marie was equal 
 to the occasion, and replied that she would come with 
 pleasure, if the King did not intend to do her the 
 honour of visiting her. When the Queen sat down to 
 the card-table — Anne of Austria divided her time 
 between cards and devotional exercises — Louis XIV 
 escorted the young ladies to their lodging, and remained 
 with them until he was summoned to join his mother 
 at supper. He returned immediately afterwards, and 
 stayed until two o'clock in the morning. Hortense was 
 present during a part of the time, and assures us that 
 " nothing could equal the passion which the King 
 showed and the tenderness with which he asked of 
 Marie her pardon for all that she had suffered for his 
 sake." He promised to do everything possible to 
 obtain the Queen's consent for them to rejoin the 
 Court at Bordeaux, and would have remained until an 
 even later hour, had not Marie, fearing the malicious 
 interpretations which the Comtesse de Soissons might 
 put upon so long an interview, begged him to leave 
 her. 
 
 The following morning, Marie and her sisters re- 
 paired again to the Queen's lodging, where the King 
 was awaiting them. They accompanied her Majesty 
 
 1 " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 145 
 
 to Mass, at the conclusion of which the Queen took 
 leave of them and continued her journey. Before she 
 left, Marie, on Louis XIV's advice, begged her per- 
 mission to rejoin the Court. Anne of Austria did not 
 like to refuse openly ; but took refuge behind the Car- 
 dinal, and replied that she would give it her willingly, 
 providing his Eminence were agreeable. Marie knew 
 well enough what his Eminence's answer was likely to 
 be ; nevertheless, as the King had set his heart on her 
 following the Court, she did not despair of being ulti- 
 mately successful. 
 
 Louis XIV remained at Saint-Jean-d'Angely for some 
 hours after his mother's departure, the whole of which 
 time was passed in earnest conversation with Marie, 
 when it was agreed that the girl should use every 
 endeavour to conciliate her uncle, since an apparent 
 submission to his wishes seemed to be the only possible 
 means of terminating her exile. Finally, "after some 
 tears had been shed on both sides," the King succeeded 
 in tearing himself away, and continued his journey to 
 Bordeaux ; while Marie and her sisters returned to La 
 Rochelle, M. du Fouilloux, by his Majesty's orders, 
 again escorting them. 
 
 The interview had revived all the girl's hopes. She 
 had found the King more devoted than ever and more 
 than ever resolved to brave both his mother and the 
 Cardinal. He was perfectly aware of the difficulties 
 which were certain to arise during the forthcoming 
 negotiations, notably in regard to the Prince de Conde, 
 whose demand to be restored to all his honours and 
 dignities would certainly be supported by the King of 
 Spain, and strenuously opposed by Mazarin. It was 
 quite possible that this matter alone might prove an 
 insurmountable obstacle to the conclusion of peace, in 
 
146 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 which eventuality the chief objection to his marriage 
 with Marie Mancini would be removed. 
 
 A few days after her return to La Rochelle, Marie 
 addressed to the Cardinal the following letter : — 
 
 Marie Mancini to the Cardinal. 
 
 " La Rochelle, 22 August 1659. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — I have seen the letter which your 
 Eminence has done Madame de Venel the honour to 
 write to her/ and I should suffer the greatest grief 
 possible to conceive, if you were able to doubt my affec- 
 tion and respect. I know too well the obligation which 
 I am under to you not to render all my life an absolute 
 submission to your orders. I should be in despair were 
 your Eminence to doubt it. I have no good opinion of 
 myself, and, even if I had, 1 should always submit to 
 your orders. I feel that my welfare is in your hands, 
 and I am tranquil, well knowing that you will have the 
 goodness to assure it. If I have done anything to 
 displease your Eminence, let me know of it, for 1 
 submit blindly to your wishes. 
 
 " Your Eminence is aware of the journey which we 
 have just undertaken by the Queen's command. You 
 will admit that I required to be extremely submissive 
 to return to La Rochelle without allowing the mortifica- 
 tion I experienced to be observed, and you have seen 
 that, in this affair, I have had sufficient control over 
 myself. Be persuaded that I am not oblivious of the 
 obligation under which I am to you, and that I would 
 lose my life rather than fail to prove to you the sub- 
 mission which makes me, with respect, etc."^ 
 
 ^ Presumably, a letter written from Saint- Jean-de-Luz on 14 August, 
 in which Mazarin had expressed in very strong terms his anger at the 
 folly and obstinacy of his niece. 
 
 ^ Published by Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 147 
 
 The tone of this letter is obviously the result of the 
 advice given by the King to his inamorata at Saint- 
 Jean -d' A ngely. It did not, however, produce the 
 effect upon the Cardinal which the writer expected. 
 Informed by Madame de Venel of all that had taken 
 place during the meeting between the lovers, Mazarin 
 could hardly doubt that his Majesty's passion for his 
 niece was as lively as ever, and he had, moreover, re- 
 ceived from the Comtesse de Soissons a highly-coloured 
 account of the manner in which Marie had treated her 
 on that occasion, to which the countess joined some very 
 unpleasant innuendoes respecting the tete-a-tetes which 
 her sister had had with the King. He did not, in con- 
 sequence, condescend to acknowledge Marie's letter ; 
 but wrote a very angry one to Madame de Venel, and 
 concluded by expressing his opinion that his niece was 
 "going the right way to make herself the most unhappy 
 woman of her age." This letter was duly shown by the 
 gouvernante to her charge, \^ith whom it provided food 
 for very serious reflection. The imprudent girl had at 
 first troubled very little about displeasing the Cardinal, 
 believing that the King's love would be able to protect 
 her against any extreme measures on her uncle's part. 
 However, her continued exile and the veiled threats 
 which his Eminence's letters contained had begun to 
 alarm her. She was too intelligent not to perceive that 
 Mazarin was resolved to promote at all costs the true 
 interests of France and his master, and that, unless, as 
 the King had himself advised her, she could contrive to 
 conciliate him by a pretence of submission to his wishes, 
 she was not unlikely to find herself shut up in a convent 
 for the remainder of her days ; not, of course, in France, 
 where Louis XIV could have interfered to prevent it, 
 but in Italy. She therefore wrote to the Cardinal a very 
 
148 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 long and very humble letter, defending herself against the 
 charge of discourtesy to Madame de Soissons, to whom 
 she promised to write very often and to testify "all kinds 
 of affection," from which his Eminence would be able to 
 judge how entirely submissive she was to his orders. 
 
 This time Mazarin allowed himself to be persuaded, 
 and wrote to the Corn^^sse de Soissons recommending 
 her to behave " with more prudence and moderation " 
 in regard to her sister. He feared that otherwise she 
 might incur the displeasure of the King, even more than 
 she had already contrived to do, which would not at all 
 have suited the Cardinal's plans. 
 
 In the midst of his grave political occupations and 
 of the ceaseless anxiety which the continuance of 
 Louis XIV's passion for his niece occasioned him, 
 Mazarin did not neglect the most trifling matters. 
 Thus, learning from Madame de Venel that Marianne 
 was somewhat unwell, he wrote to Vallot, the King's 
 first physician, begging him to prescribe for her by 
 letter, which the doctor did, and sent the Cardinal 
 reassuring reports as to the health of his favourite. The 
 future patroness of La Fontaine — and Pradon — had 
 even thus early shown her taste for belles lettres^ and was 
 in the habit of addressing to her uncle rhyming epistles 
 modelled, apparently, on Loret's *' Muse historique," 
 which, to judge from the following specimen, written after 
 her visit to Saint-Jean-d'Angely, must have afforded his 
 Eminence much amusement, 
 
 Marianne to the Cardinal. 
 
 " i8 August 1659. 
 ** J'ai eu la plus grande joie 
 De voir la reine et le roi. 
 Mais le plaisir a ete bien court 
 De ne voir qu'un instant la Cour. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 149 
 
 Vous nous laissez longtemps 
 
 Languir a La Rochelle, 
 
 Nous autres pauvres pucelles. 
 
 Vous ne songez non plus a nous, 
 
 Que si nous etions des loups-garous. 
 
 II me semble que vous ne devriez pas 
 
 Oublier des nieces qui ont tant d'appas. 
 
 Qui vous aiment si fort 
 
 Qu'elles aimeraient mieux la mort, 
 
 Qu'etre longtemps en absence 
 
 De votre noble Eminence. 
 
 Pour moi qui suis votre chere niece 
 
 Je me mettrai en mille pieces 
 
 Pour obeir toujours aveuglement 
 
 Et vous donner contentement. 
 
 La reine nous a donne 
 
 Quatre montres en verite 
 
 Que sont les plus belles 
 
 Qui soient dans La Rochelle ; 
 
 Ma soeur Hortense a eu 
 
 La plus belle montre de tout. 
 
 Je voudrais bien coucher avec vous 
 
 Et que fussiez mon epoux, 
 
 Monsieur, je vous supplie, 
 
 Traitez-moi sans ceremonie, 
 
 Car ce serait plutot moi 
 
 Qui vous devrait faire la loi. 
 
 Ou madame de Venel ment 
 
 Ou vous ne lui ecrivez pas souvent, 
 
 Elle se trouve fort en peine 
 
 Quand elle a nouvelle de la reine 
 
 Qui I'oblige de partir ; 
 
 Craignant fort le dementir 
 
 Elle pleure et se tourmente, 
 
 Rendez-la done plus contente 
 
 Et moi je vous dis adieu 
 
 Parce que je vais prier Dieu."^ 
 
 * Published by Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
r^o FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 The Cardinal's belief in Marie's assurances of sub- 
 mission did not last long. Madame de Venel reported, 
 under date 27 August, that the young lady had re- 
 ceived two bulky epistles from the King almost at the 
 same time, to which she had replied at equal length. 
 To add to his uneasiness, Louis XIV wrote to him to 
 plead the cause of his beloved, assuring the Cardinal 
 that Marie's feelings towards his Eminence were very 
 different from what he seemed to imagine, and begging 
 him to show himself more indulgent and less of a scold. 
 The poor Cardinal, who was suffering from " a furious 
 attack of gout," appears to have quite lost his temper. 
 He wrote to Madame de Venel, telling her to inform 
 his niece that she might spare herself the trouble of 
 writing to him any more, " since he knew very well 
 what was in her mind and the value he ought to place 
 in her professions of affection for him." And he ad- 
 dressed to the King a long and eloquent letter, in which 
 he drew a most unflattering portrait of Marie, and con- 
 jured him, in the strongest possible terms, to master 
 this passion, which threatened to prove so disastrous to 
 the interests of France and his own reputation. 
 
 Mazarin to the King. 
 
 " 28 August, from Saint-Jean-de-Luz. 
 
 " I beg you to be persuaded, once and for all, that I 
 know not how to render you a greater or more im- 
 portant service than to speak to you with the freedom 
 which you have had the kindness to permit me to do 
 where your service is concerned, and particularly on 
 matters of consideration and importance, with which 
 assuredly you have no servant capable of dealing with 
 the zeal that I shall employ. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 151 
 
 " I shall begin by telling you, in reference to your 
 letter of 13 August, which treats of the kindly feeling 
 which the person who is in question has for myself, and 
 of the other things which it has pleased you to write to 
 her advantage, that I am not surprised at the manner in 
 which you speak, since it is your passion for her which 
 prevents you, as is commonly the case with persons in 
 a like state to yourself, from understanding her true 
 character ; and I answer that, were it not for this passion, 
 you would be of the same opinion as myself that this 
 person has no affection for me, but, on the contrary, re- 
 gards me with much aversion, because I do not flatter 
 her follies ; that she has unbounded ambition, a capricious 
 and passionate disposition, contempt for every one, no 
 control over her actions, and a predilection for com- 
 mitting all kinds of extravagant things ; that she is more 
 unreasonable than ever since she had the honour of 
 seeing you at Saint-Jean-d'Angely ; and, instead of re- 
 ceiving your letters twice a week, she now receives them 
 every day. In short, you will perceive, as I do, that she 
 has a thousand faults and not a single good quality to 
 render her worthy of your kindness. In your letter, you 
 afiirm your belief that my opinion of her is the result of 
 the bad offices which people render her. Is it possible that 
 you are under the impression that I, who am so dis- 
 cerning and skilful in affairs of importance, am in entire 
 ignorance of those which concern my family ? Can I 
 entertain any doubt as to the intentions of this person in 
 regard to myself ? when I see that she never fails to do 
 in all things the contrary to what I order her ; that she 
 turns the counsels I give her regarding her conduct into 
 ridicule; that the presumptuous acts she commits in the 
 sight of all the world are prejudicial both to her own 
 honour and my own ; that she wishes to make herself 
 
t52 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 mistress and change all the orders that I give in my 
 house ; and that, to conclude, despising all the care that I 
 have employed, with so much affection, earnestness, and 
 address, to place her in the right way and make her 
 prudent, she persists in her follies, and intends to become 
 the laughing-stock of the world ? 
 
 "If the bad behaviour of this person were injuring only 
 herself and me, I might disguise my feelings. But, since 
 the evil is augmenting daily, and this connection is doing 
 irreparable harm to the reputation and tranquillity of my 
 master, it is impossible for me to tolerate it ; and I shall 
 be compelled, in the end, to take resolutions whereby 
 every one will be convinced that, where your service is 
 in question, I am prepared to make every sacrifice. 
 
 " And if I am so unhappy as to find that the passion 
 which you cherish for this creature prevents you from 
 realising the importance of the affair, nothing remains 
 for me save to carry out the resolution with which I 
 acquainted you in my letter from Cadillac ; ^ for, to be 
 brief, there is no power which can deprive me of the 
 absolute authority which God and the laws have given 
 me over my family. And you will one day be the first 
 to pay tribute to the service which I shall have rendered 
 you, which will assuredly be the greatest of all, since, by 
 my resolution, I shall have placed you in the way to be 
 happy, and, along with that, to be the most glorious and 
 the most accomplished king on earth. 
 
 " I return to the person under discussion, who be- 
 lieves herself more assured than ever of being able to 
 dispose absolutely of your affection, since the new pro- 
 mise you made her at Saint-Jean-d'Angely, and, if you 
 
 ^ His resolve, if all other means of bringing the King to reason failed, 
 of resigning his post of chief Minister and carrying off Marie and her 
 sisters to Italy. See p. 134 supra. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 153 
 
 are obliged to marry, I know that her intention is to 
 render the princess you wed unhappy all her life, which 
 cannot happen without rendering you the same, nor 
 without exposing you to a thousand grievous incon- 
 veniences ; for you cannot expect the blessing of Heaven 
 if you, on your part, do nothing to deserve it. 
 
 " Since that last visit [the interview at Saint- Jean- 
 d'Angely], which I always knew would be fatal, and 
 which, for that reason, I strove to prevent, you have 
 recommenced writing to her every day, not letters, but 
 whole volumes, giving her an account of even the most 
 trifling happenings, and reposing in her the utmost 
 confidence, to the exclusion of every one else ; in such a 
 way that your whole time is occupied in reading her 
 letters and in writing your own. And what is in- 
 comprehensible, is that you employ every imaginable 
 expedient to excite your passion, while you are on the eve 
 of your marriage. Thus, you are labouring to render 
 yourself the most unhappy of all men, since there is no 
 condition more insupportable than a marriage which is 
 contrary to one's inclination. 
 
 " But tell me, I entreat you, what is this girl's in- 
 tention, when once you are married ? Has she forgotten 
 her duty so far as to believe that, if I were so dishonour- 
 able a man, or, to speak more plainly, so infamous as to 
 approve of it, she will be able to assume a position which 
 will dishonour her.''^ Perhaps she imagines that she can 
 act thus without any one murmuring, since she has 
 gained every one's heart. But she is greatly deceived, 
 since her conduct has aroused so much feeling against her 
 amongst all who are acquainted with her, that I should 
 find it hard to name one who has any esteem or good- 
 will for her, save Hortense, who is a child whom she 
 
 1 That is to say, become the King's mistress. 
 
154 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 has won over by flattery and by giving her money and 
 other things ; having found, so I conceive, some trea- 
 sure, since she refused to accept the money which I 
 ordered Madame de Venel to give her to any amount 
 she desired, when she went to La Rochelle.^ 
 
 " The greatest good fortune which can happen to this 
 person, is for me to set matters in order without delay, 
 and if I cannot render her prudent, which I believe to 
 be impossible, at least to prevent her follies being any 
 longer patent to the world, since, otherwise, she will 
 run the risk of being ruined. 
 
 " You will hear all this with astonishment, because 
 the aff'ection which you bear her leaves you no room 
 to discern clearly what concerns her. But for myself, 
 who am not preoccupied, and who, whatever the cost 
 may be, desire to serve you at this juncture, which is 
 the most important of your life, even if it should cost 
 me my own, I see the truth as it is, for otherwise I 
 should be committing a kind of treason. For the rest, 
 let things happen as they will, since I am prepared to 
 die, provided it be in the execution of my duty and in 
 serving you, as I am obliged to do, particularly in this 
 matter, with which no one except myself can know 
 how to deal. 
 
 "... I do not doubt that she [Marie Mancini] is 
 aware of all that I have the honour to write to you ; 
 but, very far from fearing that, I desire it passionately ; 
 and would to God that I believed her capable of giving 
 sound counsel concerning the affairs about which you 
 take the trouble to inform her, for I should willingly 
 ask to be relieved of this anxiety ! But I confess to you 
 
 1 This is a palpable hit at the King, who had been supplying Marie with 
 money wherewith to secure the good-will of those about her and facili- 
 tate the correspondence between the lovers. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 155 
 
 that at my age, and in the midst of all the occupations 
 by which I am overwhelmed, and in which it seems to 
 me to be sufficient happiness to serve you with credit 
 and with advantage to your State, it is intolerable for 
 me to find myself disturbed on account of a person 
 who, for all kinds of reasons, ought to tear herself in 
 pieces in order to relieve me. And what distresses me 
 to the Ust degree, is that, instead of sparing me this 
 sorrow, you contribute thereto, by giving this wretched 
 girl courage and resolution to act as she is doing. 
 
 " I was altogether relieved in my mind by what you 
 took the trouble to write to me, and by the manner in 
 which you had begun to conduct yourself after my 
 despatch from Cadillac ; and I believed that you had no 
 other thought than to prepare the way to be happy 
 in your marriage, which could only be by putting an 
 end to the passion which had rendered itself mistress 
 of your mind. But I have seen, with sensible grief, 
 that since this fatal visit [the interview at Saint-Jean- 
 d'Angely], which I would have prevented at the cost 
 of my blood, everything is in a worse condition than 
 before. And it is unnecessary for you to explain the 
 matter differently, for I cannot doubt it, and I may say 
 that I know all as well as you. Consider after that, 
 I beg of you, what must be my condition, and if the 
 world contains a more unhappy man than myself, who, 
 after having always applied himself zealously to augment 
 your reputation and to procure, by all the most difficult 
 means, the triumph of your arms, has the grief to 
 behold a person related to him on the point of over- 
 turning everything and of compassing your ruin, if you 
 continue to give a free rein to the passion which you 
 have for her. 
 
 " Can I, without injury to the fidelity which 1 owe 
 
156 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 you, and without betraying my obligations, abstain from 
 warning you that you are taking a road altogether con- 
 trary to decorum and to the happiness to which you 
 ought to aspire, since, on the eve of your marriage, 
 you are abandoning yourself more than ever to your 
 passion ? For whatever power you may have over 
 yourself, and whatever progress you may have made, 
 on the advice of her whom you love, in the art of 
 dissimulation, you cannot conceal your aversion for this 
 marriage, although it be the most advantageous and the 
 most glorious that you can possibly contract. You lay 
 yourself open to receive proofs of the wrath of God, 
 if you proceed to marry a princess whom you do not 
 love, with the intention of living on bad terms with 
 her, as the other person [Marie] threatens to do with 
 her whom you wed. 
 
 " I find myself greatly embarrassed . . . about con- 
 cluding the final negotiations in regard to your marriage ; 
 since it seems to me I am promising what cannot be 
 performed, and that I am contributing to the establish- 
 ment of a state of things which will render miserable an 
 innocent girl who is deserving of your affection [the 
 Infanta]. 
 
 " It is time for you to come to a decision and to 
 declare your intentions without any concealment ; since 
 it is a thousand times better to break off all -legotia- 
 tions and continue the war, without troubling ourselves 
 about the misery of Christendom and the injury which 
 your State and your subjects will thereby receive, than 
 to conclude this marriage, if it will produce only your 
 unhappiness and that of your kingdom. 
 
 "All this is what the passion, the fidelity, and the 
 zeal that I have for your service constrains me to repre- 
 sent to you with the freedom that I ought, as an old 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 157 
 
 servant who desires only your credit, and who has more 
 interest and obligation than any one else, not only in 
 telling you the truth, but, further, in sacrificing his life 
 for so good a master as yourself. Finally, I protest to 
 you that nothing can prevent me dying of grief, if I see 
 a person who is so dear to me as you occasion more un- 
 happiness and disaster than I have rendered you service 
 since the-first day I began to serve you." 
 
 Never had Mazarin found himself in a more difficult 
 or more embarrassing position. " This affair," wrote he 
 subsequently to Colbert, " is perhaps the most delicate in 
 which I have ever been engaged, and which has occa- 
 sioned me the greatest uneasiness." He passed the 
 three or four days before he received the King's answer 
 in a state of the most painful anxiety, though he had the 
 art to conceal his apprehensions and to persevere in the 
 boldness of his language. " I flatter myself that I ren- 
 dered you a very important service twenty-four hours 
 since," he writes to the King, the day following that on 
 which he had addressed to him his memorable letter, 
 " having written to you with the freedom and candour 
 which a faithful servant who has more interest than any 
 one else in your reputation and happiness ought to 
 employ. I await your reply with great impatience, since 
 by it I must regulate my conduct and form the resolu- 
 tion which I shall deem capable of delivering you from 
 the passion whereby you are at present possessed." 
 
 Louis XIV's answer, which reached him on 3 Septem- 
 ber, was very different from what he had expected, and 
 filled him with consternation. The young monarch, 
 madly in love as he was, had resented Mazarin's stric- 
 tures upon the character and conduct of his niece as so 
 many insults to himself, and, though the contents of 
 
158 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the document are not known, there can be no doubt, 
 from the letters which the Cardinal immediately addres- 
 sed to the King and Queen, that it must have contained 
 a stinging rebuke/ A letter from the latter reached 
 him by the same courier who brought his Majesty's 
 reply, and related that, on the arrival of Mazarin's letter, 
 there had been a painful scene between mother and son, 
 in which Louis had again accused the Queen of embit- 
 tering the Cardinal against his niece, and had declared 
 his resolution of listening to no more advice from either 
 of them. 
 
 To Anne of Austria, Mazarin replied : — 
 
 Mazarin to the Queen. 
 
 " 3 September, Saint- Jean-de-Luz. 
 
 " I am in despair at seeing, from all that you have 
 the goodness to write to me, the grief which you are 
 experiencing. Would to God that I were able to afford 
 you relief in shedding all my blood, for I would do so 
 with the greatest joy imaginable ! The answer of the 
 confidant [the King] is conceived in terms which show 
 me plainly enough that he has no more affection for me 
 or consideration for his own interests. Consequently, I 
 have no alternative, save to execute his orders to 
 abridge the time of the marriage, and after having signed 
 the contract and the articles of peace, which will be 
 glorious and advantageous for his person and his State, 
 to take the resolution which will be the best calculated 
 to deliver him from my importunities and the best for 
 his service ; praying God with all my heart to bless my 
 intentions." 
 
 ^ According to Choisy, Louis XIV wrote that Mazarin might do as 
 he pleased, and that if he abandoned the conduct of his affairs, many 
 others would willingly take charge of them. 
 
From an engra\ iiig after the paiiuiiiL; liy Milliard 
 
 ANNE OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF FRANCE 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 159 
 
 "Here," remarks Marie Mancini's biographer, Lucien 
 Perey, " the Cardinal observes more tact than in his 
 letter to the King. He was well aware that the Queen, 
 so weak when confronted by her son, could only hope 
 to hold her own against him on rare occasions ; and he, 
 therefore, makes use of the most powerful incentive to 
 rouse her to action, namely, the threat of his own 
 departure. - We have seen how much Anne of Austria 
 had suffered during the Cardinal's exile at Cologne. 
 From that time, the links which united them had been 
 given a new strength, and he well knew the effect which 
 the fear of a fresh separation would produce on her 
 mind. Nothing, then, could have been more adroit 
 than the phrase which we have just read."^ 
 
 The tone of Mazarin's letter to the King is very 
 different from that of 28 August. Then the Minister 
 was imperious and determined ; now he is all humility 
 and submission, though the conclusion is not without a 
 touch of dignity. 
 
 Mazaiin to the King. 
 
 " iSaint-Jean-de-Luz, 3 September. 
 
 " Sire, — Immediately on receipt of your letter, I take 
 up the pen to give myself the honour of telling you 
 that, although your answer is rather terse, I recognise 
 sufficiently your intentions and the situation of your 
 mind as regards myself. Your kindness has never 
 permitted you up to now either to write or to speak to 
 me as you have on this occasion. It does not, however, 
 cause me surprise, for, since the journey to Lyons, I 
 have always doubted very much whether, if I were not 
 sacrificed to the person in question, I should not be to 
 some other. 
 
 ^ '♦ Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
i6o FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 " Had you taken the trouble to examine my letter, 
 you would have found therein ample grounds for 
 expressmg to me your gratitude for what I wrote to you, 
 actuated by a pure and disinterested motive for your 
 service, reputation, and honour ; and you would not 
 treat me extravagantly as you do, in telling me that I 
 have a bad opinion of you and that I believe you to be 
 a liar. I should not deserve to live, if I had such 
 thoughts about my master. But I tell you the truth 
 without failing in the respect I owe you, when I 
 maintain that the passion you have for the person 
 whom you love [Marie Mancini] prevents you from 
 seeing her faults, and that I know that she has no 
 affection for me, notwithstanding what you have taken 
 the trouble to write to me to the contrary. For, 
 without doing you any wrong, I think that I know 
 better what she is and the manner in which she has 
 conducted herself towards me. If you are angered 
 with me, as you say at the commencement of your 
 letter, you have only to order me to the place to which 
 you desire me to repair to feel the effects of your 
 indignation, and I shall not fail to obey you. Be sure, 
 at least, that, without making the slightest protest, I 
 shall publicly announce that you are in the right and 
 that I am culpable. 
 
 " You have, however, too much sense of justice to 
 wish to deprive me of honour in payment for my 
 services ; and it is quite sufScient, it appears to me, to 
 deprive me of life and all that I possess in the world, 
 without depriving me of the liberty that laws divine and 
 human give me to dispose of my family. 
 
 " I implore you very humbly to pardon me, if I have 
 importuned you over much, assuring you that I shall do 
 so no more in the future. Finally, to abridge the time 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS i6i 
 
 of your marriage, I shall sign the articles relating to it 
 and those of the peace, according to your orders, which 
 done, I shall go to end my days in the place to which 
 you may be pleased to order me, satisfied with having 
 had the happiness to serve for thirty years the King, 
 your father, and yourself, without your army or your 
 affairs having suffered any loss of reputation. I 
 demand only this favour, that you will be persuaded 
 that, whatever may be my fate, I shall be to the last 
 moment of my life the most faithful and the most 
 devoted creature that you have." 
 
 Up to this moment, Louis XIV seems to have really 
 believed that some obstacle would intervene to prevent 
 the conclusion of peace and his marriage with the 
 Infanta ; the wish being in all probability father to the 
 thought. But the Cardinal's letter, humble and sub- 
 missive though it was, spoke of the treaty as a thing 
 already assured, and showed him that the Minister 
 anticipated no difficulties other than those of his 
 Majesty's own creating. His eyes were opened, and 
 he saw that it was no longer possible for him to draw 
 back, unless he desired to take upon himself the entire 
 responsibility for the continuance of a sanguinary and 
 useless war, and the universal opprobrium which such 
 an action must involve. His grief was terrible, and in 
 the next letter he wrote to Marie Mancini he was unable 
 to conceal from her his apprehensions. 
 
 The receipt of the King's letter threw the poor girl 
 into the direst distress. She recognised at once how 
 futile had been the hope, to which she had clung so 
 tenaciously, that the young monarch's devotion to her 
 would be proof against the pressure of the immense 
 interests arrayed against them. A letter from Mazarin's 
 
1 62 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 creature Ondedei, Bishop of Fr6jus, confirmed her fears, 
 and, finally, she learned, through Colbert, that Marechal 
 de Gramont had received orders to proceed to Madrid, to 
 make a formal demand for the Infanta's hand, on behalf 
 of his master. Her pride, stronger than her love and her 
 grief, asserted itself, and urged her at least to secure to 
 herself the credit of being the first to break the ties 
 which her lover seemed powerless to preserve. She 
 immediately resolved to cease all communication with the 
 King, and forthwith wrote to the Cardinal to inform 
 him of her determination and her willingness to submit 
 to his orders. 
 
 Marie Mancini to the Cardinal. 
 
 "La Rochelle, 3 September 1659. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — I believe that presently your 
 Eminence will have reason to be satisfied with me, 
 owing to the course which I intend to adopt. I have 
 begged the King to consent that I should write to him 
 no more, and to do the same also for me. 
 
 " Your Eminence has only to cause him to show you 
 the letter which I have written to him, and he will 
 see that I am not deceiving him. To conclude, 1 
 entreat your Eminence very humbly to believe that 
 I have no other thought than to conform in all things 
 to all h ^ intentions and to follow implicitly all his 
 commands. 
 
 "... I shall esteem myself very happy, if once you 
 can be fully persuaded of my submission and gratitude. 
 I an, as I should be, Monseigneur, your Eminence's 
 very humble . . . 
 
 "Marie de Mancini."^ 
 
 1 Published by Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi.'* 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 163 
 
 This letter was accompanied by one from Madame de 
 Venel, confirming the good news. " From the moment 
 when the King gave her [Marie] to understand that there 
 was no obstacle in the way of his marriage," wrote the 
 gouvernante^ " her conduct has undergone a complete 
 change ; her countenance is altogether different ; she is 
 gay, amuses herself, and behaves as Seneca would have 
 done on a, like occasion ; she has made so many moral 
 reflections that all the philosophers combined could not 
 have known so much as she does. I assure you, 
 Monseigneur, that the sight of her present conduct 
 occasions me all the joy imaginable." 
 
 We can well imagine the relief of the anxious 
 Cardinal on receiving these letters, as unexpected as 
 they were welcome. He had opened his niece's with 
 serious misgivings ; but, after perusing the first few 
 lines, his joy was such that he summoned the Bishop of 
 Frejus to listen to its contents. Then he sat down 
 and wrote to Madame de Venel a letter expressive of 
 his delight at finding that his niece had at last proved 
 amenable to reason, and referring to that young lady 
 in terms strangely different from those which he had 
 employed in his celebrated letter to the King. 
 
 Mazarin to Madame de Venel. 
 
 " Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 8 September. 
 " I confess to you that I have not for a long time 
 experienced a pleasure so great as that which I have 
 received in reading the letter which my niece has written 
 me, and the news that you give of her present state of 
 mind, after she had become aware that the King's 
 marriage was absolutely decided upon. I never doubted 
 her intelligence, but I mistrusted her judgment, and 
 particularly in a matter wherein a strong passion, accom- 
 
1 64 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 panled by so many circumstances to render it furious, 
 left no room for reason to act. 
 
 " I reply to you again that it affords me the greatest 
 conceivable joy to have such a niece, seeing that, of her 
 own accord, she has taken so generous a resolution, and 
 one so much in conformity with her own honour and my 
 satisfaction. I am acquainting the King with what she 
 has written to me and what she has done. I am assured 
 that his Majesty will esteem her the more for it, and, if 
 France knew of the manner in which she has conducted 
 herself in this matter, it would desire for her every kind 
 of happiness and give her a thousand blessings. But I 
 am in a sufficient position to make her feel the results of 
 my affection and of the inclination that I have always 
 had for her, which has only been interrupted, because it 
 appeared that she had none for me and attached no im- 
 portance to my counsels, although they had no other 
 end than her own happiness and peace of mind. 
 
 *' I beg you to express to her, on my behalf, that I 
 love her with all my heart ; that I am about to give 
 serious consideration to the question of marrying her 
 and making her happy, and that she will be so to the 
 last degree, if she applies herself earnestly to profit by 
 the affection which I have for her and the esteem I feel 
 for her, on account of the action which she has just 
 done ; for I declare to you, without exaggeration, that it 
 would be difficult to expect the like in a person of forty 
 years who had lived all her life among the philosophers. 
 
 "And, since she is pleased to indulge in moral reflec- 
 tions, you must tell her from me that she ought to read 
 the books which have been well spoken of in that con- 
 nection, particularly Seneca, wherein she will find matter 
 to console her and to confirm her joyfully in the resolu- 
 tion she has just taken. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 165 
 
 " I am persuaded that she loves too much her honour, 
 aavaniage, and reputation to make the least change in 
 that ; and you must tell her from me that I should be 
 in despair if such were to happen, and that she would 
 lose the merit of the finest action that she could possibly 
 do all her life. 
 
 " I do not send a long answer, because this letter will 
 serve for her. I desire her to take every opportunity of 
 writing to me, and to express to me freely all her senti- 
 ments ; for I shall be enchanted to contribute, by my 
 replies, to place her in a position to be loved and 
 esteemed by all, and to procure, in all kinds of ways, her 
 contentment. 
 
 " It is necessary for her to take walks and indulge in 
 every kind of amusement which may contribute to keep 
 her mind in the state of tranquillity I desire for her ; and, 
 if money for her diversions be required, you have only 
 to apply for it to the Sieur de Terron,^ who will refuse 
 nothing which you may ask of him." 
 
 And, the same day, the Cardinal addressed to his niece 
 the following letter : — 
 
 Mazarin to Marie Mancini. 
 
 " Saint- Jean-de-Luz, 8 September. 
 
 " You could not give me a greater joy than by 
 writing to acquaint me with the resolution at which you 
 have just arrived. I pray God with all my heart that 
 it may please Him to assist you, so that you may carry 
 it out, as you ought to do, for all kinds of reasons, 
 being able to tell you, without flattering you, that you 
 could do nothing in your whole life which would give 
 you more honour and glory than what you will derive 
 
 ^ Colbert de Terron, Governor of La Rochelle. 
 
i66 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 from the action which you have just done. I am writing 
 at length to Madame de Venel. That is why I shall 
 not say anything further here, since I could only repeat 
 to you the same things. I beg you only to be assured 
 of my regard and affection, and that I shall not delay in 
 giving you proofs of it on all occasions." 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The King declines to accept Marie Mancini's decision and continues to 
 write to her — She refuses to reply to his letters — Letter of Mazarin 
 to the King — Reports of Madame de Venel — The Cardinal's nieces 
 remove from La Rochelle to Brouage — Letter of Marie to her uncle 
 — The King persists in writing to Marie, who, however, continues 
 inflexible — Letters of Mazarin to his nieces — Rhyming response of 
 Marianne — The Cardinal sends his confidential agent Bartet to 
 Bordeaux to keep watch upon the actions of the King — Kis reports — 
 The Comtesse de Soissons, at Mazarin's request, endeavours to regain 
 her former influence over Louis XIV — The King sends Marie a 
 present of a little dog — Treachery of Colbert de Terron, Governor 
 of La Rochelle, to the Cardinal — Marie begs her uncle to find a 
 husband for her — And expresses a preference for Prince Charles of 
 Lorraine — The Constable Colonna demands her hand — Reports of 
 Bartet in regard to the King and the Comtesse de Soissons — The 
 countess, by the Queen's order, writes to her sister — Despair of 
 Marie — Mazarin sends the Bishop of Frejus to Brouage to propose 
 to his niece the Colonna marriage — She refuses— Letters of the 
 Cardinal and the King to Marie — Return of the Miles. Mancini to 
 Paris — Severe orders of the Cardinal as to the manner in which they 
 are to conduct themselves — Letters of the King to Marie — A touch- 
 ing incident — Amusing letter of Marianne Mancini to the Cardinal — 
 Prince Charles of Lorraine. 
 
 TN the meanwhile, Louis XIV, at Bordeaux, had 
 received Marie's letter, in which the girl announced 
 to him her intention of writing to him no more, and 
 begged him to cease all communication with her. The 
 letter appears to have occasioned his Majesty as much 
 astonishment as pain, although, aware as he was of the 
 proud and passionate character of his mistress, he ought 
 certainly to have foreseen something of this nature. 
 However, he could not bring himself to believe that she 
 
 167 
 
1 68 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 would persist in such a resolution, and immediately wrote 
 her an expostulatory letter four pages in length. 
 
 "The ordinary courier of this evening," writes 
 Madame de Venel to the Cardinal, " brought a letter of 
 four pages for Mile, de Mancini. After receiving it, 
 she told me that she desired to reply for the last time ; 
 that she had forgotten in her previous letter to beg the 
 King to burn her letters, and wished to do so. She 
 repeated that it would be for the last time. I answered 
 her : * But what is your pleasure that I should write to 
 his Eminence, after the letter which you made me write 
 him by the last courier, and which you read ? * She 
 responded angrily : * Tell him that I am writing to him 
 [the King].' " 
 
 The King, though deeply wounded by Marie's persist- 
 ence, still refused to believe that she would continue to 
 resist his importunities, and wrote her letter after 
 letter ; but the girl's pride sustained her, and after the 
 brief note begging him to burn the letters he had 
 received from her, not even the most passionate entrea- 
 ties could wring so much as a line from her. Over- 
 whelmed with grief, Louis had, nevertheless, courage 
 enough to endeavour to conceal his sufferings from 
 those about him, and, to find some distraction from his 
 melancholy reflections, turned his attention to the nego- 
 tiations which were in progress on the frontier. It was 
 then, perhaps, that he began to comprehend something of 
 the great service which the Cardinal had rendered him 
 in combating with so much resolution a passion which, 
 if it had been allowed to take its course, would have 
 been fraught with such disastrous consequences both to 
 himself and his kingdom. Any way, he appears to 
 have regretted the angry and imperious tone of the 
 letter which had caused Mazarin such consternation, 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 169 
 
 and now wrote to the Minister in the most affectionate 
 terms, begging him to forget the rebuke which he had 
 then administered to him and to continue to write to 
 him with the utmost freedom. To which the delighted 
 Cardinal hastened to reply. 
 
 Mazarin to the King. 
 
 " Saint- Jean-de-Luz, 14 September 1659. 
 
 " If I received with joy the terms wherein it pleased 
 you to write to me on the last occasion, you will readily 
 believe that your letter of the nth, which I have just 
 received, has rendered me the most contented man in 
 the world, in seeing to what degree it pleases you to 
 honour me with the assurances of your friendship. 
 And, although you render me justice when you tell me 
 that you recognise clearly that I have no other end in 
 all that I have written to you, save your credit, your 
 tranquillity, and the welfare of your service, I am, not- 
 withstanding, under infinite obligations to you for the 
 same ; and, whatever resolution I had taken to the con- 
 trary, I shall execute with pleasure the order which you 
 give me, always to write to you freely all my opinions in 
 matters which concern your service. 
 
 " I have not dared to inform you how satisfied I am 
 with the person you wot of [Marie Mancini], for I 
 feared that perhaps it might not be agreeable to you, 
 for which reason I addressed myself to the confidante 
 [the Queen], well knowing that she would tell you 
 everything. 
 
 " I entreat you now to profit by the grace that God 
 has bestowed on you in giving you so excellent an 
 example to follow, and you will see that, if you take a 
 generous resolution to endeavour to obtain the mastery 
 over yourself, you will have peace of mind and will give 
 
lyo FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 it also to the said person, and you will place yourself 
 also in a position to find happiness in your marriage, 
 for I assure you the Infanta will give you reason to 
 be so. 
 
 " To conclude, I know not how to tell you how much 
 I love the person whom I did not believe capable of an 
 action such as she has just done, and I esteem her the 
 more, inasmuch as it was the only remedy capable of 
 placing you in a position to conquer your passion." 
 
 During this unexpected crisis, Madame de Venel sent 
 daily bulletins to the Cardinal, who had strictly en- 
 joined upon her to give him immediate warning should 
 she note the slightest sign of wavering on the part of 
 his niece. 
 
 " Mademoiselle," writes the gouvernante^ under date 
 lo September, "has received her letter [from the King] 
 as usual, but she will make no reply to it. She did me 
 the honour to tell me this evening that she will never 
 write any more. . . . She will go to Brouage next week, 
 to amuse herself for some days." 
 
 And again, on 15 September : 
 
 " Mademoiselle starts to-morrow for Brouage. Made- 
 moiselle's state of mind is better than your Eminence 
 could possibly desire, and very assuredly I believe it 
 entirely at ease. Saturday last, she did not write, nor 
 did any one write a line on her behalf. She amuses 
 herself very well ; she is just now playing at blindman's 
 buff with M. de Lionne. If she finds Brouage more to 
 her liking, she will remain there ; if not, she will return 
 here to await what your Eminence will have the good- 
 ness to do for her. Assuredly, the letter which your 
 Eminence wrote her has entirely confirmed her in her 
 generous resolution." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 171 
 
 And then, on the morrow, from Brouage : 
 
 " Mesdemolselles arrived yesterday in this town in 
 good health ; the garrison gave them the best reception 
 they could ; cannon fired salutes, and the intendant 
 entertained them magnificently. Mademoiselle forti- 
 fies herself every day in her generous resolution ; she 
 has never been so gay ; she plays for high stakes, and 
 won thirty' pistoles off the intendant." 
 
 In a further letter, dated the 20th, the Cardinal was 
 Informed that " Mademoiselle de Mancini had received 
 no letter by that day's courier," and that " Mademoiselle's 
 mind appeared very tranquil." 
 
 On her arrival at Brouage, Marie herself hastened to 
 write a reassuring letter to her uncle. 
 
 Marie Mancini to the Cardinal, 
 
 " Brouage, 15 September. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — I cannot omit to thank your 
 Eminence for all the kindness and affection which 
 you express for me. For my part, at present, I do 
 everything possible to find distraction. I arrived yes- 
 terday at Brouage, where we were accorded the most 
 courteous reception possible to imagine. Since your 
 Eminence has the kindness to wish that I render him 
 an account of all that I do, I will tell him that I amuse 
 myself the most part of the time at play, and have won 
 thirty pistoles. Play treats me in the most unkind man- 
 ner imaginable ; we do not play for high stakes — indeed, 
 we could not play for smaller ones — but I persist in 
 losing. The rest of the time I amuse myself by read- 
 ing, particularly Seneca, wherein I remark a thousand 
 beautiful things, which I find in addition to those of 
 which you have told me. 
 
172 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 "... I cannot say anything more to your Eminence, 
 save that he will see by the manner in which I shall con- 
 duct myself that I have no other desire than to do my 
 duty and to please him, and thereby to merit all the 
 kindness which he has shown for me. I promise your 
 Eminence that henceforth I will write very often to 
 Madame la Comtesse^ and that I will testify to her 
 all kinds of affection, with the greatest joy imaginable, 
 since by that you will judge of my submission to your 
 orders. ..." 
 
 In her " M^moires," Marie informs us that she had 
 resolved to go to Brouage, a dull little coast town, hem- 
 med in by salt marshes, because the solitude of the place 
 accorded better with her state of mind than the gaiety 
 and bustle of the thriving port of La Rochelle. Her 
 latest biographer, Lucien Percy, however, ascribes to 
 her a different motive : 
 
 " She had not forgotten her uncle's threat to remove 
 her by force out of the King's reach ; the King had not 
 concealed it from her ; and, in the alternations of despair 
 and of fleeting hope to which she was a prey, the poor 
 child still believed, for a moment, in the possibility of 
 the Spanish marriage being broken off; in which event, 
 it would have been easier for her to escape from that 
 place in a little boat belonging to the fishermen, of 
 whom there were a great number at Brouage, than from 
 the port of La Rochelle, full of large vessels, to all the 
 officers of which she was known. We have every 
 reason to believe that this advice had been given her 
 by the King, before the interruption of their corre^ 
 spondence." ^ 
 
 Louis XIV continued to write every day to his 
 
 ^ Her sister Olympe, Comtesse de Soissons. 
 2 " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 173 
 
 inamorata, who, however, remained inflexible in her 
 resolution not to reply, and sent her uncle renewed 
 assurances of her entire submission to his wishes. 
 
 Marie Mancini to the Cardinal. 
 
 " October 1659. 
 "... I received to-day a little letter from the King. 
 It contained but two lines, wherein he expresses to me 
 the joy that he experiences in observing that your 
 Eminence is so satisfied with me. 1 confess to you that 
 I have had no small difficulty in preventing myself from 
 writing to him, and what gives me strength to do it 
 is my duty and my desire to satisfy your Eminence. I 
 wish thereby to make you understand that I am the 
 most devoted of nieces." 
 
 Mazarin replied, praising her firmness, which, he de- 
 clared, was such as no longer to permit him to fear any 
 change, and assuring her that he would lose no oppor- 
 tunity of giving her proofs of his afi'ection, and that she 
 would find in him " not only a good uncle, but a father 
 who loved her with all his heart." He advises her to 
 seek distraction, to go and spend a few days in the 
 pretty Isle of Oleron, recommends her to hunt and to 
 fish and to entertain her friends, and informs her that 
 he has directed Madame de Venel to supply her with all 
 the money she may require. 
 
 The Cardinal also wrote to his other nieces. He begs 
 Hortense to take no heed to what Marianne says in 
 disparagement of her writing and her style, as he is 
 quite satisfied with both, but to continue to write to 
 him. He praises Marianne's verses, which afford him 
 great pleasure, advises her, when she is at a loss for a 
 rhyme, to seek her sisters' assistance, and concludes by 
 assuring her that no one loves her as he does. 
 
174 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Marianne was much flattered by his Eminence's letter, 
 and lost no time in sending him further proofs of her 
 proficiency in verse-making. 
 
 Marianne to the Cardinal. 
 
 " i^*" October 1659. 
 *'Des quej'ai regu votre lettre 
 Elle m'a donne une si grande joie 
 Qui si I'on m'eut fait roi ! 
 Je suis si aise que mes vers 
 Vous divertissent quoiqu'ils soient de travers ! 
 Mais lis sont fort beaux pour une personne de mon age. 
 Qui n'est pas volage. 
 Vous avez ecrit a ma soeur Hortense 
 Qu'elle ecrive tous les ordinaires 
 Et je crois que ses vers 
 Ne seront pas de bon air 
 Quand lis seraient du meilleur air, je pense 
 
 Que les miens les effaceront 
 Car ils ont plus d'esprit et de raison. 
 Vous me dites de prier mes soeurs d'achever mes rimes, 
 Mais j'ai I'esprit trop magnanime. 
 Ma soeur Hortense m'a prie je ne sais combien 
 De finir sa lettre qui ne vaut rien ; 
 Elle m'a fort etourdie 
 Et lisant toutes ses folies, 
 Et moi je vous dis sagement r 
 Je veux que vous soyez mon amant 
 Et je vous aimerai tendrement 
 Jusques au jour du jugement." ^ 
 
 In spite of the reassuring letters which he received 
 rrom Marie, confirmed as they were by the daily reports 
 of Madame de Venel, Mazarin was still far from 
 satisfied that the affair which had caused him such 
 terrible anxiety was definitely at an end. The persist- 
 ence with which Louis XIV continued to write to the 
 1 Published by Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 175 
 
 girl, notwithstanding her obstinate refusal to reply to 
 his letters, seemed to indicate that his Majesty's 
 passion had been very far from extinguished by the 
 unexpected turn events had taken, and caused the 
 Cardinal much uneasiness. He felt the necessity of 
 having a confidential agent near the person of the King, 
 who could be trusted to discharge there a similar 
 function to, that which Madame de Venel exercised so 
 efficiently at Brouage ; and, accordingly, despatched his 
 confidant Bartet to Bordeaux, ostensibly on a mission 
 to the Queen, but in reality to keep watch over his 
 Majesty and furnish his patron with a full and particular 
 account of all his actions, 
 
 Bartet's reports did not tend to allay the Cardinal's 
 apprehensions. He wrote that the King seemed greatly 
 depressed ; that he was always very reticent on the 
 subject of the Infanta, and did not appear to take the 
 faintest interest in what Bartet, who had lately been 
 in Spain, had ventured to tell him about that princess. 
 Moreover, he appeared to have no heart for the gaieties 
 of the Court, and had declined to be present at a ball 
 given by Monsieur. On the other hand, when a com- 
 pany of strolling- players, which had recently visited 
 La Rochelle, gave a performance at Bordeaux, his 
 Majesty had attended it, and had questioned the actors 
 as to whether the Mesdemoiselles Mancini had patron- 
 ised their entertainment. Bartet added that, during 
 the evening, the King seemed very sad and did not speak 
 a word to any one. 
 
 The Cardinal, on his agent's advice, now resolved to 
 enlist the good offices of the Comtesse de Soissons, and 
 begged her to leave no means untried to recover the 
 influence over the King of which her younger sicter 
 had deprived her. The ambitious and jealous Olympe 
 
176 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 consented readily enough, and made " every imaginable 
 advance" to his Majesty, who, touched apparently by 
 her anxiety to please him, received her back into some 
 degree at least of her former favour. But alas ! the 
 Cardinal's satisfaction at this news was very short-lived, 
 for almost directly afterwards he heard that the King 
 had sent to Brouage a present of a little dog, one 
 of the offspring of his beloved lapdog Friponne, with 
 a collar round its neck, on which was inscribed, " A 
 Marie de Mancini." Nor was his vexation lessened 
 by his learning from Bartet that the departure of the 
 little dog was known to all the Court, and that the 
 Queen was " greatly disturbed." 
 
 This news was followed by intelligence of a far more 
 alarming character. The letters of the King to Marie 
 had, as we have mentioned, been addressed under cover 
 to Colbert de Terron, the Governor of La Rochelle, 
 who had handed them to Madame de Venel, to be 
 passed on to her charge. There can be little doubt 
 that, on more than one occasion, Terron and the 
 gouvernante^ acting on Mazarin's instructions, had made 
 themselves acquainted with the contents of these inter- 
 esting epistles, by a method which had effectually baffled 
 detection. Now, however, the Cardinal learned, to his 
 amazement, that the governor, whom he had hitherto 
 believed to be entirely devoted to his interests, had 
 been playing him false ; that the letters from the King 
 which he had handed to Madame de Venel were not the 
 only ones from his Majesty which had reached La 
 Rochelle ; that, by the King's orders, the faithless 
 Terron had held long and frequent conversations with 
 Mile. Marie, seeking by every possible argument to 
 shake the girl's resolution to hold no further communi- 
 cation with her royal lover, and encouraging her to 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 177 
 
 hope that, since it had been found impossible to cele- 
 brate Louis XIV's marriage with the Infanta before the 
 following spring, it might not after all take place. 
 
 It is amusing to note that his Eminence's informant 
 was none other than Louis XIV's own confidential valet- 
 de-chambre, Blouin, "whom the Cardinal had purchased 
 body and soul." 
 
 Mazarin -was, of course, furious with Terron,^ who, 
 however, entrenched himself behind the express orders 
 of the King ; and the Cardinal was, in consequence, com- 
 pelled to overlook his delinquency and derive what 
 consolation he could from an assurance that he was 
 deeply penitent and would offend no more, but would 
 deal with future epistles from his Majesty "as his 
 Eminence might be pleased to order him." 
 
 This discovery troubled Mazarin beyond measure, 
 for it showed him that Louis's passion was still as 
 lively as ever, and he had serious doubts whether his 
 niece would continue to resist the entreaties of her 
 lover. He, accordingly, determined to take without 
 delay a step which would put an end to the affair alto- 
 gether, at least so far as marriage was concerned. 
 
 In the early days of her rupture with the King, while 
 suffering all the anguish of wounded pride, Marie had 
 begged her uncle to find a husband for her as speedily 
 as possible, to save her from the humiliations to which 
 she felt that she would be subjected, should Louis XIV's 
 marriage with the Infanta find her still unwed. At the 
 
 ^ The devoted Colbert was greatly enraged at his relative's treachery, 
 which, he wrote to the Cardinal, was a reflection on the whole Colbert 
 family, and made him feel unworthy to subscribe himself his Eminence's 
 very faithful servant. So incensed was he that he even talked of pro- 
 ceeding to La Rochellc to mete out punishment to his faithless kinsman 
 with his own hands ; and the Cardinal had to send him orders to forego 
 his intended vengeance. 
 
1 78 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 same time, she had expressed a strong disinclination to 
 become the wife of a foreign prince, above all of an 
 Italian or a Spaniard, and had intimated her preference 
 for Prince Charles of Lorraine, nephew and heir of 
 the reigning Duke, the eccentric Charles IV, of whose 
 good qualities she had heard much while at Court. 
 The Cardinal was more than a little doubtful as to the 
 wisdom of his niece's choice, deeming that the greater 
 the distance he could contrive to place between her and 
 Paris, the better it would be for the peace of mind of 
 all parties concerned. But, since it appeared to him to 
 be advisable to humour her at this juncture, he now 
 wrote to inform her that he was sending the Bishop of 
 Frejus to Brouage, with proposals of marriage on behalf 
 of the Prince of Lorraine. As a matter of fact, he had 
 had no dealings whatever with the prince in question, 
 and was at that moment in constant communication 
 with Don Pedro Colonna, whom he saw almost every- 
 day during the Conferences, with the view of marry- 
 ing his wayward niece to the latter's nephew, Lorenzo 
 Onofrio Colonna, Principe di Palliano, Grand Constable 
 of the kingdom of Naples, one of the greatest noble- 
 men of Italy and Spain. Don Pedro wrote to his 
 nephew, at Rome, strongly urging the advantages of a 
 union with the family of the wealthy and all-powerful 
 Minister ; and the Constable accepted the proposition 
 with alacrity, notwithstanding that he was perfectly 
 aware of Marie's love-affair, which, indeed, was by this 
 time the talk of all Europe. 
 
 Louis XIV's marriage with the Infanta having been 
 definitely postponed until the spring, it had been decided 
 that the Court should spend the winter in Provence, and 
 accordingly, on 7 October, it left Bordeaux and pro- 
 ceeded by easy stages to Toulouse, where it arrived a 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 179 
 
 week later. The Cardinal, of course, remained at 
 Saint-Jean-de-Luz, to discuss with the Spanish plenipo- 
 tentiaries the last clauses of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, 
 which was finally signed on 7 November ; but his con- 
 fidant Bartet accompanied the Court and did not fail to 
 notify his Eminence of all that happened during the 
 journey. 
 
 " The King," he writes, " has found means to play 
 cards all the way from Bordeaux. On the second day, 
 he quitted the Queen's coach and entered that occupied 
 by the Comtesse de Soissons and Madame d'Uzes. They 
 contrived a table, on which they played high enough to 
 lose three or four hundred pistoles. Up to this time, 
 the loss is not the ladies' ; it is the King who loses." 
 
 And again : 
 
 "The King has resumed his relations with the 
 countess ; he has recommenced to talk and laugh with 
 her, so that matters are progressing as well as one could 
 desire. They dined every day in the coach without 
 leaving it. The Comte de Soissons has also resumed 
 with the King his former manner of paying court to 
 him. The servants and those about them are certain 
 that things are going from good to better." 
 
 And then, in a third report : 
 
 " The King lives on such good terms with M. and 
 Madame de Soissons that nothing could possibly be 
 better. His Majesty entertained them, three days since, 
 with a ball and a play, and afterwards they partook of 
 medianoche'^ together, having passed more than three 
 hours in conversation, perhaps of things past rather than 
 of those of the future." 
 
 ^ Medianoche was a meat supper eaten at midnight on fast-days. It 
 was a custom which had been introduced into France from Spain. There 
 was considerable diversity of opinion among the devout as to its lawfulness. 
 
i8o FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Bartet adds that he has exhorted the countess to make 
 even greater efforts to attach the King to her than those 
 which she had employed " previous to the storm 
 raised by her sister " ; that he has had occasion to 
 reproach her with a lack of warmth in her manner 
 towards his Majesty, which has caused him (Bartet) 
 " inconceivable anxiety," and that though he hopes for 
 the best, the fact that he has once witnessed his 
 Majesty escape from the lady's hands " into those less 
 merciful," makes him a trifle dubious as to the ultimate 
 issue. He concludes by urging that the countess should 
 be appointed dame d'honneur to the future Queen. 
 
 From all of which it will be gathered that Mazarin, 
 who, in his memorable despatch to the King, had ex- 
 pressed such righteous horror at the possibility of Marie 
 Mancini "assuming a position which would dishonour 
 her" and imperilling the wedded happiness of the 
 Infanta, had not the smallest objection in the world to 
 seeing her elder sister playing the same role, if thereby 
 his own ends might be served. 
 
 In Bartet's reports to the Cardinal, Anne of Austria 
 appears in a far from favourable light. " The Queen," 
 he writes, " does not know herself for joy at the renewal 
 of the King's relations with the Comtesse de Soissons. 
 1 believe that she will be still more pleased if the news 
 flies to Brcuage, where it will doubtless soon arrive." 
 
 It would appear that the Queen's horror of the mis- 
 alliance which her son had contemplated was such that 
 she was ready to welcome every means whereby he 
 mjght be weaned from so disastrous a step, and even 
 the taking of a mistress on the eve of his marriage was 
 regarded by her with complacency, since it seemed to 
 afford a kind of guarantee against any revival of his 
 passion for Marie Mancini. For that unfortunate girl, 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS i8i 
 
 Anne had conceived the most violent aversion, and 
 Bartet's belief that the news of the rapprochement be- 
 tween the King and the countess would soon reach 
 Brouage proved well founded, for the Queen, with a re- 
 finement of cruelty, directed Madame de Soissons to 
 inform her sister of the fact, a command which that lady 
 joyfully obeyed. 
 
 Poor Marie was in despair on learning that the first 
 result of her generous renunciation had been to pave 
 the way for the triumph of her detested sister, and 
 wrote forthwith to the Cardinal. 
 
 Marie Mancini to the Cardinal. 
 
 "Although I wrote two days ago to your Eminence, 
 I cannot prevent myself from troubling you again, to 
 tell you of all the grief I am suffering, and you can form 
 some idea as to whether I have reason. The Comtesse 
 de Soissons has written to me and informed me that the 
 King has done her the honour to converse with her as 
 he did formerly, and that she believes that I have 
 already heard this news, since the King had told her 
 that he had already written to me himself. These are 
 the very words of the countess's letter. 
 
 " Your Eminence can see by that, that, even in this 
 century of ours, there are Job's comforters. But, since, 
 by obeying you, I have afforded her reason for offering 
 me these condolences, I ask of you two things : one, to 
 prevent them making mock of me, and the other, to 
 remove me out of reach of their railleries, by marrying 
 me speedily, which I very humbly implore you to do." 
 
 This letter caused Mazarin profound uneasiness. If 
 Marie, goaded to fury by the taunts of the Comtesse de 
 Soissons, were to break her resolution so far as to com- 
 
1 82 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 plain to the King, and the latter were to discover that 
 the countess's letter had been written by order of the 
 Queen, the result would be exceedingly unpleasant ; 
 and it might very well happen that his task would have 
 to be begun all over again. He, therefore, determined to 
 raise a new barrier between the lovers by acceding to his 
 niece's request to find a husband for her without delay. 
 
 At the beginning of November, Ondedei, Bishop of 
 Fr6jus, arrived at Brouage. He was the bearer of the 
 most affectionate messages from Mazarin, who assured 
 his niece that her happiness was his chief consideration, 
 and that he was desirous of doing everything in his 
 power to further her wishes in regard to Prince Charles 
 of Lorraine. At the same time, he was instructed to tell 
 her that this project presented great difficulties, and that 
 her uncle had found a far more suitable husband for her 
 in the person of the Constable Colonna, already men- 
 tioned, whom he was most anxious that she should 
 accept. The bishop hastened to add that, of course, the 
 Cardinal left her perfectly free to decide the matter for 
 herself, nothing being further from his intention than to 
 force her into a marriage contrary to her inclinations. 
 Marie refused even to consider the matter ; and, though 
 Ondedei remained some days at Brouage, and had 
 several lengthy conversations with the girl, with the 
 object of impressing upon her the advantages of the 
 Colonna marriage, he was unable to alter her decision. 
 On his departure, he carried away with him the following- 
 letter for the Cardinal : — 
 
 Marie Mancini to the Cardinal. 
 
 "November 1659, Brouage. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — I have several things to tell your 
 Eminence regarding the proposal which M. de Frejus 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 183 
 
 has made to me on your behalf. . . . M. de Frejus will 
 be able to explain my feelings to your Eminence better 
 than I can express them ; but, above all, I beg you to 
 be persuaded that I leave absolutely to him [Mazarin] 
 what relates to myself, and am prepared to do everything 
 he may wish. Nevertheless, I am obliged to tell you 
 that I could not be happy at Rome, and that I might 
 even render the person who married me unhappy, for it 
 would be impossible for me to accustom myself to the 
 way of living in that country. Let not your Eminence 
 imagine that I have other reasons for remaining in 
 France. If an alliance with the Prince of Lorraine 
 cannot be arranged, as I am aware that it presents many 
 obstacles, let your Eminence choose whoever he may 
 approve of, gentleman or prince, provided that it be 
 soon. That is all I ask of him, since I am beginning to 
 grow very weary of this place. 
 
 " Monseigneur de Frejus will be able to inform you 
 better of the state in which he finds me, and, if you 
 were to see me sometimes, I should arouse your 
 compassion."^ 
 
 The Conferences with Spain terminated on 12 Novem- 
 ber, and, the following day, Mazarin started for Toulouse 
 to rejoin the Court, where he arrived on the 22nd. 
 The Bishop of Frejus arrived a few days later and 
 informed the Cardinal of the result of his mission to 
 Brouage, laying stress on the state of exasperation into 
 which the King's relations with the Comtesse de Soissons 
 had thrown Marie. He counselled the Cardinal to 
 endeavour to pacify her without delay, if he desired to 
 avoid some awkward scandal. 
 
 On the other hand, Mazarin had discovered, on his 
 
 ^ Published by Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
1 84 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 arrival at Toulouse, that the intimacy between the King 
 and the Comtesse de Soissons was more apparent than 
 real ; so much so indeed that he began to fear that his 
 Majesty was dissimulating. He, therefore, spoke to 
 him of Marie in very affectionate and sympathetic terms, 
 adding that it would, perhaps, be as well for Louis to 
 assure her himself of his remembrance and regard. 
 Then he wrote to his niece a soothing letter, informing 
 her that "the person for whom she had the utmost 
 esteem [the King] " had charged him to assure her that 
 nothing was capable of making him change, whatever 
 people might say or write to the contrary, on the ground 
 of appearances which had no foundation. He also 
 promised not to press the Colonna marriage, "although," 
 he adds, " I know that the Constable Colonna, head of 
 a family so illustrious, so accomplished and so handsome 
 a prince, with a rent-roll of two hundred thousand 
 crowns, is assuredly one of the most brilliant matches 
 possible to find, and Cardinal Colonna, his uncle, has 
 written to me several times, soliciting the marriage with 
 great eagerness, since he prefers it to all others." 
 
 As it had been decided that the Court should remain 
 in the South until after Louis XIV's marriage with 
 the Infanta, Mazarin judged it safe to put an end to 
 Marie's exile, and, accordingly, gave directions for his 
 nieces to return to Paris, whither they set out at the 
 end of December. Scarcely had they started, how- 
 ever, when the poor Cardinal had a terrible fright, 
 for the King, growing weary of the monotony of the 
 provinces, suddenly announced his intention of passing 
 the rest of the winter in Paris. Mazarin was in the 
 utmost consternation, for, if his Majesty were to carry 
 out his resolution, he did not doubt that all his 
 work would be undone in a very short time. Happily 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 185 
 
 for his peace of mind, troubles arose at Aix and 
 Marseilles, and provided him with a specious pretext for 
 persuading the King to remain in Provence. 
 
 During their journey to Paris, Hortense and Mari- 
 anne both fell ill, and, in consequence, the little party 
 did not reach the capital until the end of January, where 
 their arrival was announced by the rhyming chronicler 
 Loret in the following verses : — 
 
 "... Les illustres Mancines 
 Du Louvre a present citadines, 
 
 Jeudi, dans la maison du Roi, 
 
 Arriverent en bel arroi. 
 
 Les trois pucelles triomphantes 
 
 Qui valent vraiment les Infantes, 
 
 Mademoiselle Mancini 
 
 Dont le merlte est infini : 
 
 A savoir I'illustre Marie, 
 
 Qui, sans aucune flatterie, 
 
 Fait voir un coeur place des mieux, 
 
 Et digne du destin des dieux.''^ 
 
 The Cardinal had given orders for his nieces to 
 take up their quarters at the Palais-Mazarin ; but, 
 for some reason, at the last moment, these were counter- 
 manded, and poor Marie had, in consequence, to return 
 to her old apartments at the Louvre, where every object 
 served to remind her of the lover who had spent so 
 many hours there with her. To add to the bitterness of 
 her regrets, the portraits of the Infanta seemed to 
 be everywhere, and the few ladies whose visits her uncle 
 had authorized her to receive could talk of nothing else 
 but the approaching marriage. 
 
 The ratification of the Treaty of the Pyrenees 
 
 ^ "La Muse Historique," i February 1660. 
 
1 86 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 (23 January 1660) was celebrated everywhere by public 
 rejoicings, and Marie was compelled, by the Cardinal's 
 orders, to assist at the Te Deum at Notre-Dame, 
 while, the same evening, she attended a grand display of 
 fireworks at the hotel of Marechal de I'Hopital, Gover- 
 nor of Paris. " I could not prevent myself from 
 reflecting," she writes in her Memoirs, "how dearly I 
 had paid for this peace over which all showed so 
 much joy, and no one thought that, but for the sacrifice 
 I had made, the King would perhaps have refused 
 to allow his marriage to be accomplished." However, 
 in the midst of these trying circumstances, the girl 
 showed much strength of character, her natural pride 
 coming to her aid and enabling her to disguise the 
 bitterness of her feelings. 
 
 If Marie had hoped to find some liberty in Paris, 
 she had counted without her uncle. The Cardinal's 
 orders did not permit his nieces to see more than a very 
 limited number of people, and their vigilant gouvernante 
 took care that they should not be infringed. His 
 Eminence was anxious, above all things, that the young 
 ladies' conduct should provide no material for gossip, and 
 he regulated most minutely everything which concerned 
 them. 
 
 " They must conduct themselves with discretion In 
 Paris," he writes to Madame de Venel, " for many 
 people will keep a close watch on the behaviour of my 
 nieces. I am perfectly willing for them to amuse 
 themselves, but In such a way that no one can find 
 anything to babble about. As for their visiting, they 
 must go, on their arrival, to see the Queen of England,^ 
 and pay her a visit once a month. They must also visit 
 from time to time Madame de Carignan and Madame 
 
 1 Henrietta Maria, widow of Charles I. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 187 
 
 de Vendome, and be careful to caress my great-nephews ; 
 and Madame d'Angoul^me the younger, who is the 
 friend of our family and very virtuous, Madame de 
 Villeroi, and Madame de Crequi. And I do not wish 
 that my nieces should go to the play, unless in the 
 company of one of the last-mentioned ladies. 
 
 " I do not doubt that my nieces will be very satisfied 
 with the manner in which Madame Colbert will treat 
 them, for, besides the affection which she has for my 
 family, they may derive much profit from her con- 
 versation. I shall be very pleased to learn that the said 
 lady is often with my nieces, when they will act as they 
 should, if they pay her great attention, with which I 
 shall be very pleased." 
 
 Poor Marie's dejection continued, and the prospect 
 of being compelled to assist at the fetes in honour of 
 the approaching marriage, preparations for which were 
 being made on all sides, did not tend to promote a more 
 cheerful frame of mind. At the beginning of March, 
 she received a letter from her uncle, enclosing one from 
 the King, to which the Cardinal directed her to reply. 
 His Majesty's letter was couched in coldly conventional 
 terms, and the girl did not doubt that it was the 
 outcome of a plot hatched between the Queen, the 
 Cardinal, and the Comtesse de Soissons to show her 
 that Louis's love for her was dead. To Mazarin she 
 replied : — 
 
 Marie Mancini to the Cardinal. 
 
 "March 1660. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — I am in receipt of the letter which 
 your Eminence has done me the honour to write to me, 
 and I do not intend to fail to obey your orders in 
 despatching an answer to the letter which you have sent 
 
1 88 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 me. 1 assure you that it is conceived in the terms 
 which you would desire. What troubles me, are the 
 reports which are going about, and which cause me to 
 doubt greatly whether I possess the honour of his [the 
 King's] friendship. 
 
 "... I look forward with great impatience to the 
 month of May, when I hope to have the honour of 
 seeing you, and expressing to you my gratitude for all 
 your kindness." 
 
 Some days later, Marie received another letter from 
 Louis XIV, enclosed, like the first, in one from her 
 uncle ; and this time she replied to it without sending 
 the letter to the Cardinal. But the King's letter caused 
 her nothing but pain, since all that she heard confirmed 
 her in the belief that he was paying the most assiduous 
 court to the Comtesse de Soissons, while, at the same 
 time, expressing some impatience at the delays to which 
 his marriage was being subjected. Her only desire now 
 v/as to awaken, in her turn, Louis's jealousy and marry 
 before him. 
 
 All the ladies of Paris were now busily engaged in 
 selecting the toilettes which they intended to wear at 
 the festivities which would follow the return of Louis 
 XIV and his bride to their capital. While awaiting the 
 Cardinal's orders respecting those which he desired for 
 his nieces on this auspicious occasion — for Mazarin, as 
 we have said, regulated everything which concerned 
 them — Madame de Venel caused all the costly gowns 
 which the girls had left in Paris on their departure for 
 La Rochelle to be laid out for their inspection. One day, 
 on entering her room, Marie found a particularly 
 dazzling confection spread out upon her bed, and, on 
 catching sight of it, burst into a passion of tears. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 189 
 
 Neither Madame de Venel nor Hortense, who were 
 both present at the time, understood the cause of her 
 grief; but when the gouvernante had retired, Hortense 
 endeavoured to calm her sister and inquired why she 
 was weeping so bitterly. " The last time that I wore 
 that gown," replied Marie, " he [the King] said to me : 
 * That toilette becomes you ravishingly, my Queen ! * " 
 And, the next day, she informed Madame de Venel that 
 nothing could induce her ever to wear the gown in 
 question again. 
 
 The young girls grew very weary of the monotonous 
 and secluded life which their uncle's orders compelled 
 them to lead, and complained bitterly to Madame de 
 Venel, who, in her turn, lamented in her letters to 
 Mazarin the ill-humour of her charges. She was also 
 much exercised in her mind at Marianne's constant 
 demands for money. " Mile. Marianne, if she were a 
 preacher, would never preach, save to beg for money," 
 she writes. *' Besides what she has had from your 
 Eminence since we arrived here, I have often given her 
 a pistole, and sometimes two." The money, it would 
 appear, was lost at the card-table. 
 
 The Cardinal was very angry with Marianne ; but a 
 letter which he received from that young lady, or rather 
 the postscript thereof, completely disarmed him. 
 
 Marianne to the Cardinal. 
 "Paris, the 13th of the month of April 1660. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — It is a long while since I have done 
 myself the honour of writing to your Eminence ; but 
 that was from fear of troubling you, for you have so 
 many affairs to attend to that I believed you would not 
 do me the honour to read my letters. I shall experience 
 
190 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the greatest conceivable joy when the marriage is con- 
 cluded, for I hope soon to have the honour of seeing 
 the Queen and your Eminence, whom I await with 
 great impatience. I beg of you to often recall to mind 
 Marianne de Mancini. 
 
 " P.S. — Monseigneur, — As Madame de Venel refuses 
 to give me any money without your Eminence's orders, 
 I entreat you to tell her to do so, since I am greatly in 
 need of it. I am dying of fear lest my pockets may 
 be lined with the skin of the devil, for the cross always 
 escapes from them.^ I believe that those of my sisters 
 are not more blessed than mine, as they are scarcely 
 richer than myself. I offer for you in all my letters the 
 same prayer as in this one, which is that I may always 
 retain your affection, etc. 
 
 His Eminence, we are assured, laughed till the tears 
 ran down his cheeks over the idea of pockets lined 
 with the devil's skin ; the Queen was equally amused, 
 and the request of the audacious Marianne was promptly 
 granted. 
 
 One of the few diversions which Mazarin permitted his 
 nieces was that of taking an occasional constitutional in 
 the garden of the Tuileries, always, it is needless to say, 
 escorted by Madame de Venel. The Cardinal had also 
 given instructions that they were to go very simply 
 dressed and masked, as he did not wish them to excite 
 attention. At first, Marie had taken but little pleasure 
 in these promenades, and had often excused herself, on 
 one plea or another, from accompanying her sisters ; 
 but, on a sudden, she began to evince quite an affection 
 for the Tuileries and was often the first to propose a 
 walk there. The Argus-eyed Madame de Venel quickly 
 
 ^ The pistole bore on its reverse side the cross of Savoy. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 191 
 
 perceived that this change had coincided with the 
 appearance in the gardens of a handsome young man of 
 distinguished appearance, who seemed to regard Mile. 
 Marie with rather more attention than was perhaps quite 
 consistent with good breeding, without, however, ventur- 
 ing to address her. Nor was it long before she made the 
 further discovery that the gentleman in question was 
 none other than that very Prince Charles of Lorraine to 
 whom Marie had so earnestly begged her uncle to marry 
 her in preference to the Constable Colonna. 
 
 Thereupon, the gouvernante, to the intense disgust of 
 her charges, was forthwith seized with a diplomatic 
 illness, which made it impossible for her to leave her 
 room, and, in consequence, for the young ladies to visit 
 the Tuileries for some days. Madame de Venel, of 
 course, employed the interval in writing to Mazarin, 
 to acquaint him with this new development and to ask 
 for instructions. The same courier carried to the 
 Cardinal a letter from Marie, bitterly complaining of 
 the conduct of Madame de Venel, who would not 
 permit her to go out, and whose ill-humour, she de- 
 clared, " occasioned her more suffering than his Emin- 
 ence could possibly imagine." The writer concluded 
 by asserting that " her only hope of escaping these 
 mortifications, and of ending the torment to which she 
 was at present subjected, lay in his Eminence's return." 
 
 To Madame de Venel's astonishment, the Cardinal 
 seemed inclined to ignore the attentions of Prince 
 Charles of Lorraine, and that prince, in default of 
 obtaining permission from the gouvernante to visit her 
 charges, continued to follow them so assiduously in 
 their walks and drives that soon all Paris was talking 
 of it. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 Journey of Philip IV and the Infanta to the frontier — Indifference of 
 Louis XIV to the preparations for his marriage — Letters of the King 
 to the Infanta — Her reply — The marriage by procuration — Portrait 
 of Maria Theresa — The King's present to his bride — Interview 
 between the King of Spain and Anne of Austria at the He des 
 Faisans — Interview between the two kings — Marriage of Louis XIV 
 and Maria Theresa at Saint-Jean-de-Luz — Marie Mancini and Prince 
 Charles of Lorraine — Letter of Marie to the Cardinal after the 
 marriage of the King — Louis XIV makes a pilgrimage of love to 
 La Rochelle and Brouage — Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, becomes 
 the rival of his nephew for the hand of Marie Mancini — Intrigue of 
 Mazarin to excite the King's jealousy against Prince Charles of 
 Lorraine and Marie — Visit of the Cardinal's nieces to Fontainebleau 
 — Icy reception of Marie by the King — Her grief and mortifica- 
 tion — Mazarin objects to his niece's marriage with Prince Charles, and 
 urges her to accept the Constable Colonna — She again refuses. 
 
 AT the conclusion of the Conferences at the beginning 
 '^ ^ of November 1659, Mazarin had pushed on the 
 arrangements for the royal marriage with all possible 
 expedition. Owing, however, to the feeble health of 
 Philip IV, which rendered a journey to the frontier so 
 late in the year out of the question, it had been found 
 necessary to postpone the happy event till the following 
 April. Further delay occurred, owing to the leisurely 
 manner in which the Spaniards made their preparations; 
 and it was the end of March before the King of Spain 
 and his daughter left Madrid. 
 
 So soon as Louis XIV was informed that his bride- 
 elect had set out upon her journey, he quitted Avignon, 
 
 192 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 193 
 
 where the Court then was, and approached the frontier 
 to receive her. But Philip IV, who deemed it indispen- 
 sable to his own and his daughter's dignity to travel 
 with a retinue which extended for six leagues and 
 required four thousand sumpter-horses and mules to 
 transport their baggage,^ moved with unconscionable 
 slowness, halting at various towns to allow his loyal 
 subjects to entertain him with bull-fights, masquerades, 
 and other amusements, so that it was not until 3 June 
 that Fontarabia was reached, some six weeks later than 
 had been originally intended.^ 
 
 Louis XIV evinced a most profound indifference to 
 the preparations which were being made for his wedding, 
 save so far as regarded the horses, equipages, and 
 liveries. In those which concerned the Infanta, he 
 seemed to take not the faintest interest. However, 
 since it was necessary to express to his fiancee the joy he 
 was supposed to feel at her approach, he obtained per- 
 mission to write to her, and despatched the following 
 letter. It will be observed that he addresses the princess 
 as if she were already Queen. 
 
 1 "The wedding-garment3 of the bride-elect, twenty-three complete 
 attires, were contained in twelve trunks lined and covered with crimson 
 velvet, the hinges, the locks, and the keys being of silver ; twenty other 
 trunks covered with russia leather contained the linen. There were 
 also six trunks lined with crimson satin, their hinges, bars, and locks 
 being gold enamelled. Two of them contained presents for the Due 
 d'Anjou (Monsieur), and the others presents to be distributed among the 
 ladies of the French Court. No less than fifty sumpter-horses were 
 required to carry the articles for the Infanta's toilette, and twenty-five 
 more for exquisite hangings and tapestry. In addition to all this, there 
 were special robes and liveries for the entry into Paris, a sedan-chair 
 adorned with silver, worked like Flanders lace, and for charity and other 
 gifts the Infanta had 50,000 pistoles." — Bingham's "Marriages of the 
 Bourbons." 
 
 2 According to a letter in the Thurloe State Papers, which is cited by 
 Bingham, the wedding had been originally fixed for 20 April, and the 
 Court had intended to be in Paris again by the end of May. 
 
194 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Louis XIV to the Infanta. 
 
 " Auch, 25 April 1 660. 
 
 " I take advantage, with the greatest conceivable 
 pleasure, of the permission which has been given me to 
 write to your Majesty, and to assure her myself of all 
 the passion I feel for Her. I envy the happiness which 
 this gentleman [the bearer of the letter] will have in 
 beholding her sooner than myself, and although I have 
 commanded him to represent clearly to your Majesty to 
 what degree I shall esteem myself happy when I can 
 explain to her my feelings by word of mouth, I very 
 much doubt whether he will succeed in acquitting him- 
 self as I should wish. In short, my impatience is 
 greater than I can possibly express, and, without the 
 consolation that I have in seeing that we are drawing 
 nearer to each other, nothing could prevent me from 
 coming to her in person. In the meantime, my favourite 
 conversation is to speak of the perfections of your 
 Majesty and to listen to the accounts which I hear of 
 them from all parts. I am entirely your Majesty's. 
 
 From her childhood, Maria Theresa, notwithstanding 
 the fact that France and Spain were at war, had always 
 regarded Louis XIV as her future husband,^ and the 
 portraits which she had seen of him, and the glowing 
 terms in which the Marechal de Gramont had depicted 
 his young master, when he came to Madrid to demand 
 her hand, had contributed to arouse in her a feeling 
 which was hardly distinguishable from love. Knowing 
 nothing of the Mancini affair, she believed that the 
 
 1 According to Madame de Motteville, her mother had told the 
 princess that to be happy she must either be Queen of France or a nun. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 195 
 
 above letter expressed his Majesty's true sentiments 
 towards her, and was duly enchanted with it. 
 
 Soon after the Court arrived at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 
 where the marriage was to be celebrated, we find Louis 
 again writing to his bride-elect. 
 
 Louis XIF to the Infanta. 
 
 " Saint- Jean-de-Luz. 
 
 *' Seeing your Majesty approach and my happiness 
 with her, I cannot contain my joy, and, although it is 
 impossible to express what I feel, I do not hesitate to 
 send to your Majesty the Comte de Noailles, Captain 
 of my Guards, in whom I have every confidence, to tell 
 you that my delight is beyond all expression. I am 
 enchanted to think that I am on the eve of being able to 
 assure you of this in person. I desire it with a passion 
 which has no equal, and which, in a word, corresponds 
 to the merit of your Majesty. " L." 
 
 To this letter the princess hastened to reply, though 
 in more measured terms. 
 
 The Infanta to Louis XIV, 
 
 " Fontarabia, the 3rd of June 1660. 
 " Seigneur, — I have received the letter which your 
 Majesty has sent me by the Comte de Noailles, accom- 
 panied by the demonstrations of attachment and joy 
 which our nearer approach occasions your Majesty, and 
 which this nobleman has assured me he has remarked in 
 you. I have received this assurance with all the defer- 
 ence due to the gallantry of your Majesty and de- 
 manded by the good fortune of having obtained so 
 great a favour. I shall endeavour always to deserve 
 it, by conforming to the wishes which your Majesty 
 
T96 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Imposes on me, desiring that God will grant you every 
 
 felicity such as I desire. ,, i», «- „ 
 
 ■' " Maria Theresa. 
 
 On 3 June 1660, the day on which the Spanish 
 Court reached Fontarabia, the marriage by procuration 
 was celebrated. The ceremony was performed by the 
 Bishop of Pampeluna, Don Luis de Haro acting as 
 proxy for the King of France, with the Bishop of 
 Frejus as best man. The bride wore a kind of close- 
 fitting white cap, which entirely concealed her hair, and a 
 white satin gown embroidered with gold and precious 
 stones, which, says Madame de Motteville, a witness 
 of the ceremony, " made her resemble those Spanish 
 Madonnas whose figures are invisible beneath the 
 profusion and stiffness of their robes woven with gold 
 and silver, and whose heads are buried in enormous 
 ruffs." The chronicler, however, adds that her beauty 
 triumphed over her unsightly dress, " an infallible proof 
 of its greatness," and proceeds to give us a detailed 
 description of the princess's charms, from which it 
 would appear that Maria Theresa must have been a very 
 ordinary-looking young woman indeed, with fine blue 
 eyes and an abundance of fair hair, but with a diminutive 
 figure, heavy features, a dull white complexion, and bad 
 teeth. 
 
 From other sources we learn that, though of a 
 virtuous and kindly disposition, she entirely lacked the 
 faculty of pleasing, and was gauche, timid, ignorant, and 
 bigoted to the last degree. In short, a greater contrast 
 in every way to poor Marie Mancini it would have been 
 impossible to conceive. 
 
 On the following day (Friday, 4 June), Louis XIV 
 sent his wedding-present to his bride, accompanied by 
 the following letter ; — 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 197 
 
 Louis XIV to the Queen. 
 
 ** Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 4 June 1660. 
 " To receive at the same time a letter from your 
 Majesty and the news of the celebration of our marriage, 
 and to be on the eve of enjoying the happiness of seeing 
 you, are assuredly subjects of indescribable joy to me. 
 My cousin,, the Due de Cr^qui, First Gentleman of my 
 Chamber, whom I send expressly to your Majesty, will 
 communicate to you the sentiments of my heart, in 
 which she will observe always more and more an extreme 
 impatience to be able to tell her of them myself. He 
 will present her also with some trifles from me." 
 
 These trifles consisted of a large casket, of which 
 la Grande Mademohelle has left us a description. It 
 was of sandal-wood inlaid with gold, and contained 
 everything that one could possibly imagine in the shape 
 of jewels in gold and diamonds, such as watches, gloves, 
 mirrors, patch-boxes ; little scent-bottles of all kinds ; 
 cases in which to put scissors and tooth-picks ; minia- 
 tures to place in a bed ; crosses, chaplets, rings, bracelets ; 
 a smaller casket, in which were pearls, diamond earrings, 
 and a box for the crown jewels. " In short," says 
 Mademoiselle, " one could not easily conceive that a 
 present so magnificent and gallant had ever been seen 
 before." ^ 
 
 The same day there was a private meeting between 
 Philip IV and Anne of Austria, who had not seen one 
 another for forty-five years, on the He des Faisans, where 
 the Conferences had been held.'* The Queen hastened 
 
 1 " Memoires de Mile, de Montpensicr." 
 
 ^ The lie des Faisans was a little island in the Bidassoa, but a few 
 hundred feet long ; the northern half belonged to France, the southern to 
 Spain. 
 
198 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 forward with open arms to embrace her brother, who, 
 however, received her in the most ceremonious manner 
 and merely pressed her hands, though he appeared to be 
 no less moved than Anne. A little later, Louis XIV 
 arrived on horseback, accompanied by some of his 
 gentlemen. He came incognito, and did not enter the 
 room where their Majesties and his bride were con- 
 versing, but remained at the door, and, " thrusting his 
 head between the shoulders of Don Luis de Haro and 
 the Cardinal, for a good quarter of an hour regarded the 
 Infanta, who, at a sign from Don Luis de Haro, cast 
 her eyes on the King of France and turned pale." As 
 Louis XIV was there incognito, the Spanish King did 
 not salute him and pretended to take him for some 
 private French gentleman. But he remarked, with a 
 smile, to his sister : " Tengo lingo Memo ! " (" I have a 
 handsome son-in-law.") When the Infanta embarked 
 on the Bidassoa to return to Fontarabia with her father, 
 Louis accompanied the barge, riding along the bank, hat 
 in hand, followed by a number of French and Spanish 
 nobles. 
 
 Two days later (6 June), the two kings met officially, 
 for the purpose of swearing to observe the Treaty of 
 the Pyrenees. They entered the conference chamber, 
 followed by the grandees of their respective realms, 
 and, after hearing the Treaty read, knelt down at a 
 small table opposite one another, with a copy of the 
 Gospels between them, Louis being on French territory, 
 Philip on Spanish,^ and took the oath to respect it. 
 On rising from their knees, they embraced, and, crucifix 
 
 1 With a punctilious regard for diplomatic etiquette, the building erected 
 for the Conferences had been placed exactly in the centre of the island, and, 
 •while the northern part of the principal apartment was French territory, 
 the southern was Spanish ground. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 199 
 
 in hand, promised eternal friendship. Then Mazarin 
 went to the window and waved his hand, whereupon 
 some cannon stationed by the French on the northern 
 bank of the river fired three discharges, which were 
 answered by those of the Spaniards on the opposite 
 shore. 
 
 On the morrow, the whole of the two Courts met at 
 the lie des Faisans, when Philip IV, after an affect- 
 ing leave-taking with his daughter, formally handed her 
 over to her husband, and took his departure for Madrid 
 with the same pomp as he had come, while the French 
 Court returned to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where on 9 June 
 the second marriage ceremony took place. 
 
 Between the house occupied by Anne of Austria, 
 where the Infanta had passed the last two days, and the 
 church of Saint- Jean a gallery had been erected, a little 
 higher than the street, and along this the royal party 
 made their way. All were on foot. First came the 
 Prince de Conti, accompanied by two gentlemen, bear- 
 ing blue wands covered with fleurs-de-lys ; Mazarin, 
 in full canonicals, followed ; after the Cardinal walked 
 the King, who was dressed in cloth of gold covered 
 with black lace, and wore no jewels ; and behind his 
 Majesty came the bride, conducted by Monsieur^ while 
 her chevalier d'honneur^ M. de Bournonville, walked on 
 her left hand. " She wore a petticoat of violet velvet 
 covered with little fleurs-de-lys, a royal mantle of the 
 same colour also covered with little fleurs-de-lys, the 
 facings being of white cloth edged with black ermine. 
 The royal mantle extended, without exaggeration, ten 
 ells ; Mile, de Valois held one corner. Mile. d'Alen9on 
 the other,^ and the middle, which, as I have said, was 
 
 ^ Miles, de Valois and d'Alen^on were the younger daughters of 
 Gaston d'Orleans. 
 
200 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 ten ells in length, was carried by the Princesse de 
 Carignan. All the princesses wore veils, which stretched 
 about four ells, on their heads ; they were of black 
 crepoji^ and their ends were held by three gentlemen. 
 The Queen-Mother followed ; her trailing veil was 
 carried by the Comtesse de Flers. Mademoiselle came 
 next, and M. de Mancini held her veil." Throughout 
 the procession to the church and the marriage ceremony, 
 which was performed by the Bishop of Bayonne, the 
 young Queen wore a gold crown, so heavy that her 
 dame d'atours (Mistress of the Robes), the Duchesse de 
 Navailles, stood behind her holding it, lest its weight 
 should prove too much for her. At the conclusion of 
 the ceremony, medals of gold and silver bearing the 
 portraits of the King and Queen were distributed 
 amongst the people. 
 
 From the naive confidences of Madame de Motte- 
 ville, it would appear that, for the rest of that memor- 
 able day, Louis XIV showed himself as much charmed 
 with his bride as if the match had been one of inclina- 
 tion, instead of policy ; while, during the days which 
 followed, " the Queen testified towards the King the 
 most lively affection, and took pleasure in revealing her 
 passion to the eyes of all." 
 
 While Louis XIV was spending his honeymoon at 
 Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Marie Mancini, in Paris, had be- 
 come the object of the most marked attentions on 
 the part of Prince Charles of Lorraine. Madame de 
 Choisy, mother of the famous abb^ of that name, and 
 a lady who, according to Mile, de Montpensier, was 
 " very much given to match-making," had suggested 
 the match to the prince, and, having taken counsel with 
 a certain Abbe Buti, a very adroit Italian, whom Marie 
 
M\ii 1 1. I m ii!iiii!i'iiiiiiiiiii' II 
 
 --a^at^--' ~ ii 1 1 illll'ilH l'i"li lli!li|i|ll!iililillll!l!iillHiiit!l|lliliiini!|! 
 
 troiii an engraving \>y NantL-uil 
 
 PRINCE CHARl.KS (AFTERWARDS CHARLES V) OK LORRAINE 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 201 
 
 employed occasionally in her service, the latter, "notwith- 
 standing the watchfulness of Madame de Venel, found 
 means to acquaint her with the intentions of Prince 
 Charles." 1 
 
 Marie received these overtures very favourably ; 
 indeed, as her latest biographer very justly remarks, 
 she would have been less than a woman had she be- 
 haved otherwise. At the moment when the return of 
 Louis XIV and his bride was about to expose her to 
 the sneers or compassion of the Court, a handsome 
 young prince, heir to a great name and a great fortune, 
 had become a suitor for her hand. Nor was this her 
 only motive. " Mademoiselle," wrote Madame de Venel 
 to the Cardinal, " desires to cause uneasiness to him 
 who has occasioned her so much." One thought, in 
 fact, possessed her mind : to be married before the 
 arrival of the King ; to show her faithless lover that 
 another had been ready and anxious to possess the 
 treasure which he had esteemed so lightly.^ 
 
 An interview was arranged with the prince, and was 
 quickly followed by others. Marie was delighted with 
 the handsome face, the charming manners, and the in- 
 telligence of her suitor ; all that she had heard of him 
 was abundantly confirmed, and she felicitated herself on 
 her acumen in having informed the Cardinal of her 
 preference for him, even before she had made his 
 acquaintance. But to affirm, as do M. Chantelauze and 
 ArvMe Barine, that she fell passionately in love, shows, 
 we think, an inability to appreciate her character, and is, 
 moreover, disproved by the sequel. 
 
 The prince, on his side, seems to have become as 
 completely fascinated as the King had been, though 
 
 ^ " Memoires du Marquis de Beauvau." 
 
 2 Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
202 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 how much of this was due to the lady's personal 
 charms and how much to the renown with which the 
 passion of Louis XIV had invested her is, of course, 
 difficult to say. Any way, he neglected no opportunity 
 of testifying his devotion, and Madame de Venel's post 
 was, in consequence, very far from a sinecure. The 
 gouvernante^ needless to remark, kept the Cardinal in- 
 formed of all that was happening ; but Mazarin sent no 
 precise orders and appeared inclined to allow matters 
 to take their course. 
 
 It is probable that an alliance with the House of 
 Lorraine would have been very favourably regarded by 
 the Cardinal, had it not been for the fear that, in leaving 
 Marie at the French Court, the King's passion might 
 reawaken, in which case he could not doubt that the 
 girl would use all her influence over Louis's mind to 
 revenge herself upon the Minister who had thwarted 
 her passion and her ambition. He determined, there- 
 fore, to adopt a waiting policy, and to come to no 
 definite decision on the matter until the King returned 
 with his bride to Paris, when he would be better able 
 to judge whether his niece might remain at the Court 
 without danger. 
 
 A few days after the royal marriage, that young lady 
 wrote to her uncle. 
 
 Marie Mancini to the Cardinal. 
 
 "Paris, 20 June 1660. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — 1 have experienced the greatest 
 conceivable joy on learning that all is concluded, and 
 that, in consequence, it will not be long before I have 
 the happiness of seeing you. You can well understand 
 that I have so many reasons to cause me to desire your 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 203 
 
 return that it will be necessary for me to acquaint you 
 with them in detail, after I have the pleasure of seeing 
 you. I am well persuaded that after having established 
 so gloriously the interests of France, you will think of 
 those of the person in the world who is with the utmost 
 sincerity yours," etc. etc. 
 
 In spit^ of this letter, it must not be supposed that 
 the marriage of Louis XIV had not occasioned the girl 
 the keenest anguish. But, as we have already observed, 
 pride with her was always stronger than love, and she 
 was now feverishly impatient to obtain the Cardinal's 
 consent to her marriage with Charles of Lorraine and 
 have the affair publicly announced before the return of 
 the Court to Paris. 
 
 If Mazarin had for a moment flattered himself that 
 the much-desired union with the Infanta had extin- 
 guished the King's passion for Marie Mancini, and that, 
 therefore, it would be safe to allow the latter to remain 
 at the French Court, he was speedily undeceived. Their 
 Majesties quitted Saint-Jean-de-Luz about the middle 
 of June, and travelled towards Paris by easy stages, 
 receiving in every town through which they passed the 
 most enthusiastic demonstrations of loyalty and de- 
 light. On reaching Bordeaux, Louis XIV suddenly 
 announced his intention of leaving the two queens to 
 continue their journey to Saint-Jean-d'Angely and 
 going to pay a visit of three days to La Rochelle and 
 Brouage. He desired, he said, to travel incognito, 
 accompanied only by two or three of his gentlemen. 
 
 The consternation of the Cardinal may be imagined. 
 At the moment when he believed, or at least hoped, 
 that the King was wholly occupied with his young bride, 
 
204 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 and had no thought to spare for Marie, this fatal 
 passion was so little extinguished that his Majesty 
 proposed to break his journey, in order to make a 
 pilgrimage of love to those sacred spots which had 
 witnessed the sufferings of his mistress ! And if such 
 were now the feelings which possessed him, what would 
 they be when he returned to Paris and found himself 
 once more in the presence of his enchantress, and 
 began to institute the inevitable comparisons between 
 her grace, vivacity, and intelligence, and the gaucherie, 
 timidity, and ignorance of the Queen ! 
 
 Anne of Austria was equally alarmed, but Louis had 
 given his orders in a tone which did not admit of any 
 opposition ; and the sole concession which Mazarin 
 was able to obtain from him, in order to minimize the 
 scandal which this romantic escapade could not fail to 
 arouse at Court, was permission to accompany the 
 King as far as La Rochelle, on the plea that, as he 
 was governor of the country of Aunis, it would appear 
 strange if he did not do the honours to his sovereign. 
 
 Leaving the Cardinal at La Rochelle, to continue his 
 journey to Paris, Louis proceeded to Brouage, accom- 
 panied only by three young noblemen, of whom one 
 was Philippe Mancini, but lately released from his im- 
 prisonment at Brissac, which had been greatly prolonged 
 by a foolish attempt to escape. 
 
 The King stayed two days at Brouage, during which 
 he made no effort to conceal the melancholy which 
 oppressed him ; and Philippe wrote to Marie that his 
 Majesty "wept much, as he walked by the sea in the 
 evening ; that he remained there until very late at 
 night, and sighed deeply." He added that the King 
 had expressed a wish to occupy the same room in the 
 chateau which had been allotted to her. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 205 
 
 The immediate result of this escapade was that the 
 Cardinal sent imperative orders to Colbert to cause his 
 nieces to remove at once from the Louvre to the 
 Palais-Mazarin, " since he did not deem it expedient 
 that they should be lodged at the Louvre when the 
 King and Queen arrived in Paris." 
 
 Those young ladies looked forward to the arrival of 
 the Court with very different feelings. Hortense and 
 Marianne, the latter of whom had at Easter made her 
 first communion, without, however, becoming any the 
 more serious, to judge by the nonsense verses which she 
 continued to address to her uncle, could talk of noth- 
 ing but the coming festivities. Marie, on the other 
 hand, anticipated the coming of the King with an ever- 
 increasing dread, and could scarcely bear to visit the 
 Louvre, " for fear that her countenance might betray 
 her." ^ 
 
 To add to her anxieties, the Cardinal, though prodigal 
 in promises, had as yet taken no steps in regard to the 
 proposals of Prince Charles of Lorraine, who continued 
 to pay her the most assiduous court. Since the romantic 
 pilgrimage of the King to Brouage, the doubt which 
 Mazarin had always entertained as to the wisdom of 
 allowing his niece to remain at the French Court had 
 given way to certainty, and he was now firmly resolved 
 that the Constable Colonna, and no one else, should 
 be her husband. In the meanwhile, the position of 
 affairs in Paris had become much complicated, owing to 
 the attitude of Prince Charles's uncle, the Duke of 
 Lorraine, which provided the Cardinal with an excel- 
 lent pretext for delay. 
 
 This eccentric personage, who, according to the ex- 
 pression of Voltaire, passed his life in losing his States 
 
 ^ Letter of Madame de Vcnel to Mazarin, 7 July 1660. 
 
2o6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 and in levying troops in order to reconquer them, had 
 shown himself on his accession to the ducal crown of 
 Lorraine the implacable enemy of Louis XIII. He 
 had given an asylum to Gaston d'Orleans, after that 
 prince's conspiracy against Richelieu, and had induced 
 him to marry his sister Marguerite, to the intense dis- 
 gust of the King of France. Later, he allied himself 
 with the Emperor Ferdinand II, and went about, at 
 the head of a body of mercenaries, burning, pillaging, and 
 committing all manner of atrocities. However, he did 
 not remain faithful to his allies, who revenged themselves 
 by luring him to Brussels, where he was arrested and 
 conducted to Spain. A five years' imprisonment in the 
 Castle of Toledo was terminated by the Treaty of the 
 Pyrenees, which restored to him Lorraine, but gave the 
 Duchy of Bar and the Clermontois to France ; and it 
 was his anxiety to recover his lost dominions which led 
 him to interfere in the affairs of his nephew and Marie 
 Mancini. But let us listen to his biographer, the 
 Marquis de Beauvau : — 
 
 " We know the ill-will of Charles IV towards 
 Prince Charles of Lorraine. Far from favouring his 
 project (i.e. the marriage with Marie Mancini), he 
 opposed it openly, loudly expressed his indignation 
 against those who supported it, and went so far as to 
 indulge in threats. Such a scandal could not fail to 
 wound the feelings of the Cardinal. But the Duke 
 sought to persuade him that he was only opposed to 
 the marriage of his nephew, because he desired to espouse 
 Mile, de Mancini himself^ and despatched the Due de 
 Guise to him to make a formal demand for her hand. 
 
 " At the same time, in order to break off his nephew's 
 commerce and his project of marriage, he proceeded to 
 pay frequent visits to Marie de Mancini, and to employ 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 207 
 
 every kind of cajolery and persuasion to induce her to 
 believe that he proposed to marry her himself. 
 
 "And, the better to win over Madame de Venel to his 
 cause, he threw one day into her lap a jewel which she 
 had refused to accept from his hand. On which, it 
 happened that the lady, having dropped it into the 
 knee-piece of her boot, it fell to the ground, and was 
 discovered by a lackey, who profited thereby, since 
 neither the Duke nor Madame de Venel cared to lay 
 claim to it." ^ 
 
 Far from being discouraged by this rebuff, the Duke 
 sent an ambassador to Madame de Venel, to inform her 
 that the Cardinal had practically accorded him his 
 niece's hand, and had promised him the restoration 
 of his confiscated States, by way of a dowry — a state- 
 ment which must have considerably astonished his 
 Eminence, when it reached his ears ; that the only 
 obstacle he feared was the aversion of the lady, which, 
 however, he hoped to be able to overcome with the aid 
 of the gotivernante, to whom he promised mountains and 
 marvels, if she would consent to assist him. 
 
 That discreet lady replied that she was much flattered 
 by these proofs of his Highness's confidence, though 
 deeply offended by the offers which accompanied them ; 
 but that she could, of course, do nothing in the matter, 
 since Mile, de Mancini was far too well-brought-up a 
 young lady to regard any suitor, save with her uncle's 
 eyes. And forthwith sent an account of the whole 
 affair to the Cardinal. 
 
 Charles IV was quite correct in his belief that Marie 
 regarded him with aversion, for not only was he inter- 
 fering with her plans in regard to his nephew, but he 
 was himself, apart from his rank, very far from the 
 ^ " Memoires du Marquis de Beauvau." 
 
208 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 kind of suitor to appeal to a young girl of her tem- 
 perament and education. He was fifty-six years of 
 age, " with eyes like those of a cat," coarse in his 
 tastes, coarse in his manner, and still coarser in his 
 conversation ; while his matrimonial vagaries and in- 
 numerable amours were the talk of Europe. He had 
 married, en premieres noces, Nicole, eldest daughter of 
 Henri k Bon^ Duke of Lorraine, and it was through 
 her that he had secured the ducal crown. Soon after- 
 wards, however, he declared this union annulled, and 
 married the beautiful and witty Beatrix de Cusane, 
 Princesse de Cantecroix. It was only after the con- 
 summation of this new marriage that Charles appealed 
 to the Vatican to confirm the nullity of the first ; upon 
 which the Princess Nicole solicited on her side the 
 nullity of the second. The Pope decided in favour of 
 Nicole, and excommunicated the Duke, who, however, 
 ignored the Bull, and continued to live with the Princesse 
 de Cantecroix, who followed him in all his travels and 
 was surnamed his '■^femme de campagney Nicole died in 
 1657, but the Duke refused to ratify his marriage with 
 Beatrix, and it was not until the latter lay on her death- 
 bed that he consented to marry her by proxy.^ 
 
 In spite of the discouraging reception accorded his 
 ridiculous pretensions by Mile. Mancini, Charles IV 
 continued to press his suit. " The Duke of Lorraine," 
 writes Marie, " perceiving the intention of his nephew, 
 and fearing that the marriage would not bring his 
 
 1 This prince, some years later, became deeply enamoured of the daugh- 
 ter of an apothecary, Marianne Pajot by name, who is described as a 
 marvellous beauty, and the contract for a morganatic marriage was already 
 drawn up, when Louis XIV, at the instance of the Duke's sister, the 
 Duchesse d'Orleans, put an end to the romance, by causing the fair 
 Marianne to be carried off and shut up in a monastery. Finally, at the 
 age of sixty-two, the amorous Duke espoused Louise d'Aspremont, a 
 maiden of thirteen summers, by whom, however, he had no children. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 209 
 
 Eminence over to his [the Duke's] interests, and that, 
 as the true successor of this prince, he might receive 
 from the Cardinal advantages to the prejudice of the 
 Duke, decided to forbid him absolutely to pay court to 
 me, and took his place, without reflecting that, at his 
 age, he was unable to fill it worthily, and that his 
 persistence in following me to the Cours de la Reine 
 and the Tuileries could not meet with the same success 
 as the attentions of his nephew."^ 
 
 Mazarin, who was of course kept informed of all 
 these proceedings by Madame de Venel, must have 
 smiled grimly, since he was fully determined in his own 
 mind that neither uncle nor nephew should wed the 
 girl. But though he gave no direct encouragement to 
 either of the princes, he still allowed Marie to believe 
 that he looked with favour upon the suit of the younger, 
 foreseeing that Prince Charles's passion for his niece 
 might ere long be turned to good account. 
 
 Firmly resolved though he was to remove Marie for 
 ever out of the King's path, by marrying her to the 
 Constable Colonna, the Cardinal was fain to admit that 
 the execution of his project offered serious difficulties. 
 Marie, as we have seen, had rejected the proposed 
 alliance in the strongest possible terms, and to attempt 
 to force her into it would be worse than futile, as 
 Louis XIV would most certainly interfere. A surer 
 means, however, presented itself to the Minister's mind. 
 The young King was intensely proud ; Marie was the 
 same. Let Mazarin but once succeed in awakening; 
 Louis's anger and jealousy, by inducing him to believe 
 that Marie had already found consolation for her 
 blighted hopes in the love of Prince Charles of Lor- 
 raine, and all would be easy. The King would treat 
 ^ *' La Veritc dans son jour." 
 
2IO FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 her with coldness and disdain in the presence of the 
 whole Court. The girl, unaware of the cause, and 
 bitterly humiliated at such conduct on the part of the 
 sovereign by whom, but a few months before, her 
 slightest wish had been so eagerly anticipated, would 
 ask nothing better than to place half Europe between 
 the Court of France and herself. Then her uncle 
 would represent to her the objections to her marriage 
 with Prince Charles of Lorraine and the advantages of 
 the Colonna alliance ; and there could be little doubt 
 what her decision would be. 
 
 The plan was no sooner conceived than executed. 
 The Comtesse de Soissons, who had come to Paris to 
 give birth to a son, received her orders, and, on rejoin- 
 ing the Court, lost no time in recounting to the King 
 the minutest details regarding her sister and Prince 
 Charles of Lorraine : their walks in the Tuileries, their 
 drives on the Cours de la Reine, the devotion of the 
 prince, the pronounced encouragement which his ad- 
 vances had met with from the lady, and so forth ; and 
 we may be very sure that the tale lost nothing in the 
 telling. Anne of Austria, on her side, ably seconded 
 the countess's efforts, and neglected nothing whereby 
 the gossip of the capital concerning the lovers might 
 reach her son's ears. The pride of the monarch re- 
 volted ; however, he took steps to verify what was 
 told him, but every one he questioned confirmed it, for 
 appearances were in its favour. At length, on 13 July, 
 the Court arrived at Fontainebleau, where it was to 
 remain until the preparations for the solemn entry 
 of the King and Queen into their capital were com- 
 pleted. Louis XIV's first care on meeting the Cardinal 
 was to inquire if it were true that his niece was to wed 
 Prince Charles of Lorraine. Mazarin replied that the 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 211 
 
 alliance was one which he greatly desired, and showed 
 the King the letters he had received from Marie and 
 Madame de Venel. Louis read them. " Cela est bien / " 
 he observed coldly, as he handed them back, while a 
 dark flush of anger mounted to his brow. He could 
 no longer doubt that he was replaced ! He, the King 
 of France 1 " Few men allow themselves to be re- 
 placed ; Louis XIV never allowed it, not through 
 vanity, but through monarchical faith. To reign alone 
 on the throne ; to reign alone in the hearts of those 
 whom he honoured with his affection ; the one appeared 
 to him as much a matter of divine right as the other."^ 
 Was the greatest sovereign in the world to be exposed 
 to the misadventures of vulgar lovers } The very 
 thought was intolerable ! 
 
 Mazarin heard the words, marked the angry flush 
 on his sovereign's brow, and, assured of the success of 
 his scheme, returned to Paris, and ordered his nieces 
 to proceed at once to Fontainebleau and salute their 
 Majesties. 
 
 Marie, as we may suppose, obeyed with the utmost 
 reluctance. "I felt," she tells us, "that, in entering the 
 presence of the King, 1 was about to reopen a wound 
 which was not completely healed, and of which absence 
 would have been better calculated to cure me." How- 
 ever, there was no gainsaying the Cardinal's commands, 
 and, on 22 July, she set out with her sisters for Fontaine- 
 bleau, all three arrayed in superb toilettes, which their 
 uncle had ordered for the occasion and the preparation 
 of which had delayed their visit until this date. 
 
 On their arrival, the girls were ushered into the 
 presence of the King and Anne of Austria ; the young 
 Queen was not present, having postponed all formal 
 
 ^ Arv^de Barine, " Princesses et grandes dames : Marie Mancini." 
 
212 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 receptions until after her entry into Paris. Marie, as 
 the eldest, was the first to advance to salute the Queen- 
 Mother, in so painful a state of agitation that she 
 scarcely dared to raise her eyes from the ground. On 
 presenting herself before the King, however, she raised 
 them involuntarily, and met those of Louis fixed upon 
 her with a look so cold and contemptuous that she felt 
 as if turned to stone. So overcome was she indeed, 
 that she had scarcely strength to make the three curtseys 
 prescribed by etiquette before retiring.^ 
 
 But she was not to escape so easily. Just as she 
 reached the door, the Queen-Mother, who had not 
 failed to observe the icy reception which the King had 
 accorded her, called her back, and, desirous of prolong- 
 ing the punishment of the girl whose misplaced ambi- 
 tion had occasioned the Cardinal and herself such 
 torments of anxiety, began to felicitate her upon her ap- 
 proaching marriage. By an heroic effort, the unhappy 
 Marie succeeded in mastering her emotion, and answered 
 that she was as yet in ignorance of her uncle's plans in 
 regard to her future. The Queen would have ques- 
 tioned her further, but Mazarin, who was present and 
 feared that Anne was going too fast and might disclose 
 their plot to its victim, created a diversion by beginning 
 to jest with Marianne, and the subject was allowed to 
 drop. At length, the girls withdrew, and Marie, has- 
 tening to the apartment which had been allotted them, 
 gave way to a passion of grief, which the sympathetic 
 Hortense essayed vainly to calm. " I could not have 
 imagined," she writes, " that his Majesty would have 
 received me with such coldness and indifference, and 
 
 ^ The first immediately after saluting the Queen, the second in the 
 middle of the room, and the last at the door. All the curtseys had to 
 be performed while walking backwards, the lady kicking away her train 
 as best she might. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 213 
 
 I must acknowledge that the astonishment and mortifica- 
 tion I experienced made me wish every moment to 
 return to Paris." ^ 
 
 However, she was compelled to remain at Fontaine- 
 bleau for some time longer, and to strive, as best she 
 might, to conceal the grief and mortification which con- 
 sumed her beneath a smiling countenance. This was no 
 easy task, nor was it rendered any the easier by the con- 
 duct of the Comtesse de Soissons, who took a malicious 
 pleasure in rallying the poor girl on her low spirits when- 
 ever the King happened to be within hearing. " You 
 find the time pass slowly when you are away from Paris," 
 she observed to her one day ; "nor am I surprised, since 
 you have left your gallant there." To which Marie, 
 who entertained no doubt that her amiable sister was en- 
 deavouring to embitter the King's mind against her, 
 coldly replied : "That is possible, Madame"; a remark 
 which appears to have still further alienated his Majesty. 
 
 Louis XIV, indeed, felt the deepest resentment against 
 her whom he had not yet succeeded in forgetting. He 
 thought bitterly that at the very moment that he was 
 making his romantic pilgrimage to Brouage, this woman 
 whom he had so dearly loved was giving to another the 
 heart which he had imagined to be his for ever. " In his 
 first indignation he did not pause to reflect," remarks 
 the lady's sympathetic biographer, Lucien Perey, " that 
 his marriage had reduced Marie to despair. He did 
 not make allowance for the height from which she had 
 fallen, for the suffering and the irritation which she 
 experienced on seeing these same courtiers, who, a year 
 before, had treated her with the deference due to a 
 queen, to-day rally her pitilessly or affect a compassion 
 more humiliating still." ^ 
 
 * " La Verite dans sans jour." 2 u ^^ Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
214 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 The testimony of a trustworthy eye-witness shows us 
 that, notwithstanding all her efforts, the luckless girl 
 was quite unable to disguise her feelings : 
 
 " She was beside herself with fury and despair ; she 
 found that she had lost, at the same time, a very amiable 
 lover and the most splendid crown in the world. A 
 temperament less passionate than hers would have safe- 
 guarded her from giving way to her feelings under such 
 circumstances. As it was, she abandoned herself to 
 rage and anger." ^ 
 
 One day, she sought out her uncle and demanded if 
 he were acquainted with the reason of Louis's treatment 
 of her. The Cardinal, chuckling over the success 
 which was attending his Machiavellian scheme, assured 
 her that the King's attitude was but assumed, in order 
 to deceive the young Queen and the public ; that his 
 regard for her was still as warm as ever, and that, once 
 she was married, all would be changed. He added that, 
 since all eyes were fixed upon her and the King, and 
 every word which passed between them was faithfully 
 reported to Maria Theresa, he must beg her to give 
 him a solemn promise that she would not attempt to 
 demand any explanation of his Majesty. 
 
 Marie was very far from being satisfied with the 
 Cardinal's assurances. But the promise was given and 
 faithfully observed, though it must have been a cruelly 
 hard task, for Louis now began to push his resentment 
 so far as to vaunt in her presence the perfections of the 
 Queen. " It is the fault of our sex," she says in her 
 " Memoires," " to be unable to endure to hear others 
 praised, even though they may deserve it. But, if the 
 praise be bestowed by one whom we love on a person 
 
 ^ Madame de la Fayette, " Histoire de Madame Henrietta d'Angle- 
 terre." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 215 
 
 who robs us of his affection, nothing is more painful, 
 nothing more cruel. The King often made me ex- 
 perience this. . . . And the orders that my uncle had 
 given me never to demand an explanation of this 
 matter prevented me from condemning him unheard. 
 However, the emotions of my heart carried me away 
 and obliged me to reveal my feelings two or three times 
 to his Majesty, who received my complaints so ill that 
 I resolved to say nothing further to him about it." 
 
 Then she goes on to tell us that, " finding that her 
 disease required a remedy," she proceeded to put into 
 practice " a part of what Ovid advises in order to con- 
 quer love," which, however, seems to have been no 
 more efficacious than the precepts of Seneca which she 
 had studied at Brouage ; that she removed from her 
 sight every object that was capable of keeping her 
 passion alive, and, " seeking a specious pretext to banish 
 it from her heart, begged her sister Hortense to tell her 
 all the evil she could of the King."^ 
 
 Notwithstanding the bitter mortification which the 
 conduct of Louis XIV was occasioning her, Marie was 
 still desirous of marrying Prince Charles of Lorraine, 
 for whom, if she had no love, she had certainly con- 
 ceived a very warm friendship and esteem. But the 
 moment she ventured to broach the subject to the 
 
 ^ Hortense, in her " Memoires," confirms this : " On the return from 
 the frontier, we were sent for to Fontainebleau, where the Court was. 
 The King treated my sister somewhat coldly, and this change began to 
 make her resolve to marry into Italy. She would often pray me to tell 
 her as many ill things of the King as I could. But, apart from the fact 
 that it was rather difficult to speak ill of such a prince as he, who lived 
 among us with a charming sweetness and familiarity, my age, which was 
 then only twelve, did not permit me to quite understand what was required 
 of me, and all that I could do to help her, stricken with grief and loving 
 her tenderly, was to weep for her misfortunes with her, until she might bear 
 me company in weeping for mine." 
 
2i6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Cardinal, his Eminence raised every conceivable objec- 
 tion. The prince, he pointed out, was only the heir-pre- 
 sumptive of his uncle, who, being always ready to 
 marry all kinds of women, would be sure to take unto 
 himself another wife ere long, and very probably have 
 a son, in which event the alliance would be quite un- 
 worthy of the niece of Cardinal Mazarin 1 How much 
 better would it be for her to accept the proposals of the 
 Constable Colonna, one of the greatest noblemen of 
 Italy, who, from all accounts, was, personally, quite as 
 desirable a husband as Prince Charles, and whose future, 
 moreover, was not dependent on the caprices of any 
 relative 1 
 
 Marie flew into a violent passion, declared that 
 nothing should induce her to wed the Constable, and 
 accused her uncle of wishing to break the promises he 
 had made her a score of times not to send her away 
 from France or force her into any marriage contrary to 
 her inclination. The Cardinal shrugged his shoulders, 
 declared that his beloved niece was under an entire mis- 
 apprehension, that he had not the slightest intention of 
 forcing any alliance upon her ; but that he felt it to be 
 his duty to represent to her the inconveniences and 
 advantages of those which happened to present them- 
 selves at that moment. Then he left her, with an 
 assurance that there was no need for haste, and that she 
 could take as long as she pleased to consider the 
 matter. 
 
 Mazarin, having sown the seed, could afford to wait 
 for the harvest, which, he felt sure, could not be long 
 delayed, since the moment was now approaching when 
 the unhappy Marie would be called upon to face an 
 even more trying ordeal than that which she had had to 
 encounter at Fontainebleau. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 Marie Mancini witnesses the entry of the Queen into Paris — Description 
 of this pageant — Despair of Marie — She consents to marry the Con- 
 stable Colonna — Visit of the Marchese d'Angelelii to Paris — Fete at 
 the Palais-Mazarin — Illness of the Cardinal — His treatment of Anne 
 of Austria — His last counsels to Louis XIV — His anxiety to see 
 Marie wedded to the Constable — Hortense and her suitors — Marriage 
 of Hortense to the Marquis de la Meilleraye — Death of Mazarin — 
 " God be thanked ; he has gone ! " — His fortune — His will — Ex- 
 planation between Marie and Louis XIV — The King implores Marie 
 to break with the Constable Colonna — She refuses — Her marriage by 
 procuration — Her departure for Italy — A disastrous journey — The 
 Archbishop of Amasia — Meeting between Marie and the Constable 
 at Milan — Letter of Louis XIV to Madame de Venel — Dangerous 
 illness of Marie atLoretto — Herarrival in Rome — Letterof Louis XIV 
 to the Constable Colonna. 
 
 /^N 26 August, the King and Queen made their 
 ^^^ famous entry into Paris by way of the Porte 
 Saint - Antoine, and Marie Mancini, by her uncle's 
 orders, was compelled to accompany his Eminence — 
 who was too unwell to take part in the procession — and 
 her sisters to the hotel of Madame de Beauvais, first 
 femme de chamhre to Anne of Austria, who had invited 
 the Queen-Mother, the widowed Queen of England 
 and her daughter, the ill-fated Henrietta, the Princesse 
 Palatine, the Duchesses de Noailles and de Chevreuse, 
 and other ladies of the Court, to witness the spectacle. 
 At one of the upper windows sat Madame Scarron, the 
 future Madame de Maintenon, who, though very much 
 esteemed in fashionable society for her wit and beauty, 
 
 217 
 
21 8 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 was not yet a member of the Court. " Madame de 
 Beauvais, the King's first adventure ; Marie de Mancini, 
 his first love, and Madame Scarron, who was to be his 
 last, met together to witness the entry of Maria Theresa. 
 Do they not make a piquant picture ? " ^ 
 
 The pageant was worthy of the occasion. In the 
 Faubourg Saint-Antoine, a superb throne had been 
 erected, supported by four columns and crowned with 
 a dome. Twenty steps led up to the pavilion, which 
 was open on three sides. It was hung with rich 
 tapestries, and, seated under a da'is, the King and Queen 
 received the homage of their faithful subjects. All the 
 corporate bodies, lay and clerical, presented their duty 
 and swore allegiance to their sovereign." 
 
 This ceremony concluded, the cortege started for the 
 Louvre. The King, wishing to leave all the honours 
 of the entry to the Queen, did not ride with her in the 
 triumphal car, but rode some distance in front, pre- 
 ceded by a glittering procession of troops, noblemen 
 and gentlemen, and the retainers of various great person- 
 ages. 
 
 Nothing in this procession attracted more attention 
 than Mazarin's Household, which, in the enforced 
 absence of his Eminence, was marshalled under the 
 direction of his intendant Colbert. " It was headed by 
 seventy-two baggage-mules : the first twenty-four with 
 trappings simple enough ; the next twenty-four with 
 trappings finer, richer, and more splendid than the 
 handsomest tapestries that you ever saw, and silver 
 bits and bells ; in short, a magnificent sight, which 
 evoked general admiration. Afterwards twenty-four 
 pages went by, followed by all the gentlemen and 
 
 ^ Lucien Percy, " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 2 Bingham's "Marriages of the Bourbons." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 219 
 
 officers of his household, a very large number. Next 
 came twelve carriages, each drawn by six horses, and then 
 his Guards. His Household took an hour to pass by. 
 Afterwards came that of Monsieur. I forgot, in speak- 
 ing of the Cardinal's, to mention twenty-four horses 
 splendidly caparisoned, and themselves so beautiful that 
 I could not take my eyes off them. Monsieur's House- 
 hold appeared after this very mean. Then came the 
 King's, truly royal, for nothing in the world could have 
 been more splendid. You know better than myself of 
 what it is composed, but you cannot imagine the beauty 
 of the horses on which the pages of the royal stables 
 rode ; they came prancing along, and were handled most 
 dexterously. Then came the Musketeers, distinguished 
 by their different plumes ; the first brigade wore white ; 
 the second, yellow, black, and white ; the third, blue 
 and white ; and the fourth, green and white. After 
 this, came pages-in-waiting, with flame-coloured sur- 
 touts covered all over with gold. Then M. de Navailles, 
 at the head of the light cavalry — all this magnificent ; 
 next Vardes,^ at the head of the Hundred Swiss ; he 
 wore a uniform of green and gold, which became him 
 very well. 
 
 " Then . . . No, I think the gentlemen of quality 
 followed the light cavalry ; there were a great many of 
 them — all so magnificent that it would be difficult to 
 select any one in particular. . . . The Comte de Guiche^ 
 rode all alone, covered with embroidery and precious 
 
 ^ Francois Renedu Bec-Crespin, Marquis de Vardes, son of Henri IV's 
 mistress, the Comtesse de Moret, by her second marriage with the Marquis 
 de Vardes. He was a consummate courtier, and likewise a consummate 
 scoundrel. See p. 245 et scq. infra. 
 
 2 Armand de Gramont, younger son of Antoine II, Due de Gramont, 
 and nephew of Philibert de Gramont, the hero of Count Hamilton's 
 " Memuires.'' 
 
220 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 stones, which sparkled delightfully in the sun. He 
 was surrounded by servants in rich liveries, and followed 
 by some officers of the Guards."^ 
 
 The Marechaux de France preceded the King, before 
 whom they bore a brocaded canopy. "The King was 
 attired in a suit of silver brocade covered with pearls 
 and adorned with a marvellous number of carnation- 
 coloured and silver ribbons, with a superb plume of 
 carnation - coloured and white feathers clasped by a 
 cluster of diamonds ; his belt and sword were of the 
 richest workmanship. He was mounted on a splendid 
 Spanish horse, a dark bay, with its trappings of silver 
 brocade and its harness sewn with precious stones. 
 
 " The Queen's pages-in-waiting, in superb liveries, 
 followed. Then came the caVeche of her Majesty, 
 which might be more fittingly described as a triumphal 
 car. It was covered, inside and out, with gold-wire 
 embroidery, an entirely new invention, on a silver 
 ground, the outside, both front and back, adorned with 
 festoons in relief, all embroidered with gold and silver 
 wire. The canopy likewise was embroidered, both 
 inside and out, with the same kind of embroidery, and 
 was supported by two columns encircled with jasmine 
 and olive blossoms, symbolical of Love and Peace. All 
 that part of the caleche which is usually made of iron 
 was of silver-gilt, and even the wheels were gilded. 
 
 " This marvellous car was drawn by six pearl-coloured 
 Danish horses, whose manes and tails reached to the 
 ground, caparisoned and covered with trappings of the 
 same embroidery, and all of them of such rare beauty 
 that no painter could possibly hope to do them justice, 
 
 1 Letter of Madame de Maintenon to Madame de Villarceaux, 27 
 August 1 660, " Correspondance Generale de Madame de Maintenon," 
 1. 71. 
 
I'r Jin an engraving after the painting by Beaubrun 
 
 MARIA THERESA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF FHANCE 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 221 
 
 and all that one can say is that they were chefs-cTceuvre 
 of Nature, made expressly to take part in this pageant. 
 
 **The princess [the Queen] was attired in a robe on 
 which gold, pearls, and precious stones made up a 
 brilliant and imposing combination, while her coiffure 
 was resplendent with the Crown jewels, which, how- 
 ever, lent far less eclat to her appearance than her own 
 charms."^ . 
 
 " One can easily picture," remarks Lucien Perey, 
 " what Marie suffered during that day, and the bitter 
 thoughts that the triumph of the Queen aroused in her 
 mind. How many times had she dreamed, intoxicated 
 by the promises and the passion of the King, of thus 
 entering the Louvre, Queen and triumphant ! And, to 
 crown her punishment, she was forced to assist at the 
 spectacle of that joyous and enthusiastic crowd, and to 
 listen to the acclamations which greeted the woman who 
 had replaced her. Yet, if she had been alone, and had 
 been able to give way to her grief! But she had to 
 submit to this torture before Anne of Austria, before 
 her uncle, to whom she was indebted for it, and before 
 the ladies of the Court, some of whom betrayed their 
 sympathy by glances of compassion."^ 
 
 Resolved at all costs to disguise her feelings, the 
 unhappy girl, summoning to her aid all her strength of 
 character, succeeded in enduring to the end this terrible 
 ordeal, without betraying by word or look the anguish 
 which consumed her. No sooner, however, had she 
 regained the Palais-Mazarin and her own room, than 
 her strength gave way and she fainted. Madame de 
 Venel, who had doubtless anticipated some such denoue- 
 ment^ was quickly at hand with restoratives ; but scarcely 
 
 ^ Gazette de France, 3 September 1660. 
 2 " Le Roman du Grand Roi." 
 
222 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 had her charge recovered consciousness and perceived 
 the gouvernante^ than she entreated her to leave her, 
 " since she could not endure the sight of her." 
 
 Madame de Venel, not altogether displeased, we may 
 presume, with such a tribute to the efficiency with 
 which she had discharged the duties of her post, hurried 
 off to acquaint the Cardinal with his niece's condition. 
 Mazarin, however, knew when to let well alone ; and, 
 perceiving that any interference from him at this junc- 
 ture was more likely to delay than to hasten the end 
 which he had in view, left the girl to her grief. His 
 policy was justified, for, the following morning, Marie 
 requested an interview with her uncle, informed him 
 that she was willing to accept the Constable Colonna as 
 her husband, and begged that he would at once announce 
 her approaching marriage to the Court. 
 
 Transported with joy at the success of his scheme, 
 Mazarin hastened to write to the Marchese d'Angelelli, 
 a friend and confidant of the Constable, who had been 
 the intermediary between him and the Cardinal, to 
 inform him of his niece's decision. The marquis, who 
 was at Brussels, at once set out for Paris, where, quickly 
 perceiving the true cause of Marie's resolution, he 
 neglected nothing to diminish the aversion which she 
 had for the match, painting the Constable in the most 
 advantageous colours, and expatiating on the delights 
 of Rome and the splendid position which would be hers 
 as the wife of so great a personage. 
 
 He might have spared himself the trouble ; the girl 
 had not the smallest intention of changing her mind, 
 since, in the interval, she had been subjected to a fresh 
 ordeal. A fortnight after the entry of the King and 
 Queen into Paris, the Cardinal had given a grand fete 
 to their Majesties at the Palais-Mazarin, one of the 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 223 
 
 features of which had been a supper served with a 
 magnificence which had never been seen before. And 
 at this supper Marie, who, as the eldest of his Eminence's 
 unm.arried nieces, was called upon to do the honours to 
 the queens, had had the unspeakable humiliation, as it 
 seemed to her, of waiting upon her triumphant rival 
 with her own hands. That evening put the comhle upon 
 her punishm,ent. Henceforth, she had but one desire : 
 to shake the dust of Paris off her feet as speedily as 
 possible. 
 
 Ever since his return from the Pyrenees, Mazarin's 
 health, which had been infirm for some time past, had 
 been steadily failing. His constitution was naturally 
 good, but there can be no doubt that the enormous 
 amount of work which he voluntarily imposed upon 
 himself had gone far to impair it, and the three months 
 he had spent on the marshy banks of the Bidassoa, in 
 the midst of incessant labours and anxieties of all kinds, 
 had hastened the progress of his malady. Early in 
 1 66 1, his condition grew rapidly worse, and his phy- 
 sicians felt it their duty to warn him that his end was 
 near. 
 
 Anne of Austria was in despair; while the King, who 
 entertained a genuine affection for the Minister who 
 had stood to him in place of a father, and who, what- 
 ever his faults may have been, had never spared himself 
 in his sovereign's service, was scarcely less affected. 
 Both their Majesties established themselves at Vin- 
 cennes, where the Cardinal lay ill, and it was rarely 
 that a day passed on which the Queen-Mother did not 
 come to sit by the dying man's bedside and lavish 
 upon him the most tender care. But Mazarin showed 
 no gratitude ; for eighteen years he had been acting a 
 
224 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 part, and now, in the very presence of death, he prob- 
 ably felt that it was time to have done with it. " He 
 treated her as if she were a chambermaid," says Mont- 
 glat ; "and when they came to tell him that she was 
 mounting the stairs to his room, he frowned, and 
 said before his valets : * Ah ! that woman will be the 
 death of me ; she worries me so. Will she never 
 leave me in peace ? " ^ 
 
 His conduct towards Louis XIV was very different, 
 and proves that the almost extravagant professions of 
 loyalty and devotion which his letters to his sovereign 
 contain must have been dictated by genuine feeling. 
 He now gave him at great length his last counsels, 
 urging him strongly to take upon himself the chief 
 direction of affairs, to limit the Parliament of Paris to 
 its judicial functions, and to reduce taxation, so far as 
 the necessary expenses of the Government would per- 
 mit. He also advised him to avail himself of Colbert's 
 services in the finances, and to keep a careful control over 
 the operations of Fouquet. And all his directions, save 
 those relating to the two persons just mentioned, were 
 carefully committed to writing by order of the King.^ 
 
 Two private matters greatly exercised the Cardinal's 
 mind during his last hours : one was the future of 
 Marie, the other that of her sister Hortense. 
 
 Mazarin was feverishly anxious to get the former safely 
 wedded to the Constable Colonna, for until that was ac- 
 complished, he was in constant dread lest some chance 
 might reveal to Louis the true state of the girl's feelings 
 towards him, and bring about a revival of his passion. 
 However, many vexatious delays occurred, and the Car- 
 dinal did not live to see his wish gratified. 
 
 1 "Memoires de Montglat." 
 
 2 Mr. J. B. Perkins's " France under Richelieu and Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 225 
 
 Hortense's establishment in life occasioned him 
 scarcely less anxiety. When it is remembered that the 
 young girl was gifted with quite extraordinary beauty, 
 and that it had long been an open secret that her uncle 
 intended to bequeath her the bulk of his vast wealth, it 
 is not surprising that her suitors should have been well- 
 nigh as numerous as those of Penelope. The Cardinal, 
 however, was hard to please, and the majority of them 
 were very quickly sent about their business. Among 
 those, however, whose pretensions received more con- 
 sideration at his hands, excluding Charles Emmanuel of 
 Savoy, of whom mention has been made elsewhere, 
 were two future sovereigns, Pedro II of Portugal and 
 Charles II of England. 
 
 Why Mazarin refused the overtures of Pedro, then 
 Regent of his future kingdom, does not appear to be 
 known ; but it is not improbable that, since Portugal 
 was at war with Spain, he feared that the marriage of 
 his niece to its ruler might be resented by the latter 
 country, and interfere with the progress of the negotia- 
 tions for peace. 
 
 However that may be, political considerations were 
 certainly responsible for his rejection of Charles II's 
 suit. During the Conferences at the lie des Faisans, 
 Charles journeyed thither in the hope of inducing 
 France and Spain to assist him in an attempt to recover 
 his kingdom, and, with the idea of binding Mazarin to 
 his cause and, at the same time, of replenishing his 
 empty purse, asked for Hortense's hand. But the 
 Cardinal was resolved not to break with the existing 
 Government in England, so long as there was a pos- 
 sibility of renewed war with Spain ; and, besides, in 
 common with nearly all Continental statesmen, con- 
 sidered Charles's chance of recovering the throne which 
 ft 
 
226 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 his father had forfeited a very remote one, even with 
 foreign aid. And so he gracefully declined the honour 
 by insisting that, " so long as a cousin of his Majesty's 
 (i.e. Mile, de Montpensier) remained unmarried, he 
 must not think of a simple demoiselle."^ 
 
 Could Mazarin have foreseen that, in a few months 
 from that date, without a single European sovereign 
 stirring a finger to help him, the King would come to 
 his own again, his answer would, no doubt, have been a 
 very different one ; and, indeed, scarcely was Charles 
 seated on the throne than the Cardinal, judging him to 
 be still in need of money, sent Bartet to London to 
 offer him Hortense and five million livres with her. 
 Henrietta Maria, who had just concluded the marriage 
 of her daughter with Monsieur, showed herself very 
 favourable to the Cardinal's project, and urged her son 
 to accept the lady and the dowry. But Charles's posi- 
 tion was growing stronger daily ; the signs of hostility 
 which had at first manifested themselves in the Parlia- 
 ment and the army had almost entirely disappeared ; 
 while his counsellors were, of course, as strongly op- 
 posed to the match as had been Mazarin to an alliance 
 between his own sovereign and Marie Mancini. And 
 so, to the intense mortification of the Cardinal, the 
 King, not, we may suppose, without a biting jest or two 
 
 1 Mr. Osmund Airy, " Charles II." Mile, de Montpensier, in her 
 "Memoires," says that the day after the Cardinal arrived at Saint-Jean-de- 
 Luz, having signed the peace, he came to pay her a visit, and said : 
 " The King of England has proposed to marry my niece Hortense. I 
 replied that he did me too much honour, but, so long as there were first 
 cousins of the King to marry " (meaning Mile, de Montpensier), " I must 
 decline." Mademoiselle adds that she thanked him, and strongly urged 
 him to give Hortense to the King. ..." I learned that on the death of 
 Cromwell, the Queen of England (Henrietta Maria) had made the same 
 proposal to the Cardinal, who had rejected it. The last time it was 
 M. de Turenne who made it. He took a great interest in that which 
 concerned the King of England." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 227 
 
 about the irony of Fate, declined what he had once 
 solicited so humbly. 
 
 When Mazarin found that his days were numbered, 
 he resolved to have done with kings and princes, and to 
 give Hortense and her wealth to some French nobleman 
 who would assume and perpetuate his name. He 
 thought of Turenne ; but Turenne had an illustrious 
 name, which he was disinclined to abandon, and fifty 
 years, which the young Hortense was even more dis- 
 inclined to accept. Then there was some talk of the 
 Prince de Courtenay, a descendant of the youngest son of 
 Louis le Gros, who could boast of the longest pedigree 
 and the shortest purse of any nobleman in France. But, 
 notwithstanding his illustrious lineage, the Cardinal soon 
 decided that a young man " who had literally nothing 
 but his cloak and his sword " was no fit match for the 
 richest heiress in Europe. Finally, he determined to 
 consult the Bishop of Frejus, who had been for many 
 years the confidant of his secret missions and family 
 difficulties, and, indeed, very much to him what Pere 
 Joseph had been to his great predecessor. 
 
 Now, the Marquis de la Meilleraye, Grand Master of 
 the Artillery, whose suit the Cardinal had so con- 
 temptuously rejected four years before, had stoutly 
 declined to abandon hope, and had continued to pay 
 Hortense the most assiduous court. During the exile of 
 the three sisters at La Rochelle and Brouage, he had 
 despatched couriers to the object of his adoration with 
 almost as much regularity as had the King to Marie, 
 thereby occasioning poor Madame de Venel much em- 
 barrassment ; and, knowing the confidence that Mazarin 
 reposed in the counsels of the Bishop of Frejus and the 
 venal character of that prelate, he had engaged him to 
 plead his cause with the Cardinal, promising him a 
 
228 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 reward of fifty thousand ecus, in the event of his efforts 
 being crowned with success. 
 
 At first his Eminence would listen to nothing in 
 La Meilleraye's favour — had he not declared that he 
 would rather give Hortense to a lackey ? — but now, on 
 his death-bed, he relented, and, on 28 February 1661, 
 the marriage-contract of Hortense de Mancini and 
 Armand Charles de la Porte, Marquis de la Meilleraye, 
 Grand Master of the Artillery, was signed by their 
 Majesties, at Vincennes, in the Cardinal's sick-room.^ 
 Then, at his Eminence's request, the King created La 
 Meilleraye a duke, by the title of Due de Mazarin." 
 
 " So soon as the marriage was concluded," writes 
 Hortense, " he [the Grand Master] sent me a great 
 cabinet, wherein, among other rich gifts, there were ten 
 thousand pistoles in gold. I gave a great part of them 
 to my brother and sisters, to console them for my 
 opulence, which they could not see without envy^ how- 
 ever much they endeavoured to conceal it. I never put 
 them to the trouble of asking me, for the key always 
 remained in the same place in which it was when they 
 brought it, and they took all they wanted. One day, 
 for want of some better amusement, we threw more than 
 three hundred louis out of the window of the Palais- 
 
 1 But the Bishop of Frejus never got his fifty thousand ecus. Hortense 
 writes : " The bishop, won over previously by the Due de Mazarin, upon 
 promise of fifty thousand ecus, neglected nothing to deserve them. But he 
 never received them, for he returned the bond^ which was given him, in- 
 timating that he would prefer the bishopric of Evreux if he could obtain it. 
 But the King, having disposed of it to another, notwithstanding M. de 
 Mazarin importuning him for the space of two months, M. de Frejus 
 claimed the fifty thousand ecus, which, however, M. de Mazarin was 
 no longer willing to pay." 
 
 2 Mr. J. B. Perkins, in his " France under Richelieu and Mazarin," 
 states that the Cardinal bequeathed \}s\\^ title to La Meilleraye; but this is 
 incorrect. The Cardinal was never Due de Mazarin. He was, however, 
 Due de Nivernois et Donziois, which duchy went to Philippe Mancini. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 229 
 
 Mazarin, to have the pleasure of seeing a crowd of ser- 
 vants which was in the court scramble and fight for 
 them. This prodigality, reaching the Cardinal's ears, 
 caused him so much displeasure that it is believed to 
 have hastened his end."^ 
 
 Mazarin, in fact, died ten days after Hortense's mar- 
 riage, on Wednesday, 10 March 1661, "meeting death 
 with a good countenance," according to the expression of 
 Madame de Motteville. On the previous Sunday, feel- 
 ing his end approaching, he sent for M. Joly, at that 
 time cure of Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs and afterwards 
 Bishop of Agen, to whom he confessed, remarking : "I 
 am not satisfied ; I much desire to feel a greater grief 
 for my sins. I am a great criminal, and I have no hope, 
 save in the mercy of God." The following day he 
 received Extreme Unction, " avec de grands temoignages de 
 ptete. 
 
 On the Tuesday, he requested that Mass should be 
 said in his room, adding that he had perhaps never 
 heard Mass once in his life in the spirit in which the 
 Church intended him to hear it. M. Joly then asked 
 him whether it were not his wish to make some public 
 amends for the bad examples he had given and the 
 scandals he had been guilty of during his life ; to which 
 he replied, " Most willingly," and " taking a holy 
 candle in his hand, with bare head and according to the 
 formula of amende honorable and public reparation, he 
 asked pardon of God for all his sins, and begged those 
 whom he had offended to pardon him." Soon after- 
 wards, he was seized with a violent spasm of pain, and 
 was heard to mutter : " Courage ! It is necessary to 
 suffer." About two hours after midnight, M. Joly 
 made him kiss the crucifix, and without any other out- 
 
 1 "Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
230 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 ward sign, save a slight opening of the mouth, he 
 expired. 
 
 Marie, Hortense, and Philippe Mancini were in an 
 adjoining room when Bernouin, the Cardinal's valet de 
 chamhre^ came to inform them that his master was no 
 more. " My brother and sister," writes Hortense, 
 " looked at one another, and, for all regret, observed : 
 *God be thanked ; he has gone 1' And, to tell the truth, I 
 was scarcely more grieved. It is a remarkable thing that 
 a man of that merit, after having laboured all his life to 
 elevate and enrich his family, should have received from 
 it, after his death, nothing but marks of aversion. But, 
 if you knew with what severity he treated us in all 
 things, you would be less surprised at it. Never had 
 man manners so courteous in public and so harsh in his 
 own house. All our tastes and inclinations were con- 
 trary to his, and to that must be added the incredible 
 subjection in which we were kept."^ 
 
 The Cardinal on his death-bed offered to leave his 
 fortune to the King, but this offer, as he no doubt 
 expected it would be, was declined. The amount of 
 that fortune has been variously estimated. Saint-Simon 
 places it as high as 60,000,000 livres, a sum which in pur- 
 chasing power would represent between ten and twelve 
 million pounds sterling to-day ; but the majority of con- 
 temporary writers, including the Duchesse de Mazarin, 
 who, as her uncle's residuary legatee, may be presumed 
 to have known something about the matter, estimate it 
 at little more than half that amount, and even this 
 figure is probably somewhat exaggerated. " The most 
 authentic figures as to his fortune," says Mr. Perkins, 
 
 ^ " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 231 
 
 " are in a statement prepared by Colbert, in 1658. They 
 show that at that time it was somewhat less than 
 8,000,000 livres. His income, including his pensions 
 and livings, was about 800,000 livres. This estimate 
 did not include his art collections, his jewels, or the 
 offices and governments which he held, and which passed 
 to his heirs. His fortune also was largely increased 
 after 1658, but it was probably overestimated. What- 
 ever it was,' it was an enormous one to have accumulated 
 in the public service, and is a stain upon Mazarin's 
 memory. He might have urged, in mitigation of his 
 offence, that he lived in an age of almost universal public 
 corruption, while it was not his greed, but his oppor- 
 tunities, which exceeded that of most of his contem- 
 poraries."^ 
 
 The Cardinal ratified the provisions he had already 
 made for the erection and endowment of the College des 
 Quatre Nations, for scholars for Roussillon, Artois, 
 Alsace, and Piedmont, left donations to various charities 
 and legacies to several of his friends ; but the bulk of 
 his wealth was bequeathed to his family. Philippe 
 Mancini had the duchy and peerage of Nivernois and 
 Donziois,^ which the Cardinal had purchased from the 
 Duke of Mantua, in 1659, half of the Palais-Mazarin, 
 the paintings and statuary in which represented a con- 
 siderable fortune, the Palazzo Mazarini at the foot of 
 the Quirinal, in Rome, and 600,000 livres in cash. By 
 his uncle's request, he quartered the arms of the 
 Cardinal with his own, and added the name of Mazarini 
 to his patronymic. 
 
 The Comtesse de Soissons received only 350,000 
 livres ; but, in 1660, her uncle had purchased for her, 
 
 1 " France under Richelieu and Mazarin." 
 
 2 Philippe Mancini took the title of Due de Nevers. 
 
232 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 for 250,000 livres, the much-coveted post of Superinten- 
 dent of the Queen's Household. 
 
 Marianne Mancini received 600,000 livres. 
 
 Marie, in spite of all the Cardinal's fine promises, 
 was very badly treated in comparison with her sisters, 
 since she received nothing but a dowry of 100,000 livres 
 a year, which Mazarin had promised her on her mar- 
 riage with the Constable Colonna,^ 15,000 livres for the 
 expenses of her journey to Italy, and jewellery to the 
 value of another forty thousand. 
 
 The most favoured of all the Mancini was, of course, 
 Hortense, who, with her husband, inherited the residue 
 of her uncle's fortune, including the finer portion of 
 the Palais-Mazarin and its contents.' 
 
 Mazarin had died without seeing the marriage for 
 which he was so feverishly anxious celebrated, and the 
 fear that it would encounter some obstacle followed 
 him to the grave. Nor were his apprehensions ground- 
 less. A few days after the Cardinal's death, Marie, 
 believing herself released from the solemn promise 
 which she had given her uncle not to demand of the 
 King any explanation of the change in his manner 
 towards her, was unable to resist the temptation of 
 acquainting his Majesty with all that she had suffered 
 
 1 " The said Cardinal," runs the will, " desires that she [Marie] shall 
 be content with the dowry that he has promised her on her marriage with 
 the Constable Colonna, which is the most illustrious and advantageous 
 alliance which could be desired in Italy." 
 
 2 The old Hotel Tubeuf, the galleries erected by Mansart, and the 
 dependencies adjoining the Rue des Petits-Champs. This part continued 
 to bear the name of the Palais-Mazarin. Philippe Mancini had the 
 buildings newly erected, situated on the Rue de Richelieu and the Cour 
 de I'Horloge, with part of the former hotel of Duret de Chevry. The 
 principal entrance of his hotel, which was given the name of the Hotel 
 de Nevers, was in the Rue de Richelieu, and is now that of the Biblio- 
 theque Nationale. — Amedee Renee, " Les Nieces de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 233 
 
 since his return to Paris : the bitter mortification of 
 finding that the sacrifice she had made for his sake had 
 earned her, instead of his esteem and gratitude, nothing 
 but coldness and disdain, the torture she had endured 
 on the day of his entry into Paris, which was renewed 
 every time she saw the Queen, and so forth. 
 
 The result may easily be imagined. As he listened 
 to the girl's burning words, Louis perceived that all 
 that he had been told about her infatuation for Prince 
 Charles of Lorraine was false, and that, in his blind 
 jealousy, he had allowed himself to be made the dupe 
 of a clever conspiracy. All his passion revived, and, 
 casting himself at her feet, he swore that he adored her 
 still, and entreated her to break with the Constable 
 Colonna, promising to take upon himself the whole 
 responsibility for the rupture. But Marie, though 
 deeply moved, was inflexible. What position, she 
 asked, was he able to offer her .'* Could it be possible 
 that he imagined that she, whom he had promised to 
 make his wife and Queen of France, would ever stoop 
 to become his mistress ? If the Constable Colonna, 
 she declared, now that her uncle was dead, refused to 
 accept her as his wife, it was her intention to enter a 
 convent. 
 
 The King, however, whose passion her resistance 
 only served to inflame, refused to abandon hope. He 
 recommenced to visit her every evening, as had been his 
 custom before her exile to La Rochelle, paid her the most 
 delicate attentions, and strove by every means in his power 
 to induce her to remain in France. Prince Charles of 
 Lorraine, on his side, taking heart of grace from the 
 fact that the Constable Colonna had not yet signed the 
 marriage-contract which had been sent to Rome for his 
 approval, and was commonly credited with a desire to 
 
234 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 break off the match now that Marie's fortune had 
 proved to be far below what every one had expected, 
 continued to press his suit, and lost no opportunity of 
 testifying his devotion. "The young Prince Charles 
 of Lorraine," writes Hortense, " loved my sister passion- 
 ately, pressed her to marry him, and continued this 
 pursuit, even after the Cardinal's death. The Queen- 
 Mother, who by no means wished her to remain in 
 France, charged Madame de Venel to break off the 
 intrigue at any cost ; but all her efforts would have 
 been useless, had they not been seconded by certain 
 reasons unknown to any one. And, although the King had 
 the kindness to offer her [Marie] the choice of any one 
 else in France for a husband, if M. de Lorraine did not 
 please her, and showed himself sensibly displeased at 
 her resolution to leave France, her evil star drew her 
 into Italy." ^ 
 
 These reasons, " unknown to any one," must have 
 been perfectly well known to Hortense, who, however, 
 writing only some fifteen years after the events we are 
 relating, was naturally reluctant to publish them to the 
 world. Marie was no Gabrielle d'Estrees or Jacqueline 
 de Beuil to contract a marriage for the convenience of a 
 king ; other women might ardently covet the post of 
 royal favourite, and find in the power and influence 
 attached to it abundant compensation for their dishonour; 
 but to her, who had once believed that so very different 
 a destiny awaited her, the position would be intolerable. 
 And she refused absolutely to break with the Constable 
 Colonna. 
 
 At the beginning of May, news arrived that the Con- 
 stable had signed the marriage articles at Rome, and that 
 a courier was on his way with them to Paris. Louis 
 
 1 " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 235 
 
 XIV made no attempt to conceal the chagrin which 
 Marie's coming departure occasioned him, and meeting 
 her an evening or two later in the Queen-Mother's 
 apartments, said : " Destiny, which is above kings, has 
 disposed of us contrary to our inclinations, Madame ; 
 but it will not prevent me from seeking to give you 
 proofs of my esteem and attachment in whatever country 
 of the world you may be." And then, turning to 
 Madame de Venel, who was standing by, he added : 
 " And you, Madame, I beg you to be my surety, and to 
 accompany the Constabless as far as Milan, where the 
 Constable should come to receive her, and to write me 
 a full account of the incidents of the journey." 
 
 A few days later, a courier arrived with the expected 
 articles, and the marriage was celebrated in the King's 
 chapel at the Louvre, by the Archbishop of Amasia, after- 
 wards Patriarch of Jerusalem, uncle of the Constable 
 Colonna, for whom the Marchese d'Angelelli stood 
 proxy.^ The ceremony concluded, Marie was treated as 
 a foreign princess, addressed by their Majesties as " my 
 cousin," and accorded the tabouret"^ in the presence of 
 the Queen. 
 
 The preparations for departure were soon completed, 
 and, accompanied by the Archbishop of Amasia, the 
 Marchese d'Angelelli, and Madame de Venel, and 
 
 ^ She had been affianced the previous evening in the King's cabinet, an 
 honour commonly reserved for Princes and Princesses of the Blood. 
 
 ^ The tabouret was a stool, on which Princes and Princesses of the 
 Blood, foreign princes and princesses, cardinals, dukes and duchessess — in 
 fact, all persons whom it was customary for their Majesties to address as 
 *' cousin," had the privilege of seating themselves in the presence of the 
 Queen. Occasionally, as a special favour, it was accorded to other 
 persons. Thus Madame de Montespan, although only a marchioness — 
 she could not be created a duchess, as were Louise de la Valliere and 
 Mile, de Fontanges, because that step would have involved the elevation 
 of her husband — was given the tabouret by Louis XIV, in 1679. 
 
236 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 escorted by a hundred mounted guards, under the com- 
 mand of M. de Monceau, one of the gentlemen of the 
 late Cardinal's Household, she set out for Italy. As on 
 the occasion of her departure for La Rochelle, two years 
 before, Louis XIV conducted her to her coach and 
 gravely kissed her hand. He was evidently deeply 
 moved, but no word escaped him. Marie was less self- 
 controlled, and burst into tears as the coach drove away. 
 They were never to meet again. 
 
 The journey to Milan was a most trying and calami- 
 tous one, and must have seemed to Marie, who, like 
 nearly all her family, was intensely superstitious, the 
 worst possible augury for the future. A few days after 
 leaving Paris, a fever broke out among the servants, of 
 which more than one of them died. The weather, 
 while crossing the Simplon Pass, was terrible ; the road 
 was in an indescribable condition, and several men of 
 the escort and their horses fell over a precipice and were 
 dashed to pieces. Nor did their disasters end when the 
 mountains had been traversed, for the first evening 
 after their arrival in Italy, the balcony of the house in 
 which Marie was lodged gave way, precipitating a num- 
 ber of the party, who had gathered there to admire the 
 view, to the ground. The unfortunate owner of the 
 house was killed, while several others received more or 
 less serious injuries. " One saw only broken heads, 
 arms, and legs ; one heard only the cries of the injured. 
 It was a frightful spectacle and calculated to move the 
 hardest heart." 
 
 To add to the grief and terror which these calamities 
 must have occasioned her, poor Marie was so unlucky 
 as to offend the Archbishop of Amasia, a most un- 
 pleasant personage, who appears to have been half mad 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 237 
 
 when sober and altogether so when drunk ;^ and the 
 estimable prelate revenged himself by commiserating his 
 niece on the unhappy fate which, he declared, awaited her 
 with the Constable, whom he depicted as a libertine of 
 the most abandoned kind and a ferocious tyrant, who 
 would keep her a close prisoner in his palace, and, on 
 the slightest suspicion, would not scruple to beat or 
 even to poison her. Nor did he neglect to relate to 
 her, embellished with a thousand gruesome details, the 
 terrible legend of a Princess Colonna, who was immured 
 by her husband in the dungeon of an old castle, where 
 she remained until every one believed her dead, and 
 would assuredly never have seen the light of day again, 
 had not her moans attracted the attention of a passer-by, 
 who informed her relatives of her plight. 
 
 The unfortunate Marie was so overcome by the 
 archbishop's discourse, that she announced her inten- 
 tion of immediately petitioning the Pope to annul her 
 marriage, and it required all the efforts of the Marchese 
 d'Angelelli and the Constable's brother, the amiable 
 Abbate Colonna, afterwards Prince of Sonnino, who 
 joined them a day or two after they entered Italy, to 
 reassure her.^ 
 
 A few miles from Milan, the party was met by the 
 Constable Colonna and one of his friends, the Marques 
 
 ^ He was the youngest brother of the Constable's father, Filippo 
 Colonna, and was born in 1602. In his youth, he bore the title of Duca 
 di Marsi. Having killed a young nobleman in a duel, he was compelled 
 to leave Rome, and took service with the Spaniards in Flanders. In 
 1638, stimulated perhaps by remorse for his crime, he returned to Rome 
 and took Orders. He did not, however, deem it necessary to lay aside 
 the manners and morals of the worst type of mercenary soldier with his 
 sword and uniform. 
 
 2 Letter of the Abbe Benedetti to Lionne, Archives des Affaires 
 Etrangeres, published by Lucien Perey, " Une Princesse romaine au 
 xvii^ si^cle : Marie Mancini Colonna." 
 
238 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Spinola de los Balbases,^ who, at Colonna's request, ad- 
 vanced first to greet Marie, representing himself to be 
 her husband. As the marquis was middle-aged and of 
 far from prepossessing appearance, while she had been 
 led to believe that, to the eye at least, the Constable was 
 all that could be desired, the poor girl was bitterly dis- 
 appointed, " received his compliments with a coldness 
 equal to her surprise," and, turning to one of her wait- 
 ing-women, remarked in French, that, " if this were the 
 husband intended for her, she would decline to have 
 him, and that he might seek a wife elsewhere." 
 
 The waiting-woman, however, who happened to have 
 seen a portrait of Colonna, recognised him instantly, and 
 pointed him out to her mistress, who was immensely 
 relieved at finding that she had been mistaken. 
 
 The Constable, having welcomed his bride, conducted 
 her to a little pleasure-house in the vicinity, where a 
 sumptuous repast had been prepared, after partaking of 
 which, they proceeded to Milan, at whose gates they 
 were received by the Governor, the Duca di Gaetano, 
 and the principal citizens. 
 
 Milanese society was, of course, eager to make the 
 acquaintance of the lady who had had the King of 
 France at her feet, and, during the few days which 
 Marie and her husband spent in the city, " the ladies of 
 the first quality vied with one another in giving magni- 
 ficent entertainments in her honour." "But," continues 
 Marie, "the fatigues of the journey, the grief at finding 
 myself separated from my relatives, and, above all, alas 1 
 my sorrow at having left France, rendered me in the 
 worst humour conceivable, which occasioned consider- 
 
 ^ He was an Italian, although he bore a Spanish title, and a grandson 
 of Ambrogio Spinola, the celebrated general of the Thirty Years War. 
 The marquis, a year or two later, married a sister of Lorenzo Colonna. 
 
LOW:NZ'O\OhKiOG0lj0.%-'l |^~\\PHi\CIPI POMWO 
 
 Dufo <^ 
 jWaniicsc 
 
 JcSaContcJJ 
 
 
 I i liauaji - L 
 
 N i^'-r ' 
 
 \_mJ 
 
 From an engraving after the drawing by (liacomo Bichi 
 
 LORENZO ONOFRIO COLONNA, PRINCIPE DI PALLIANO, 
 GRAND CONSTABLE OF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 239 
 
 able uneasiness to the Constable, who did everything 
 possible to afford me diversion."^ 
 
 Colonna, on the other hand, seems to have been 
 charmed with his bride, the more so, since he found 
 that certain fears which he had entertained in regard to 
 the nature of her relations with Louis XIV had been 
 without justification. "The Constable," writes Hor- 
 tense, " who had at first believed that the love of kings 
 could not be innocent, was so delighted to find the 
 contrary in the person of my sister, that he made no 
 account of not being the first who had gained her heart. 
 He lost the bad opinion which, like all Italians, he pos- 
 sessed of the liberty accorded to ladies in France, and 
 decided to allow her the same liberty at Rome, since he 
 found she used it so discreetly."^ 
 
 As Colonna was anxious to reach Rome before the 
 heat of the summer reached its height, he and his young 
 wife only remained ten days in Milan, and then set out 
 on their journey southward, while Madame de Venel 
 and the escort returned to Paris. Immediately on her 
 arrival in Milan, the gouvernante had written as Louis 
 XIV had enjoined upon her, giving him a full account 
 of the incidents of the journey ; but she appears to 
 have said nothing about the health of the Constabless, 
 who was very far from well. To this letter, the King 
 replied in terms which show the tender interest which 
 he still felt for Marie. 
 
 Louis XIV to Madame de Venel. 
 
 " Fontainebleaii, 20 June 1661. 
 " Madame de Venel, — I have been very pleased to 
 hear, from your letter from Milan, of the happy suc- 
 
 ^ " La Verite dans son jour." 
 
 2 " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
240 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 cess of your journey and the termination of your ad- 
 ventures. 
 
 "After having guarded a treasure with the utmost 
 vigilance, there was nothing more honourable than to 
 hand it over in perfect safety to the person to whom it 
 belongs, as you have done, thereby proving still further 
 that you are deserving of the custody of more im- 
 portant ones/ which I have resolved to entrust to you 
 the moment I am able." ^ 
 
 The Constable and Marie journeyed by easy stages 
 to Loretto, where the latter became so ill that it was 
 impossible for her to proceed further. A violent attack 
 of brain-fever declared itself, and for many days the 
 unhappy girl lay between life and death. Her husband, 
 in despair, sent out messengers to scour the town and 
 all the country round for doctors, and at one time nearly 
 a dozen medical gentlemen were gathered round the 
 sick-bed. All agreed that the illness was a dangerous 
 one, but no one seemed able to propose any remedy 
 which his colleagues felt themselves justified in trying. 
 To make matters worse, the Archbishop of Amasia 
 persecuted the luckless invalid with zealous exhortations, 
 " never entering her room without informing her that 
 no hope of saving her life remained, and that she must 
 prepare for death." At length, two celebrated phy- 
 sicians arrived from Rome, followed closely by Marie's 
 uncle, Cardinal Mancini. The Roman doctors soon 
 got rid of the incompetent throng which beset the 
 house ; the Cardinal, a kindly and practical man, turned 
 
 As a reward for her services, Mazarin and Anne of Austria had 
 some time before persuaded the King to promise Madame de Venel the 
 post of sous-gouvernante to his daughters, should any be born to him. 
 2 " CEuvres de Louis XIV." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 241 
 
 the archbishop as courteously as he could out of the 
 sick-room, and the Constabless began to mend/ At 
 length, she was pronounced fit to continue her journey, 
 and, towards the end of July, arrived in Rome. 
 
 During her illness, Louis XIV, who had learned from 
 the Duchesse de Mazarin of her sister's condition, 
 showed himself much concerned, and wrote to Loretto, 
 requesting that a courier should be despatched every day 
 to inform him how she fared. On reaching their destina- 
 tion, the Constable Colonna lost no time in acquainting 
 the King with their safe arrival and of his wife's con- 
 valescence, to which his Majesty replied in the following 
 letter, wherein it is not difficult to detect an under- 
 current of bitterness. 
 
 Louis XIV to the Constable Colonna. 
 
 " Fontainebleau, 6 August 1 661. 
 
 " My Cousin, — After the fatigues of a long journey 
 and a dangerous illness, it is not a small thing that 
 my cousin, your wife, should have at last arrived in 
 Rome in a state of convalescence. I have been very 
 pleased to learn this good news, from the letter which 
 you have written me, trusting that the repose and satis- 
 faction of being with you will soon restore her to per- 
 fect health, a consummation which I desire with all my 
 heart. I have remarked also with great pleasure the 
 
 1 But one of the doctors to whom she owed her life nearly lost his. 
 Benedetti writes : " Supping one day with the doctors who had been 
 summoned from Rome, the Archbishop of Amasia hastened to furnish 
 them with an occasion to practise their art upon themselves. One of the 
 doctors having dared to contradict him about the cause of Madame's ill- 
 ness, he threw a knife full at his chest, which was intended to kill him, 
 and inflicted so grievous a wound that he was for some days in danger of 
 death. The following morning, the archbishop went complacently to 
 make his excuses, remarking that he had been somewhat heated with 
 wine." 
 
242 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 sentiments which she has preserved towards myself, and 
 that they are shared by you. Be assured that mine 
 will ever be for you and her such as you will desire 
 them to be, and that I shall joyfully embrace every 
 occasion of proving it to you by my actions."^ 
 
 1 " Oiuvres de Louis XIV." 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 Failure of Maria Theresa to gain tlie affection of Louis XIV — The King 
 resumes his relations with the Comtesse de Soissons — But leaves her 
 for Louise de la Valliere — The Marquis de Vardes — He becomes 
 the countess's lover — And intrigues with her and the Comte de Guiche 
 against La Valliere — The Spanish letter — Madame de Soissons and 
 Vardes attempt to supplant La Valliere by Mile, de la Motte- 
 Houdancourt — Discovery of the authors of the Spanish letter plot — 
 Madame de Soissons exiled, but soon recalled to Court — Marriage of 
 Marianne Mancini to the Due de Bouillon — Her patronage of men of 
 letters — Her friendship with La Fontaine — She urges him to compose 
 his fables — And his tales — Her intrigue to secure the failure of 
 Racine's « Phedre." 
 
 "T^ESTINY, which is above kings, has disposed of 
 ^^^ us contrary to our inclinations," Louis XIV had 
 said on the eve of Marie Mancini's marriage. If such 
 were the case with the girl whom he had so passionately 
 loved, it was even more so with himself. It would, 
 indeed, have been difficult to find a woman more un- 
 suited in every way, save that of birth, to be the consort 
 of the young King of France than the Infanta Maria 
 Theresa. To retain the affections of Louis XIV, a 
 woman required more than beauty : she needed to 
 possess, and to possess in a very marked degree, the 
 faculty of pleasing. This was, in great part, the secret 
 of the influence of Marie Mancini, of the twelve years* 
 empire of Madame de Montespan, of the long ascendency 
 of Madame de Maintenon. The lack of it accounts 
 for the fall of La Vallitre from favour, notwithstanding 
 
 243 
 
244 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 all the claims she had upon the consideration of her royal 
 lover, the brief reign of Mile, de Fontanges, and the 
 failure of many another empty-headed beauty to make 
 more than the most transient impression upon his 
 Majesty's heart. And it was in this, far more than in 
 physical attractions, that poor Maria Theresa was found 
 wanting. 
 
 Her ignorance was profound ; she had come, for 
 instance, to France unable even to read, much less to 
 converse, in French, and appears to have experienced the 
 greatest difficulty in obtaining even a superficial know- 
 ledge of the language. Reared in the most cramping 
 conditions of Spanish etiquette, her every word and action 
 were governed by the most punctilious regard for 
 ceremonial ; while her timidity was such that she was ill 
 at ease in the company of any but her immediate attend- 
 ants and the Queen-Mother, and positively trembled in 
 the presence of the King, whom, however, she loved 
 with an almost pathetic devotion. Under these circum- 
 stances, it is scarcely a matter for surprise that Louis, 
 unable to derive any pleasure from her society, should 
 have sought companionship and amusement elsewhere. 
 Nor had he far to seek. 
 
 " The King," writes La Fare, *' was on the most 
 intimate terms with the Comtesse de Soissons, whom he 
 visited every day." The intriguing Olympe had received, 
 as the reward of her assistance in the Cardinal's little 
 plot to keep Louis XIV and her sister apart, the post of 
 Superintendent of the Queen's Household, in virtue of 
 which she had become the greatest lady of the Court. 
 But her ambition was far from satisfied : she dreamed of 
 an empire such as no woman had exercised in France 
 since the days of Diane de Poitiers, and was resolved to 
 leave no means untried to attain her goal. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 245 
 
 That, however, she was never to reach, nor even to 
 approach. A flirtation with the charming Henrietta of 
 England, who, at the end of March 1661, had become 
 the wife of Monsieur, an affair which greatly exercised the 
 minds of the Queen-Mother and Maria Theresa, though 
 it would appear to have been innocent enough, was 
 followed by the rise to favour of the gentle La Valliere ; 
 and if his Majesty continued his visits to the Hotel de 
 Soissons, it was but too evident that it was the high play 
 which went on there rather than the beaux yeux of its 
 mistress which was the attraction. 
 
 But, though the King remained insensible to the 
 blandishments of the countess, he was not insensible to 
 the mortification which that lady was powerless to conceal 
 at the cessation of those tender passages between them, 
 from which she had hoped so much. Perhaps, he 
 believed that, as with La Valliere, it was the man, and not 
 the king, whom Madame de Soissons loved ; perhaps, 
 he feared that the countess, ever a dangerous person to 
 affront, might vent her displeasure on his inoffensive 
 Louise. Any way, he determined to provide her with- 
 out loss of time with a new gallant, and, accordingly, 
 ordered his friend and confidant, the Marquis de Vardes, 
 to lay siege to her heart. 
 
 A terrible fellow was this Marquis de Vardes. Hand- 
 some, brave, audacious, and wholly devoid of scruple, 
 the anecdotes about him are innumerable. There was 
 not a woman so virtuous or so highly placed to whose 
 love he did not presume to aspire ; not a man, however 
 great his skill with the rapier, whom he would not " call 
 out " on the slightest provocation. He fought with the 
 Due de Saint-Simon, father of the author of the famous 
 " Memoires," and the Comte du Lude ; he overcame 
 the resistance of the beautiful Duchesse de Roquelaure, 
 
246 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 whose virtue had until then withstood all assaults upon 
 it,^ and even dared to raise his eyes to the Princesse de 
 Conti — she who had publicly rebuffed the advances of 
 Louis XIV himself — and met with no worse fate than a 
 gentle reproof; and there are, indeed, some chroniclers 
 who affect to believe that his efforts in that quarter 
 might eventually have been crowned with success, had it 
 not been for the vigilance of her jealous husband. When 
 we mention that to his skill in fencing and love-making 
 he joined a biting wit and a talent for backstairs intrigue 
 which it would have been difficult to rival, it will be 
 admitted that M. de Vardes was a force to be reckoned 
 with at the Court of le Grand Monarque. 
 
 M. de Vardes hastened to obey his sovereign's com- 
 mand ; he would have obeyed with equal promptitude, 
 though, perhaps, with less willingness, if Madame de 
 Soissons had been a withered dowager of three-score, 
 instead of a handsome young woman of twenty-five, for 
 he prided himself on being a consummate courtier, 
 which meant that there was no action too dishonourable 
 for him to commit in order to gain his Majesty's favour. 
 Olympe, on her side, received his professions of devotion 
 very graciously. Was not her new soupirant " the best- 
 made and most amiable man in France".''^ She was 
 calculating and ambitious, but she was an Italian and 
 naturally ardent. Soon her liking for the marquis had 
 developed into a veritable passion, which was patent to 
 
 1 During one of his visits to the duchess, the duke, who was exceed- 
 ingly jealous, returned home unexpectedly, and, to avoid compromising the 
 lady, M. de Vardes was compelled to take refuge in a cellar, where he 
 remained for two days. On emerging from his retreat, faint with hunger 
 and thirst, and with a fine coat completely ruined, he decided that the game 
 was not worth the inconveniences attached to it, and poor Madame de 
 Roquelaure saw him no more. After an unsuccessful attempt to console 
 herself with Monsieur, she died, so the chroniclers say, of a broken heart. 
 
 2 " Menioires de Daniel de Cosnac." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 247 
 
 every one, save her husband, who was the most un- 
 suspicious, or, perhaps, the most complacent, of men. 
 None of the countess's admirers need fear that they 
 would be required to take shelter in the cellars of the 
 Hotel de Soissons. 
 
 But, though Olympe had found some consolation for 
 her wounded vanity in the attentions of Vardes, she 
 was none the less resolved to separate the King and La 
 Valliere. She, therefore, took counsel with her lover 
 and the Comte de Guiche, son of the Marechal de 
 Gramont, a vain and foolish young man,^ who had a 
 grudge against La Valliere for having once rejected 
 his addresses, and decided to raise a scandal before 
 which, they judged, the sensitive girl must inevitably 
 succumb. 
 
 The plan of the conspirators was to send an anony- 
 mous letter, containing a full, true, and particular account 
 of the manner in which his Majesty spent a great part 
 of his leisure, to the Queen, who, thanks to the 
 exertions of Anne of Austria, was still under the delu- 
 sion that there was " nothing but mere friendship " 
 between her husband and La Valliere. This letter was 
 composed by Madame de Soissons and Vardes, and trans- 
 lated into Spanish by Guiche, who was well acquainted 
 with that language, as Maria Theresa was still so 
 ignorant of French that she might have failed to under- 
 stand it, if the vernacular had been employed. It was 
 then enclosed in an envelope addressed in the hand- 
 writing of the Queen of Spain — which Madame de 
 Soissons had stolen from her royal mistress's apart- 
 ments — in order to make sure of its reaching its 
 destination unopened. 
 
 Fortunately for poor Maria Theresa's peace of mind, 
 
 * But in war, according to Madame de Sevigne, "a hero of romance." 
 
248 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the letter fell into the hands of Donna Molina, a Spanish 
 lady in the Queen's service, who, fearing that it might 
 contain some bad news concerning the King of Spain, 
 who was seriously ill, took upon herself the responsibility 
 of opening it, and promptly carried it to Louis XIV. 
 
 The King, having read the letter, "blushed, and ap- 
 peared surprised at the adventure." He resolved that 
 whoever had had the presumption to meddle with his 
 private affairs should have abundant cause to rue their 
 temerity ; but, as the person whom he employed to in- 
 vestigate the matter was none other than Vardes him- 
 self, it is hardly surprising that the culprits escaped 
 detection. 
 
 Undeterred by the failure of their plot, a few months 
 later, Madame de Soissons and Vardes brought forward a 
 rival to La Valliere, in the person of Mile, de la Motte- 
 Houdancourt, one of the Queen's Jilles cThonneur^ " who, 
 though no sparkling beauty, had drawn away lovers from 
 the celebrated Menneville(one of Fouquet's mistresses)."^ 
 She very nearly succeeded in drawing away La Valliere's 
 as well, for she contrived to persuade the King that, 
 although hitherto of unblemished virtue, she was vio- 
 lently in love with him, and wrote him the most eloquent 
 letters, which had been composed for her by Vardes and 
 the countess. Moreover, Louis's passion was stimulated 
 by the rivalry of the Chevalier de Gramont, the hero of 
 Count Hamilton's " Memoires," who, it appears, had 
 never given the damsel a thought until he found that 
 she was honoured by his sovereign's attentions, when 
 he forthwith concluded that she must be worthy of his. 
 He soon had reason to regret his folly in believing that 
 
 1 Hamilton's " Memoires de Gramont." The King had paid this 
 damsel considerable attention during the winter of 1657-8, but his grow- 
 ing passion for Marie Mancini had prevented the affair going very far. 
 See p. 75 supra. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 249 
 
 love renders all things equal, for Mile, de la Motte, 
 who had no use for such small fry as the chevalier when 
 there was a king ready to fall at her feet, complained of 
 his importunities to her royal admirer, and, one fine day, 
 M. de Gramont received a peremptory order to retire 
 from Court. 
 
 Meanwhile, poor La Valliere, whom kind friends 
 had, of course, taken care to inform of what was in 
 progress, v/as plunged in the depths of despair. But 
 Louis, piqued by the resistance of La Motte, who con- 
 tinued to simulate virtue with considerable skill, paid no 
 heed to her reproaches, and pressed his suit with such 
 ardour that the Duchesse de Navailles, the Queen's 
 dame d'honneur^ who was responsible for the good con- 
 duct of La Motte and her colleagues, deemed it expedient 
 to place iron gratings before the windows of her charges' 
 apartments, in order to guard against accidents. This 
 precautionary measure greatly incensed his Majesty, 
 who stigmatized the duchess as " an extravagant re- 
 former of the human race " ; and Vardes, quick to per- 
 ceive his opportunity, now informed the King that he 
 had discovered that the writer of the anonymous letter 
 to Maria Theresa was Madame de Navailles herself; 
 upon which, Louis, without apparently troubling to ex- 
 amine the supposed proofs, promptly banished the poor 
 lady and her husband from Court. 
 
 At length. Mile, de la Motte, acting on instructions 
 from the Comtesse de Soissons, professed herself ready 
 to surrender. She made, however, one stipulation : the 
 instant dismissal of La Valliere. Louis protested, but 
 the lady was inexorable, and it is quite probable that she 
 would have carried her point, had not Anne of Austria, 
 who, though she had no love for La Valliere, had still 
 less for the intriguing maid-of-honour, intercepted a 
 
250 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 letter written by one of Madame de Soissons's friends to 
 La Motte, and containing overwhelming proof that the 
 girl was a mere tool in the hands of others, and laid it 
 before her son. Highly indignant at the manner in 
 which he had been tricked, the King at once broke off 
 all relations with La Motte, who was shortly afterwards 
 dismissed from the Queen's service, for having received 
 one of her admirers, the Marquis de Richelieu, in her 
 apartments, in defiance of her Majesty's orders. 
 
 After this second failure, Madame de Soissons had 
 recourse to other and far more serious methods of war- 
 fare against La Valliere — methods which were one day to 
 lead to her disgrace and expulsion from France ; but of 
 this we shall speak later on. 
 
 In the meanwhile, it is satisfactory to know that, in 
 1665, the real authors of the Spanish letter plot were 
 discovered, and the poor Due and Duchesse de Navailles 
 exculpated, recalled to Court, and reinstated in the royal 
 favour. Had not the conspirators fallen out among them- 
 selves, however, it is highly improbable that the truth 
 would ever have come to light. The facts were as 
 follows. 
 
 The Comte de Guiche was in love with Henrietta of 
 Orleans [Madame), who certainly seems to have given 
 him every encouragement to hope for the best, or worst, 
 though, as in the opinion of La Fare — a writer by no 
 means inclined to credit any lady with virtue who had 
 not given ample proof of possessing it — the princess 
 was " virtuous, though a trifle coquettish," it is im- 
 probable that the affair ever went beyond the bounds of a 
 violent flirtation.^ The Marquis de Vardes also aspired 
 
 1 For further details in regard to the relations between Madame and 
 the Comte de Guiche, see Madame de la Fayette's ** Histoire de Madame 
 Henriette d'Angleterre," and Julia Cartwright's (Mrs. Henry Ady) 
 "Madame. ' 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 251 
 
 to add Madame to the list of his conquests, intrigued 
 against Guiche, whose confidant he was, and succeeded in 
 getting him sent to Lorraine. So cleverly did he manage 
 the affair that Guiche left Paris without having the least 
 suspicion that he owed his separation from his inamorata 
 to the machinations of the marquis, to whom he arranged 
 to entrust his correspondence with the princess. In virtue 
 of his position as intermediary, Vardes enjoyed constant 
 access to Madame^ and, having won her confidence, pro- 
 ceeded to make love to her on his own account. At first, 
 Madame appeared far from displeased at his attentions, 
 and drove the Comtesse de Soissons frantic with jealousy ; 
 but her heart still belonged to the absent Guiche, and 
 she declined to transfer it to the marquis. Angered by 
 the rejection of his suit, Vardes refused to deliver up 
 certain very tender letters which the lovers had confided 
 to his care, and also informed the King of the contents 
 of a letter of another kind, which Madame had entrusted 
 to him for transmission to her brother, Charles II, in 
 England. Not content with this treachery, he next 
 proceeded to let fall some highly injudicious remarks 
 concerning the princess, and one day observed to the 
 Chevalier de Lorraine, who was paying court to one of 
 Henrietta's filks d'honneur^ that it was a pity that he 
 wasted his time on the maid, when the mistress was such 
 an easy conquest. This speech was duly reported to 
 Madame^ who complained to the King, with the result 
 that one evening M. de Vardes supped in Bastille. 
 
 On learning of the misfortune which had befallen her 
 lover, the Comtesse de Soissons was beside herself with 
 grief and indignation. Her wrath against Madame, 
 who, she declared, had twice robbed her of him, " first 
 by love and now by hatred," knew no bounds. Straight 
 to the King she went, thinking only of revenge, and 
 
252 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 determined to repay the probable ruin of her lover by 
 that of Guiche, against whom she proceeded to launch 
 all manner of accusations. He had committed we know 
 not what crime against the State ; he had attempted to 
 betray Dunkerque to the English ; he had written the 
 Spanish letter to the Queen. Madame^ to whom Guiche 
 had, some time before, confided the truth about that 
 too celebrated epistle, arrived upon the scene almost 
 at the same moment, and denounced Vardes and the 
 countess. Between the two furious women his Majesty 
 must have spent a very unpleasant quarter of an hour, 
 but, by way of compensation, he ended by learning 
 everything. 
 
 In the result, Vardes was removed from the Bastille to 
 the citadel of Montpellier, and subsequently banished to 
 his government of Aigues-Mortes, in Provence, where he 
 remained until 1683; Guiche was sent on foreign service ; 
 while Madame de Soissons and her husband — who, poor 
 man ! was entirely innocent of any complicity in the 
 affair — were ordered to retire to Champagne, of which 
 province the count was governor. 
 
 Their exile was not, however, of long duration, and, at 
 the end of a few months, Olympe returned to Paris and 
 resumed her functions as Superintendent of the Queen's 
 Household and her life of pleasure and intrigue. The 
 King, however, seldom visited the Hotel de Soissons, 
 and treated the countess somewhat coldly, if always with 
 courtesy. To console herself for the loss of Vardes, 
 Olympe took a disciple of his, the Marquis de Villeroi, 
 called by the ladies " le Charmant^'' into favour, and ad- 
 mitted him to her hotel on the same footing as that 
 which that Titan of intrigue and gallantry had formerly 
 occupied. If we are to believe the chansons of the time, 
 M. de Villeroi had more than one coadjutor in his 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 253 
 
 office of amant-en-titre ; but that does not seem to be the 
 opinion of the best-informed contemporary writers, and 
 historians like Walckenaer, who accuse the countess of 
 leading a life of depravity, probably do her an injustice. 
 She was far too haughty and fastidious ever to stoop to 
 vulgar amours. Let us, however, leave Olympe for a 
 time to speak of the fortunes of her sisters. 
 
 A few days before Mazarin's death, a visitor presented 
 himself at the door of the Cardinal's sick-room, and re- 
 quested a private interview with his Eminence. It was 
 the famous Marechal Turenne, to whom Mazarin had 
 once desired to wed Hortense, and he had come to ask 
 for the hand of another of Mazarin's nieces, the thirteen- 
 year-old Marianne, not for himself, but for his nephew, 
 Maurice Godefroy de la Tour d'Auvergne, Due de 
 Bouillon. Turenne had made the same request some 
 time before, and the Cardinal had promised to consider 
 the matter. Thinking, however, that Marianne was too 
 young to marry, or, perhaps, that he might be able to find 
 for her a more brilliant match, he had as yet returned no 
 definite answer, and the result had been some coolness 
 between him and the marshal. Now, however, that the 
 Cardinal lay on his death-bed, Turenne resolved to be 
 reconciled to his old friend, and, at the same time, to 
 endeavour to gain his consent to the union of their 
 families. It was some days, however, before he w;.s 
 able to obtain the private interview upon whicn ne 
 insisted, and when at length he was successful, the 
 Cardinal seemed disinclined to discuss the question of 
 the marriage, though he was delighted at the visit of 
 the man whose sword had restored his fallen fortunes 
 during the Fronde, declared that he would die his 
 servant and friend, and, drawing a magnificent ring 
 
254 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 from one of his wasted fingers, begged the marshal to 
 wear it in remembrance of him. 
 
 Turenne returned to Paris without even broaching the 
 matter which had brought him to Vincennes, and, 
 following the example of the Marquis de la Meilleraye, 
 had recourse to the good offices of the Bishop of Frejus. 
 Whether he employed the same means of gaining over 
 Ondedei to his interests as the Grand Master had found 
 so efficacious, is uncertain ; but, any way, the bishop 
 agreed to undertake the commission. This time, however, 
 he failed. Mazarin, who was too near death to trouble 
 about a marriage which, unlike that of Marie, was of no 
 particular urgency, answered that Marianne, with her 
 fortune, would never want for a husband, and refused to 
 discuss the subject further. Nevertheless, Ondedei once 
 more proved himself a valuable ally, for, after the 
 Cardinal's death, he succeeded in persuading Anne of 
 Austria, with whom he had great influence — had he not 
 been the confidant of all Mazarin's private affairs .'' — of 
 the suitability of the match ; and on 22 April 1662, 
 the marriage of Marianne and the Due de Bouillon was 
 celebrated in the presence of the King and Queen, and 
 was followed by brilliant fetes. 
 
 The Due de Bouillon, a soldier like his celebrated 
 uncle, and, like him, entirely devoted to his profession, 
 proved a kind and indulgent husband, but he had no 
 tastes in common with his wife. When his presence 
 was not required in the field, hunting occupied the 
 greater part of his time ; while the duchess, as may be 
 anticipated from her fondness for verse-making, affected 
 intellectual pursuits, and seemed never so happy as 
 when surrounded by a throng of men and women of 
 letters : Segrais, Benserade, Madame Deshoulieres, 
 Menage, and others. 
 
From a contemporary print 
 
 MARIANNE MANCIXI, DUCHESSE DE BOUILLON 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 255 
 
 Early in the year 1665, the Due de Bouillon set out 
 for Hungary, to take service, under Montecuculi, 
 against the Turks, and being indisposed to leave his 
 young wife, who had lately given birth to a son, unpro- 
 tected amid the dangers of the Court, sent her to 
 Chateau-Thierry, one of his country-seats, to await his 
 return. 
 
 Here it was that Marianne became intimate with 
 the poet La Fontaine, who was to owe so much to 
 her sympathy and encouragement, and, in return, to 
 immortalize her in his verses. 
 
 La Fontaine had then just returned to his native town 
 from a three years' residence at Limoges, whither he 
 had accompanied his relative Jannart, the friend of 
 Fouquet and his substitute in the office oi procureur- 
 gineral to the Parliament of Paris. He was sadly in 
 need of a new protector to replace his first Maecenas, 
 languishing in his cell at Pignerol, and he was fortunate 
 enough to find one in the Duchesse de Bouillon. It is 
 probable that the poet had already met the duchess at 
 Fouquet's hotel in Paris before her marriage, but now 
 he was to be afforded an opportunity of seeing her 
 more frequently, and of appreciating her intelligence 
 and kindness. He appreciated her beauty also, for 
 Marianne, though she could not boast the classic features 
 ot the lovely Hortense, was in her way hardly less 
 charming, with a dazzling complexion, eyes which 
 sparkled with merriment, a winning smile, and a pro- 
 fusion of soft brown hair. Her figure, though some- 
 what diminutive, was perfectly formed, and she had 
 beautiful hands and feet, while an infinite grace charac- 
 terised all her movements. 
 
 La Fontaine soon conceived for her a warm and de- 
 
256 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 voted admiration, which he expressed both in prose and 
 
 verse — 
 
 Vous excellez en mille choses. 
 Vous portez en tous lieux la joie et les plaisirs : 
 Allez en des climats inconnus aux Zephirs, 
 Les champs se vetiront de roses. 
 
 It is thus that he speaks of her twenty-five years later, 
 when she went to join her sister Hortense in England, 
 and his tone remained always the same, " familiarly 
 respectful and affectionately admiring." 
 
 ** Nothing authorises the supposition," remarks the 
 poet's biographer, M. Georges Lafenestre, "that between 
 the little grande dame and the humble, middle-aged 
 bourgeois there had been any other relations than those 
 of a very lively sympathy, the result of a common taste 
 for the same intellectual pleasures, of the same horror 
 of ennui, and of the same indulgence for the raptures of 
 passion and the frailties of gallantry. La Fontaine has 
 honestly revealed to us his sentiments, and we have no 
 reason to suspect his frankness : 
 
 Peut-on s'ennuyer en des lieux 
 Honores par les pas, eclaires par les yeux 
 
 D'une aimable et vive princesse, 
 A pied blanc et mignon, a brune et longue tresse ? 
 Nez trousse, c'est un charme, encor selon mon sens ? 
 C'en est meme un des plus puissants. 
 Pour moi le temps d'aimer est passe, je I'avoue ; 
 
 Je merite qu'on me loue 
 
 De ce libre et sincere aveu, 
 Dont pourtant le public se souciera tres peu. 
 Que j'aime ou n'aime pas, c'est pour lui meme chose j 
 
 Mais s'il arrive que mon ccEur 
 Retourne a I'avenir dans sa premiere erreur, 
 Nez aquilins et longs n'en seront pas la cause.^ 
 
 ^ M. Georges Lafenestre's "La Fontaine." The last line of these 
 verses was for Madame La Fontaine, whose nose resembled that of her 
 husband. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 257 
 
 However that may be. La Fontaine became one of 
 the familiar friends of the Bouillon household, both in 
 Paris and at Chateau-Thierry, and this intimacy was 
 indeed a fortunate occurrence for his genius. Although 
 he was forty-four years of age at the time when he made, 
 or renewed, acquaintance with Madame de Bouillon, his 
 reputation was not yet made ; he had only published a 
 little volume, containing " Joconde, la Matrone d'Ephese" 
 and other poems, and had printed a few fables. He 
 found with this great lady of sixteen summers the spur 
 which his idleness needed and a keen appreciation of 
 his real powers. It was she who marked out the road 
 along which he was to travel, and urged him resolutely 
 to compose his fables, and her lively imagination 
 furnished him with more than one subject.^ Stimulated 
 by his patroness. La Fontaine's tardy genius at last bore 
 fruit, and so hard did he work under her supervision 
 that he published two years later the first six books 
 of his fables. " But," says the lady's biographer, 
 M. Amedee Renee, "all must be confessed; it was 
 not only fables which the Duchesse de Bouillon urged 
 the poet to compose. De Retz pretends that Mazarin 
 had pleased Richelieu and his colleagues by * libertine 
 tales of Italy.' These tales, in fact, had obtained a 
 great popularity, whatever it was that had opened the 
 door to them, and the courtiers learned Italian to read 
 Boccaccio and Poggio, as one learns it to-day to sing 
 a cavatina. The Duchesse de Bouillon took pleasure 
 in the tales which La Fontaine extracted from " The 
 Decameron " ; it is a taste that we have no longer, but 
 her time explains and excuses it. Women more severe 
 
 1 It was Madame de Bouillon, and not, as some writers have stated, 
 Madame de Sabliere, who surnamed La Fontaine **/<? Fab/ier" which 
 summed up in a single word his vocation. 
 
258 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 than Marianne amused themselves in similar fashion ; 
 Madame de Sevigne and her rigorous daughter^ did not 
 object to speak of it in their letters. La Fontaine, 
 charged to amuse his merry chatelaine, enlarged, accord- 
 ingly, his collection of tales as well as fables. It was 
 not, of course, at the period when she was sixteen years 
 old that Madame de Bouillon showed so pronounced 
 a taste for this light literature ; she did not encourage 
 this badinage until later, and it was to make a diversion 
 to his fables. 
 
 When the Due de Bouillon returned from Hungary 
 and carried off his wife to Paris, La Fontaine followed 
 his patroness, who presented him to her sisters, Mesdames 
 de Soissons and de Mazarin, her brother, the Due de 
 Nevers, who also cultivated the Muses, and her brother- 
 in-law the Due d'Albret, afterwards Cardinal de Bouillon, 
 and obtained for him the place of gentleman of the 
 chamber to Madame. 
 
 With the advent of La Fontaine, came more distin- 
 guished members of the Republic of Letters to the 
 Hotel de Bouillon than those who had formerly been 
 seen there, among them Moliere and the old Corneille. 
 For Corneille the duchess seems to have cherished 
 almost as profound an admiration as Madame de 
 Sevigne, and it was this admiration, coupled with her 
 friendship for Madame Deshoulieres, whose verses 
 Racine had, perhaps unduly, depreciated, which probably 
 led, in 1677, to her ill-advised attempt to sustain against 
 the author of " Andromaque " and " Iphigenie," a young 
 
 ^ The Comtesse de Grignan. But was Madame de Grignan quite so 
 " rigorous " as M. Renee seems to suppose ? There was some talk, of an 
 affair which she had with the Due de Vivonne, Madame de Montespan's 
 brother, at Marseilles ; and the unusual bitterness with which her mother 
 speaks of that nobleman would appear to indicate that it was not wholly 
 without foundation. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 259 
 
 and conceited poet named Pradon, author of a couple of 
 indifferent tragedies. 
 
 Racine was then at work on his immortal "Phedre," and 
 the duchess persuaded her protege to compose a play 
 upon the same subject, to be produced at the Theatre 
 Guenegaud simultaneously with the appearance of 
 Racine's work at the Hotel de Bourgogne. Such 
 rivalry was, of course, legitimate enough ; five years 
 before, Paris had witnessed a similar duel between 
 Racine and Corneille over the subject of Titus and 
 Berenice, though, on this occasion, both plays had been 
 written at the suggestion of Madame^ and the secret 
 had been so carefully kept that, until their works 
 were actually in rehearsal, the two poets were alto- 
 gether unaware that they were competing against one 
 another. 
 
 But the same, unfortunately, cannot be said of the 
 methods of Madame de Bouillon to ensure the success 
 of Pradon's play and the failure of Racine's. All went 
 well at the Hotel de Bourgogne the first evening, the 
 management having taken the precaution to exclude all 
 whom they suspected of being unfavourably disposed 
 towards the author, and the play was accorded a recep- 
 tion which could not fail to satisfy the most exacting 
 dramatist. The following evening, however, matters 
 were very different ; to the chagrin of Racine and the 
 astonishment of the company, every box on the first 
 tier was empty ! The same thing occurred on the 
 following evening and the next after that ; while, to 
 increase the mystery and the poet's mortification, the 
 boxes at the Theatre Guenegaud were reported as 
 crowded with applauding spectators. The explanation 
 was that the Duchesse de Bouillon had adopted the in- 
 genious device of engaging in advance all the best seats 
 
26o FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 at both houses, filling those at the Theatre Gu^negaud 
 with her friends and leaving the others empty. 
 
 The feelings of Racine may be imagined, for that not 
 inconsiderable section of the public which judges of the 
 merits of a play solely by results was beginning to assert 
 that his tragedy was a failure and Pradon's a brilliant 
 success. After, however, the trick had been played for 
 three more nights, he triumphed. Perhaps Madame de 
 Bouillon had begun to find her experiment, which is 
 said to have cost her 15,000 francs, the equivalent of 
 five times as much to-day, somewhat too costly a one to 
 be continued indefinitely; or possibly Racine, discovering 
 the tactics of his opponents, had appealed to the King 
 for protection, and the duchess had received a hint from 
 his Majesty that such practices could not be permitted. 
 Any way, the lady withdrew from the field, and, with 
 her retirement, the two "PhMres" speedily found their re- 
 spective levels. Pradon's play, at best a very mediocre 
 work, had to be withdrawn after fifteen or sixteen repre- 
 sentations ; while Racine's enjoyed a brilliant run, and will 
 hold a foremost place in the classic repertoire of the 
 Th6atre-Fran9ais for all time. Nevertheless, in spite of 
 its ultimate success, Racine never forgot the mortification 
 to which he had been subjected, which, there can be no 
 doubt, contributed not a little to his decision to renounce 
 writing for the stage. As for Pradon, he paid dearly for 
 being the hero of a coterie which used him to wreak their 
 spite on a great master of his art, by remaining the type 
 of the worthless poet. However, he was not without 
 talent, and his "Regulus," in which Baron achieved a great 
 success, remained in the repertoire for many years. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Hortense and the Due de Mazarin — Eccentricities of the duke — His 
 jealousy and tyrannical treatment of his wife — He takes possession of 
 her jewels — Temporary separation between them — They are recon- 
 ciled, but quarrel anew — Hortense sent to the Abbey of Chelles and. 
 afterwards to the Couvent des Filles de Sainte-Marie — Sidonie de 
 Lenoncourt, Marquise de Courcelles — Practical jokes played by the 
 marchioness and Hortense upon the nuns — The " penitents " trans- 
 ferred to the Abbey of Chelles — Unsuccessful attempt of M. de 
 Mazarin to seize his wife — The Cour des Enquetes orders the 
 duchess to be set at liberty — M. de Mazarin appeals to the Grande 
 Chambre — Hortense leaves Paris and flies to Lorraine — Disgrace of 
 her lover, the Chevalier de Rohan — Madame de Mazarin arrives at 
 Milan. 
 
 "C^AR less happy in her married life than her youngest 
 sister was Hortense, though never did any one 
 embark upon it under apparently more favourable 
 auspices. Nature and Fortune had lavished upon her 
 their richest gifts. She was one of the most beautiful 
 women of her time. 
 
 Hortense eut du ciel en partage 
 La grace, la beaute, I'esprit, 
 
 sang La Fontaine. She had inherited the bulk of her 
 uncle's vast wealth, and had for her residence the finest 
 part of that wonderful Palais-Mazarin, filled with price- 
 less pictures and the rarest marbles, and which surpassed 
 the Louvre itself in the richness of its interior. She 
 was a duchess, their Majesty's cousin, courted and 
 adulated by all. Finally, she was married to a man who 
 loved her passionately, and for whom, at the time of her 
 
 261 
 
262 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 marriage at least, she appears to have entertained a strong 
 liking. Her life ought, then, to have been one of the 
 happiest ; the very reverse was the case. 
 
 For this unfortunate state of affairs Hortense herself 
 was, in a great measure, to blame. Her coquetry, in- 
 curable frivolity, foolishness, and complete absence of 
 moral sense, were not calculated to please even the most 
 complacent of husbands; but, in justice to her, it should 
 be added that even a paragon of virtue would have found 
 it difficult to live on amicable terms with the Due de 
 Mazarin. 
 
 Armand de la Porte, Due de Mazarin, was of sin- 
 gularly unprepossessing countenance (" He bore on his 
 face the justification of his wife's conduct," wrote 
 Madame de Sevigne) ; but, in other respects, he seemed 
 likely to make an excellent husband. His life, in a licen- 
 tious age, had been beyond reproach ; he was well 
 educated, open-handed, a charming companion, and dis- 
 tinguished for his courtly manners. But some latent 
 germ of insanity there must have been lurking in his 
 temperament, which, under the influence of conjugal 
 jealousy and religious fervour, changed him, before he 
 had been married many months,^ into one of the most 
 ridiculous and, at the same time, the most tyrannical of 
 husbands to be met with outside the domain of fiction, 
 
 1 Only a few weeks after their marriage, a very compromising note 
 from Hortense to the Chevalier de Rohan was intercepted by M. de 
 Mazarin, a propos of which we find Louis XIV writing to the Bishop of 
 
 FrGius * 
 
 ■^ ' " FONTAINEBLEAU, 21 Jprtl \66l. 
 
 " I have already done in advance all that you tell me is necessary. I 
 ought to be very displeased at what has occurred ; but I wish to hope that 
 the person of whom you speak will conduct herself better in the future 
 than she has in the past. I am already aware of all the scandal that there has 
 been, and I confess to you that what causes me the most pain, is the thought 
 that a person who bears the name of so great a man should give occasion 
 for every one to laugh." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 263 
 
 only not mad enough to be shut up, because Louis XIV 
 found his inexhaustible purse too convenient to borrow 
 from.^ 
 
 " He was the Alceste of good morals, but the devotees 
 by whom he was surrounded made of him an Orgon." 
 He threw himself into the most extravagant devotion ; 
 he became a seer of visions, a dreamer of dreams. One 
 day, he spught an audience of the King, and gravely 
 told him that he had been informed by the Angel 
 Gabriel that some terrible misfortune would befall his 
 Majesty, if he did not immediately break off his con- 
 nection with Louise de la Valliere.^ He conceived the 
 most unheard of scruples, and did not hesitate to give 
 practical expression to them. The magnificent collection 
 of statues and paintings in the Palais- Mazarin shocked 
 his views, nor did he content himself, like TartufFe, with 
 throwing his handkerchief over the Michelangelos and 
 Titians which offended him by an improper nudity ; but, 
 with a hammer in one hand and a paint-pot in the other, 
 made a tour of the galleries, demolishing the statues and 
 smearing over the pictures. 
 
 The King, hearing of what was going on, deputed 
 Colbert to endeavour to stop the destruction, and one can 
 imagine the despair of Mazarin's former intendant, who 
 knew almost to a sol what the offending masterpieces had 
 
 1 Under date 13 September 1661, we find Louis XIV writing to the 
 duke : " My Cousin, after having caused the Surintendant des Finances 
 (Fouquet) to be arrested, of which fact you are aware, I am in need of 
 the two million livres which you offered to lend me." In a second letter, 
 the King thanks M. de Mazarin for having foreseen his request by des- 
 patching a gentleman, etc. Another time, his Majesty thanks him for the 
 present he has made him of a superb Spanish horse ; and, in a fourth letter, 
 dated 17 November, 1663, expresses his thanks for the assistance he has 
 offered towards bringing water to Versailles. Letters cited by Amedee 
 Rence, " Les Nieces de Mazarin." 
 
 2 "Memoiresde I'Abbe de Choisy." 
 
264 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 cost his patron, at the sight which met his eyes on enter- 
 ing the galleries and finding the duke in the midst of his 
 operations. His remonstrances were ill received; but 
 eventually he succeeded in prevailing upon the madman 
 to desist, though not before the collection had suffered 
 severely from the piety of its owner. Louis XIV, for 
 the reasons of which we have already spoken, contented 
 himself with mildly expressing his regret at M. de 
 Mazarin's proceedings. Visiting the Louvre one day 
 and noticing a hammer, he remarked to Perrault : "There 
 is the weapon which M. de Mazarin makes so much 
 use of." 
 
 A taste for lawsuits was another of this nobleman's 
 peculiarities ; he is said to have had three hundred, and 
 to have lost nearly all of them. " I am very pleased," 
 he observed, " for actions to be brought against me in 
 regard to the possessions which I have received from the 
 Cardinal. I believe them all wrongly acquired ; and 
 when I have a judgment given in my favour, I regard it 
 as a title to the property, and my conscience is at rest." 
 
 "He used to cast lots for his servants," says Saint- 
 Simon, " in such a way that the cook became his 
 intendant and the floor-scrubber his secretary. The lot 
 according to him, indicated the will of God." The same 
 chronicler relates that once, when a fire broke out at one 
 of his country-seats, he refused to allow the servants to 
 extinguish it, declaring that to do so would be to inter- 
 fere with the intentions of the Almighty. 
 
 But it was his unfortunate young wife who had to 
 bear the brunt of his vagaries. If we are to believe only 
 half of what she tells us in her "Memoires," he must have 
 led her a truly terrible life. He began by conceiving a 
 violent jealousy of the attentions paid her by the King, 
 and, in order to shield her from this supposed danger. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 265 
 
 kept her in a state of perpetual locomotion. " As he 
 feared for me to remain in Paris," she writes, " he con- 
 tinually marched me about to his estates and govern- 
 ments. During the first three or four years of our 
 marriage, I made three or four journeys into Alsace and 
 as many into Brittany, besides several others to Nevers, 
 Maine, Bourbon, Sedan, and other places. He has often 
 made me undertake a journey of two hundred leagues 
 when I was enceinte and very near my confinement. 
 My relations and friends were apprehensive of the 
 dangers to which he exposed my health, and endeavoured 
 to make him sensible of them, but for a long time in 
 vain."^ These continual journeys, however, were, after 
 all, only a small part of what the lady had to suffer at 
 his hands, and, "as she had no greater pleasure than that 
 of seeing him," she assures us that she might have 
 endured them, had it not been for the tyranny of his 
 proceedings. He was jealous of every one who addressed 
 or approached her, high or low, man or woman. " I 
 could not speak to a servant, but he was dismissed the 
 next day. 1 could not receive two visits in succession 
 from the same man, but he was forbidden the house. If 
 I showed any preference for one of my maids, she was at 
 once taken away from me. He would have liked me to 
 see no one in the world, except himself. Above all, he 
 could not endure that I should see either his relations or 
 my own — the latter, because they had begun to take my 
 part, his own, because they no more approved of his 
 conduct than did mine." 
 
 He would not even suffer her to sleep in peace. " No 
 sooner were the beautiful eyes of his companion closed," 
 says the duchess's friend Saint-Evremond, " than this 
 amiable husband, to whose black imagination the devil 
 
 1 " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
266 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 was always present, awoke her to make her share his 
 nocturnal visions. They lighted torches, they searched 
 everywhere ; but the only devil whom Madame de 
 Mazarin found was the one who was with her in bed."^ 
 
 He found fault with everything she did. " The 
 innocence of my recreations occasioned him as much 
 annoyance as if they had been criminal. Sometimes he 
 said it was a sin to play with my servants at cock-all. 
 At other times he said it was a heinous crime to go to 
 bed late. He often declared that one could not in con- 
 science go to Court, and much less to the play ; some- 
 times my devotions were too short. In fine, his peevish- 
 ness upon my account was such that I verily believe, if 
 any one had seriously asked him how and in what manner 
 he desired me to live, he would not have been able to 
 agree with himself about the matter."^ 
 
 Hortense, according to her own account, bore her hus- 
 band's eccentricities with the most exemplary patience ; 
 but when, " not content with making her pass the best 
 years of her life in unparalleled slavery," the duke began 
 to squander her property in all directions, and " she saw 
 that, by his incredible profuseness, her son, who might 
 have been the richest gentleman in France, was in 
 danger of becoming the poorest," her fortitude was 
 exhausted. The crisis came when, on returning home 
 one night from some Court function, she found that her 
 husband had taken advantage of her absence to seize 
 upon her jewellery. She demanded the reason of his 
 conduct, and was told that she was of such a liberal and 
 generous disposition that he feared that, if she were 
 
 1 Saint-Evremond relates several other instances of M. de Mazarin's 
 eccentricities, and accuses him of abominable vices, for which, he says, he 
 was wont to declare that he had found justification in Holy Scripture. 
 Saint-Evremond, however, was not, in this case, an impartial witness. 
 
 2 " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 267 
 
 allowed to retain possession of her jewels, she might be 
 tempted to give some of them away, and that he, therefore, 
 considered it advisable to take them into his own keeping. 
 Hortense angrily insisted on their immediate restora- 
 tion ; and, on the duke's refusal, left the room and went 
 to consult her brother, the Due de Nevers, whose hotel, 
 as we have mentioned, adjoined the Palais-Mazarin, of 
 which it had originally formed part. Here she found 
 the Duchesse de Bouillon, who told her that " she was 
 well served, since she had suffered so much already with- 
 out complaint," and despatched a Madame de Balenzane, 
 who happened to^ be with her, to remonstrate with M. 
 de Mazarin. The duke, however, refused to see her, pre- 
 sumably being of opinion that to receive a visit from a 
 lady at so late an hour would be a highly improper pro- 
 ceeding, and sent word that he intended leaving for 
 Saint-Germain on the morrow. 
 
 Hortense spent the night at the Hotel de Bouillon, 
 where, next morning, a family council was held, which 
 deputed the Comtesse de Soissons to bring the matter 
 to the notice of the King. Louis XIV, unwilling to 
 offend so useful a friend as the Due de Mazarin, sug- 
 gested a temporary separation between the parties, and 
 Hortense accordingly went to the Hotel de Soissons, 
 where she remained for two months. At the end of 
 that time, the King ordered her to return to her hus- 
 band, and she was obliged to obey, though her jewels 
 remained in M. de Mazarin's possession, and the only 
 concession she was able to obtain was the dismissal of 
 some waiting-women whom the duke had placed about 
 her for the purpose of spying upon her actions. 
 
 Scarcely, however, had the duchess set foot in the 
 Palais-Mazarin than she had a new and violent quarrel 
 with her husband, due, she tells us, to the duke having 
 
268 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 retaliated for the dismissal of his spies by getting rid of 
 one of her most trusted attendants. She attempted to 
 escape from the house; M. de Mazarin hurried forward 
 to bar her passage, but she brushed past him and ran 
 into the courtyard. The duke rushed to a window and 
 shouted to the servants to shut the gate, but, " seeing 
 her in tears, no one dared to obey," and, hastening into 
 the street, where a crowd of people, attracted by the 
 uproar, had assembled, she made her way to the Hotel 
 de Nevers. 
 
 After a few days, the family again intervened, and 
 a reconciliation was effected. It did not last long, how- 
 ever, and, after more grotesque scenes, Hortense con- 
 sented to retire to the Abbey of Chelles, while M. de 
 Mazarin set out for his government of Alsace, where he 
 was at war with the intendant, for his governments 
 resembled his household. Finding, on his return, that 
 his wife was enjoying too much liberty at Chelles, where 
 the abbess, although his own aunt, had warmly espoused 
 her cause, he obtained permission from the King to re- 
 move her to the Couvent des Filles-de-Sainte-Marie, 
 situated near the Bastille. 
 
 The luckless Hortense would no doubt have in- 
 finitely preferred the Bastille itself as a residence, for 
 the convent in question was a most rigorous institution. 
 However, she was fortunate enough to find there a 
 companion in misfortune in the person of Sidonie de 
 Lenoncourt, Marquise de Courcelles, who had been 
 incarcerated there for somewhat similar reasons. 
 
 The history of Sidonie de Lenoncourt, who has been 
 termed the Manon Lescaut of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, was a particularly sad one. Heiress of a wealthy 
 and noble house, she had been very carefully brought 
 up at the Couvent de Saint-Loup, at Orleans, of which 
 
From an engraving after the painiiii^ l.y -Milliard 
 ARMAXD DE LA I'ORTE, DUG DE MAZAKIN ET DE LA .>Lt-:iLLERAYE 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 269 
 
 her aunt was abbess. However, Colbert, wishing to 
 enrich and, at the same time, ennoble his family, con- 
 ceived the idea of marrying her to his brother, and, by 
 order of the King, she was removed from the convent 
 and brought to the Hotel de Soissons, to receive a very 
 different education, under the eve of the Princesse de 
 Carignan, Olympe Mancini's mother-in-law. Here the 
 beautiful and innocent young girl attracted the notice 
 of Louvois, who fell madly in love with her. As the 
 result of a shameful compact, it was arranged that the 
 Marquis de Courcelles, a needy and worthless man, 
 should have the lady's fortune, while Louvois was to be 
 granted every facility for pressing his dishonourable suit. 
 In this he was so far successful that Sidonie consented 
 to become his mistress ; but he was never able to gain 
 her affection, which was bestowed on the Marquis de 
 Villeroi, Madame de Soissons's admirer. To this suc- 
 ceeded other attachments, and her unworthy husband, 
 who had only been waiting his opportunity to get full 
 control of her fortune, availed himself of this pretext 
 to have her shut up in the Couvent des Filles-de-Sainte- 
 Marie. 
 
 The two captives naturally became sworn friends, and 
 rumour asserted that they relieved the tedium of their 
 existence by turning the convent upside down and 
 perpetrating all sorts of practical jokes on their unfor- 
 tunate guardians, though Hortense, in her " Memoires," 
 declares that they were shamefully maligned. " As 
 Madame de Courcelles was very amiable and very 
 entertaining," she writes, " I had the complacency to 
 join with her in some pleasantries which she played upon 
 the nuns. A hundred ridiculous tales about this were 
 carried to the King, who was told that we put ink in 
 the holy-water basin to bespatter the good ladies, that 
 
270 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 we ran through the dormitories, accompanied by a pack 
 of dogs, shouting out * Tayaut ! Tayaut ! ' and such- 
 like things ; all of which were absurdly false or grossly 
 exaggerated. For example, having asked for some water 
 to wash our feet, the nuns disapproved and refused our 
 request, just as if we were there to observe the regula- 
 tions. It is true that we filled a large coffer which stood 
 in our dormitory with water, and, the boards of the 
 floor being very loosely joined together, the water which 
 overflowed leaked through this wretched floor and 
 wetted the beds of the good sisters. This accident was 
 talked about as if it had been something which we 
 had done of design."^ 
 
 However that may be, the two penitents seem to 
 have led the poor daughters of Sainte- Marie such a 
 life that they petitioned the King for their removal, and, 
 much to the relief of all parties, the ladies were trans- 
 ferred to the Abbey of Chelles, with whose superior 
 Hortense had contrived to ingratiate herself during her 
 former residence there. This change was by no means 
 to the taste of M. de Mazarin, who, a few days later, 
 appeared before the convent, accompanied by a troop 
 of cavalry and armed with an authorisation from the 
 Archbishop of Paris to enter and seize his wife. The 
 abbess refused to admit him, and handed the keys of 
 the convent to Hortense, who appeared at the grill and 
 brandished them defiantly in the face of her discomfited 
 lord. M. de Mazarin withdrew, in a very ill humour, 
 uttering terrible threats ; but, the following morning, 
 Hortense espied from^ her window a large body of 
 horse advancing towards the abbey. Believing that 
 it was her Bluebeard returning with reinforcements 
 and his friend the archbishop's authority to force an 
 1 " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 271 
 
 entry, she was overcome with fear and hid herself in 
 the chimney of her room, where she stuck fast, and 
 was nearly suffocated by the soot. With considerable 
 difficulty she was rescued, to find, to her joy, that the 
 horsemen whose appearance had so alarmed her were 
 a party of friends, headed by the Due and Duchesse de 
 Bouillon and the Comte de Soissons, who, having learned 
 of M. de Mazarin's proceedings, were hastening to her 
 succour. 
 
 In the meantime, Hortense had brought an action 
 against her husband before the Cour des Enquetes of the 
 Parliament of Paris. This court, " composed," says the 
 duchess, " almost exclusively of young men, not one of 
 whom but was eager to serve me," decreed that she 
 should be set at liberty and reinstated in the Palais- 
 Mazarin, while her husband was to reside at the Arsenal, 
 the oflEicial residence of the Grand Master of the Artillery. 
 The duke, however, refused to accept this decree and 
 immediately appealed to the Grande Chambre, which, 
 Hortense tells us, being composed for the most part of 
 elderly counsellors, would be naturally more inclined to 
 favour the husband than the wife. From which it would 
 appear that the lady had not a very high opinion of the 
 judges of her time. 
 
 Foreseeing that the appeal was likely to go against her, 
 the duchess resolved to await the decision of the court 
 with her sister, the Constabless Colonna, at Rome. Her 
 brother, the Due de Nevers, signified his approval of her 
 resolution, and her devoted admirer, the Chevalier de 
 Rohan,^ promised her his assistance. Accordingly, one 
 night, at the end of June 1668, Hortense, disguised as 
 a man and accompanied by one of her waiting-women, 
 
 1 Louis de Rohan, younger son of Louis VII, Due de Rohan, Prince 
 de Guemenee. 
 
272 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 similarly attired, and an equerry of the chevalier named 
 Couberville, left Paris on horseback, and rode without 
 drawing rein, except to change horses, to Nancy. Here 
 she was well received by Charles IV of Lorraine, who, 
 ever the slave of the fair, naturally sympathised with 
 her misfortunes, and gave her a troop of his guards to 
 escort her as far as Geneva. 
 
 A few hours after she had left Paris, M. de Mazarin 
 was informed of her flight, upon which he rushed off to 
 the Louvre, and, although it was then three o'clock in 
 the morning, insisted on awakening the King, to demand 
 that he would cause the duchess to be pursued and 
 brought back. But his Majesty declined to interfere, 
 and is said to have expressed some surprise that the 
 Angel Gabriel, who had been so solicitous concerning 
 himself and La Valliere, should have omitted to warn the 
 duke of his wife's intentions. 
 
 M. de Mazarin, however, derived some consolation 
 from the fact that the Grande Chambre shortly after- 
 wards passed a decree authorising him to apprehend 
 his wife in whatever place she might happen to be, 
 encouraged by which he next brought an action against 
 the Due de Nevers and the Chevalier de Rohan as 
 accomplices of her flight. In this he failed, but Hortense, 
 having had the imprudence to write a very tender letter 
 to Rohan, in which she spoke of the happiness which 
 would follow their reunion, it was intercepted by her 
 husband ; and Louis XIV, happening to be in one of 
 those austere moods in which he sought to atone for the 
 laxity of his own morals by extreme severity towards 
 other backsliders, deemed it his duty to disgrace the 
 chevalier and deprive him of all his offices. The un- 
 fortunate Rohan, already overwhelmed by debt, found 
 himself almost ruined. To better his fortunes he, some 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 273 
 
 years later, entered into treasonable negotiations with 
 the Dutch, but was detected, brought to trial, and 
 beheaded in front of the Bastille, on 27 November 
 1674. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Hortense, still escorted by Couber- 
 ville, of whom we shall have a good deal to say presently, 
 continued her flight, crossed the Alps in safety, and at 
 the beginning of July arrived at Milan, where she found 
 Marie and the Constable, who had travelled thither to 
 meet her. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Marie and the Constable Colonna — Happiness of their early married 
 life — Eccentric conduct of the Constabless — Probable explanation — 
 Birth of a son — A sumptuous bed — Birth of two other sons — Separa- 
 tion di letto between the Constable and his wife — Liaison of Colonna 
 with the Marchesa Paleotto — Arrival of the Duchesse de Mazarin in 
 Italy — The " Chevalier " de Couberville — Quarrel between the Due 
 de Nevers and Hortense — Scene between Marie and Couberville — The 
 "chevalier " is arrested and imprisoned in a fortress — Hortense enters 
 a convent — An embarrassing situation — Escape of Madame de Mazarin 
 from the convent — Her lovers — She returns to France with her 
 brother — M. de Mazarin endeavours to have her arrested at Nevers — 
 Intervention of the King — The Duchess accepts a pension and returns 
 to Italy. 
 
 AND what of Marie during the seven years which had 
 passed since her arrival in Italy ? 
 For the first five years of her married life, Marie had 
 lived very happily with the Constable. Colonna, who 
 seems to have fallen passionately in love with his wife at 
 first sight, proved the kindest and most indulgent of 
 husbands. He allowed her the fullest liberty to live h la 
 Fran^aise^ that is to say, to visit and receive whomever 
 and whenever it pleased her, to the great displeasure of 
 the Roman nobles, who deemed it a very bad example for 
 their wives, whom they kept shut up in their palaces and 
 guarded with the most jealous care. He overwhelmed 
 her with attentions and presents, anticipated her slightest 
 wish, and was perpetually inventing some new entertain- 
 ment for her diversion. Marie, who was naturally of 
 an affectionate disposition, did not long remain insensible 
 
 274 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 275 
 
 to her husband's devotion and began to feel for him the 
 warmest regard. " Although Italian customs were but 
 little to my taste," she writes, *'the inclination that I 
 had begun to entertain for the Constable rendered them 
 more endurable to me ; for, to be brief, he neglected 
 nothing which could give me pleasure ; it would be 
 impossible to describe his attentions and kindness, and, 
 finally, 1 may say that I am the one whom he loved the 
 most and the longest." ^ 
 
 Unhappily for Marie, since her arrival in Italy, she 
 was much changed from the girl whom we have seen at 
 the Court of France. Then, it is true, she had been 
 headstrong and self-willed, though, perhaps, not more so 
 than many of her countrywomen. Now, however, she 
 gradually began to develop eccentricities which became 
 a source of grave uneasiness to her husband and those 
 about her. In the autumn of 1662, she became 
 enceinte, to the great delight of the Constable, who was 
 intensely anxious for an heir. Marie was no less anxious 
 to gratify his wish ; but, instead of obeying the instruc- 
 tions of her physicians and taking the precautions usual 
 in such circumstances, she indulged in all kinds of 
 forbidden amusements, and on several occasions, in 
 spite of the remonstrances of her husband, insisted on 
 following the chase and remained in the saddle nearly 
 the entire day. The result was a miscarriage, followed 
 by an attack of fever, and it was some weeks ere she was 
 able to leave her bed. 
 
 " The conduct of the Constabless under such grave 
 circumstances," writes Lucien Perey, "would be im- 
 possible to explain, if one did not trace these vagaries to 
 their source. In our opinion, it is certain that the brain- 
 fever, accompanied by convulsions, by which she was 
 
 ^ " La Verite dans son jour." 
 
276 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 attacked during her journey to Italy, caused brain- 
 trouble, of which she kept the trace all her life. We 
 do not mean that she was insane in the fullest extent of 
 the word, but undoubtedly her mind was deranged on 
 some points, and persons at her house remarked, when 
 observing her closely, that she seemed in a state of con- 
 tinual uneasiness and agitation."^ The most common 
 form which her affection took was an inability to reside 
 in any one spot for more than a few weeks at a time. 
 Although her husband was required to pass the greater 
 part of each year in Rome, she wished to be perpetually 
 travelling, no matter in what condition of health she 
 might happen to be, now to their country-seats at 
 Marino and Sisterna, now to Naples or Venice, anon to 
 Milan or some other town, at which she had no sooner 
 arrived than she wished to be on the move again. The 
 Constable was so devoted to his wife that he bore the 
 inconvenience and expense — for he invariably insisted 
 on her travelling in semi-royal state — attendant upon 
 these continual peregrinations without murmuring. But 
 alas ! this feverish restlessness was ere long to be 
 followed by other and graver eccentricities, which, as her 
 biographer suggests, were no doubt attributable to the 
 effects of the illness which had so nearly cost her her life 
 at Loretto. 
 
 Nevertheless, as has been said, the first years of her 
 married life were happy. On 7 April 1664, she con- 
 soled her husband for his previous disappointment by 
 bearing him a son, who was named Filippo, and bore the 
 title of Principe di Palliano. Great was the joy of the 
 Constable and his relatives at this auspicious event, and 
 Marie found herself overwhelmed with costly presents 
 and congratulations. According to custom, the members 
 
 1 "Une Princesse romaine au xvii'' siecle: Marie Mancini Colonna." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 277 
 
 of the Sacred College and all the Roman nobility called 
 at the Casa Colonna to felicitate the princess, and were 
 received by her reclining on a sumptuous bed, " the 
 novelty no less than the magnificence of which filled 
 every one with admiration." " It was," she writes, " a 
 species of shell, which seemed to float in the midst of a 
 sea artistically represented, and which served as its foun- 
 dation. The posts stood on the cruppers of four sea- 
 horses, mounted by sirens, so admirably sculptured and 
 with their material so brilliantly gilded that they seemed 
 to be made of the precious metal itself. Ten or twelve 
 little Cupids served as clasps for the curtains, which 
 were of a very rich golden brocade and were permitted 
 to hang loosely, so as not to conceal anything which 
 deserved to be seen in this sumptuous ornament."^ 
 
 The birth of Marie's first son was followed by that of 
 two others, baptized respectively Marco Antonio and 
 Carlo, whose advent was welcomed by Lorenzo Colonna 
 with scarcely less pleasure than he had shown at the 
 birth of his heir, and the princess's happiness seemed com- 
 plete, when, on a sudden, she announced to her husband 
 her intention to live no longer with him as his wife. 
 
 Marie, in her " Memoires," written, we must remem- 
 ber, while her husband was still alive, gives the follow- 
 ing reason for her decision : — 
 
 " But having given birth to this child [her third son] 
 to the apparent danger of my life, I took a resolution to 
 avoid for the future all occasion of exposing myself to 
 the like by giving birth to another. The Constable's 
 consent being necessary to make valid a resolution of 
 this nature, I pressed him for it and obtained it, and 
 have ever since found him, in this particular, a man of 
 
 his word." ^ 1 « L3 Verite dans son jour." 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
278 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 The scandal-loving gazettes of the time, which do not 
 fail to mention the separazione di km between the Prince 
 and Princess Colonna, attribute the latter's resolution to 
 a more unusual cause, namely, to the prediction of an 
 astrologer (Marie, like her father and mother, and, in 
 a lesser degree, the Cardinal, was a firm believer in 
 astrology, and was wont to attribute all her troubles to 
 the malign influence of the stars),^ who had predicted 
 that the birth of a fourth child would be followed by 
 her own death. 
 
 The real reason, however, was very diflFerent. It 
 appears that shortly after her third son was born, Marie 
 received an anonymous letter, informing her that the 
 Constable was very far from being the faithful husband 
 she imagined him to be, and that, some time before, he 
 had become the father of a little girl. The name of the 
 mother does not seem to be known, but the child was 
 brought up with great care in a convent at Rome, where 
 she died, in 1750, at the age of eighty-four.^ 
 
 From what we already know of the pride and violence 
 of Marie's character, it is easy to conceive the anger 
 which must have possessed her on the discovery of her 
 husband's infidelity. The idea of sharing his affection 
 with another woman was intolerable to her, and she im- 
 mediately informed him that henceforth they must live 
 as friends only. Colonna, who adored his wife, did 
 not acquiesce at all readily in this arrangement, and strove 
 by every possible argument to shake her resolution ; 
 but Marie was inexorable. 
 
 It was not long before she had cause to regret the 
 
 ^ Between 1670 and 1672, Marie published three curious volumes, 
 containing a number of strange predictions, anagrams and calculations 
 based on the influence of the stars. 
 
 2 Lucien Perey, " Une Princesse romaine au xvii^ siecle : Marie 
 Mancini Colonna." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 279 
 
 hasty decision to which her wounded pride had urged her, 
 for Colonna, who was of an exceedingly ardent tempera- 
 ment, "did not neglect to find compensation elsewhere for 
 what our agreement had caused him to lose," and Marie 
 confesses that his very marked attentions to a certain 
 Marchesa Paleotto, whom they met at Venice during the 
 Carnival of 1665, occasioned her "a secret displeasure." 
 
 However, she was too proud to allow the Constable 
 to perceive her feelings, and when they returned to 
 Rome, the lady and her husband accompanied them, and, 
 at the invitation of the prince, installed themselves in a 
 vacant suite of apartments at the Casa Colonna. The 
 complacent husband only remained in Rome a short 
 time, " for the sake of decorum," and then departed for 
 Ancona, where he had received some military appoint- 
 ment ; but the Marchioness stayed on, and her liaison 
 with the Constable was soon the talk of Rome. 
 
 The relations between the latter and Marie were ami- 
 able, though somewhat distant. Colonna continued to 
 allow his wife full liberty to pass her time as she felt 
 disposed, and to keep open house for her friends and 
 foreign visitors. The Roman ladies envied her, their 
 husbands blamed her, and both declared themselves con- 
 vinced that she must have a lover. However, they were 
 quite unable to agree as to the identity of this fortunate 
 individual, the fact being that Marie, although her 
 desire to please was often mistaken for coquetry, was 
 almost unrivalled in the difficult art of keeping adorers 
 at a respectful distance. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs when Hortense arrived 
 in Italy. 
 
 Marie was, of course, overjoyed to see her sister once 
 more. " The affection which I had always felt for her," 
 
28o FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 she writes, "made me undertake the journey to Milan 
 with incredible pleasure, and I neglected nothing to in- 
 duce the Constable to make it. He, on his side, did 
 everything he could to dissuade me, but at length, 
 having consented with the air of one who does some- 
 thing for which he has an extreme repugnance, we set 
 out, in the month of July 1668, accompanied by the 
 Marchesa Paleotto, and arrived six days later at Milan, 
 where the Marquis Spinola de los Balbases, my brother- 
 in-law, was the governor par interim.^'' 
 
 To Marie's intense disappointment, Hortense, "whose 
 beauty surpassed all imagination, and in whom one dis- 
 covered each time one saw her new charms," greeted her 
 somewhat coldly, and rallied the Marchesa Paleotto and 
 herself, because they were not attired in obedience to the 
 dictates of the latest Paris mode, for, coming from 
 France, "she judged people only by their exterior and 
 esteemed them only in proportion to their being well 
 dressed." Moreover, she appeared to have conceived a 
 singular dislike to society, and remained in the apart- 
 ments which had been allotted her nearly all day, 
 " always en deshabille^ but always more charming," seeing 
 no one but Marie and her own attendants. The reason 
 she gave her sister for thus secluding herself, was that she 
 was suffering from an injury sustained by a fall from her 
 horse while crossing the Alps. A few weeks later, how- 
 ever, the Due de Nevers arrived at Milan, and soon dis- 
 covered the real cause of Madame de Mazarin's taste for 
 solitude. She had, it transpired, conceived a violent fancy 
 for Couberville, the equerry whom the Chevalier de 
 Rohan had given her to escort her to Italy, and who 
 had gained such ascendency over her that she even 
 denied herself to her brother and sister when he hap- 
 pened to be with her. Soon this affair had become the 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 281 
 
 talk of the city, and people made ribald verses about it, 
 to the intense mortification of the duchess's relatives, 
 who felt compelled, in consequence, to cut short their 
 visit to Milan and remove to Sienna. 
 
 Here, soon after their arrival, there was a violent dis- 
 pute between Hortense and the Due de Nevers on the 
 subject of Couberville. This worthy, whom the duchess 
 persisted in addressing as " Monsieur le Chevalier," 
 although he had no right whatever to that title, was so 
 puffed up by his bonne fortune that he gave himself all the 
 airs of a gentleman of quality, and treated M. de Nevers 
 as if he were that nobleman's equal. The duke bitterly 
 reproached his sister with her conduct, and threatened to 
 throw the pretended chevalier out of the window, if he 
 did not speedily mend his manners. Hortense flew into 
 a passion, and angrily denied that there were any grounds 
 whatever for the supposition of the duke, who there- 
 upon left Sienna and went to Venice. 
 
 Soon after his departure, the Colonnas and Madame 
 de Mazarin returned to Rome for the festival of All 
 Saints' Day. But Hortense continued to show the same 
 liking for solitude as she had evinced at Milan and 
 Sienna, and her hosts enjoyed very little of her society. 
 Marie now determined to interfere in her turn, and, 
 after vainly remonstrating with her sister, sent for 
 Couberville and gave him a piece of her mind. "This 
 gentleman, far from seeking to excuse himself," she 
 writes, "answered me rather impertinently, and, as he 
 spoke of my brother in discourteous and far from 
 respectful terms, 1 told him to leave the room immedi- 
 ately, and that he would find some one below to teach 
 him how to behave himself, and to have for persons of 
 my brother's quality the veneration that he ought to 
 feel. He obeyed and quitted the room in a great anger." 
 
282 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Highly indignant at the way in which her lover had 
 been treated, Hortense left the Casa Colonna and went 
 to live with her aunt, Signora Martinozzi, where she 
 remained for some weeks, "shut up like a prisoner," 
 amusing herself by playing the guitar. As for Couber- 
 ville, he deemed it prudent to leave Italy, and made his 
 way to Civita Vecchia, with the intention of embarking 
 for France. Here, however, the Constable Colonna 
 caused him to be arrested, on some pretext, and im- 
 prisoned in a fortress, " to soften his haughty temper." 
 After a confinement of some months, he was released, 
 through the intercession of Francesco Rospigliosi, the 
 Pope's nephew, whom Madame de Mazarin had contrived 
 to interest in his favour, and disappears from our history. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the Due de Mazarin, learning that 
 his wife was no longer under the protection of the 
 Colonnas, petitioned the Pope to have her sent to a con- 
 vent. Hortense, however, anticipated him by retiring to 
 the Convent of Campo-Marzo, of which another of her 
 aunts was the superior, and where she could reckon on 
 being permitted to do pretty much as she pleased. She 
 had not been there long, however, when she fell into *' a 
 state of profound melancholy," and confessed to Marie, 
 who visited her nearly every day, that an interesting 
 event, in which M. de Mazarin had certainly no concern, 
 was pending. The situation was most embarrassing, as 
 Hortense could not leave the convent without the con- 
 sent of her husband or the Pope ; and they were at 
 a loss what to do. Eventually, however, Marie solved 
 the problem by aiding her sister to escape and bearing 
 her off in her coach, before the eyes of the indignant 
 nuns,^ to the Palazzo Mancini, which had been be- 
 
 1 " My poor old aunt [the abbess]," writes Hortense, " took the matter 
 so much to heart that she died a few days later, of the grief which my 
 escape had occasioned her." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 283 
 
 queathed by Mazarin to the Due de Nevers, though their 
 uncle, Cardinal Mancini, was at present residing there. 
 
 The unfortunate termination to her affair with 
 M. Couberville does not appear to have had a very- 
 chastening effect upon the volatile duchess, who, to the 
 mortification of her friends, declined to make the least 
 attempt to conceal her condition, went frequently into 
 society, and " appeared extremely pleased with herself." 
 At the f^tes which followed the election of Cardinal 
 Rospigliosi (Clement X) as Pope, in the spring of 1670, 
 she was among the gayest of the gay, and was perpetually 
 surrounded by a crowd of adorers. Among those whom 
 she most favoured was a certain Jacques de Belbeuf, 
 son of a counsellor of the Parliament of Normandy, 
 a handsome young man, who had come to Rome to put 
 the finishing touches to his education. Hortense pre- 
 sented him with her portrait, and we find the proud 
 youth writing to his mother as follows : — 
 
 " There is also in the bag I have spoken of a little 
 silver box, on one side of which is Madame de Mazarin's 
 portrait and on the other my own. As the said lady has 
 been pleased to give it me, I wish to place it by the side 
 of mine, and feel obliged to keep them for ever. If you 
 desire to see the said portrait, and even to show it, I beg 
 you to make what use of it you think fit, but it is most 
 important not to let it out of your keeping, and do not 
 allow people to finger it. Also be careful who has access 
 to it, as perhaps persons might wish to copy it, which 
 would be most displeasing to me." ^ 
 
 Madame de Belbeuf was no doubt much gratified by so 
 striking a tribute to her son's fascinations. Nowadays, we 
 are inclined to think, mothers would be less complacent. 
 
 ^ Letter published by Amedee Renee, " Les Nieces de Mazarin." The 
 duchess's portrait is still in the possession of the Belbeuf family. 
 
284 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 The handsome young Norman, however, was not the 
 only adorer to be thus honoured by the duchess, for an 
 Italian correspondent of the Gazette (V Amsterdam of 
 April 1670, informs the readers of that journal that 
 "the Constable Colonna had just had to reconcile Don 
 Dominico Gusman and Don Augustin Chigi, who had 
 quarrelled over a portrait of Madame de Mazarin which 
 one of them had received, and were about to settle their 
 differences at the point of the sword." Nor did M. de 
 Belbeuf long retain the post of honour in the lady's 
 affection, being replaced by the Marquis del Grille, who, 
 in his turn, was succeeded by the Comte de Marsan, 
 lately arrived in Rome with his brother, the notorious 
 Chevalier de Lorraine, whom Madame had persuaded 
 Louis XIV to banish from France. The Marquis del 
 Grille, to whom the duchess appears to have been under 
 certain financial obligations, did not accept his dismissal 
 with at all a good grace, and a second duel was with 
 difficulty prevented by the efforts of Madame de 
 Mazarin's relatives. Altogether, the Constable and 
 Marie must have found the fair Hortense a pretty 
 handful. 
 
 In the autumn, the Due de Nevers, who had been 
 residing in Rome since the previous winter and was 
 now reconciled to his sister, set out for France to marry 
 the beautiful Diane de Thianges, niece of Madame de 
 Montespan. Hortense, who was perhaps beginning to find 
 the welcome which her friends had at first extended to 
 her growing a trifle cold, and was besides in need of 
 money — she had been, she tells us, " reduced to pawn 
 her jewels for the means of subsistence" — decided to 
 accompany him and "throw herself at M. de Mazarin's 
 feet." But her career at Rome, rumours of which had 
 not failed to reach Paris, had been scarcely calculated to 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 285 
 
 promote a reconciliation, and, on reaching Nevers, an 
 official of the Grande Chambre presented himself with a 
 warrant for her arrest, and a small army, composed of 
 M. de Mazarin's guards and a brigade of archers, under 
 the command of the Grand Provost of the Bourbonnais, 
 wherewith to enforce it. The municipal authorities, 
 however, held a consultation, as the result of which they 
 decided to take the duchess under their protection, and 
 called upon the citizens to defend her. Matters now 
 began to assume a very serious aspect, and it seemed as 
 if bloodshed must ensue, when a courier arrived from 
 the King, commanding M. de Mazarin to sign a truce 
 with his wife. The duke obeyed, weeping with rage, 
 and Hortense continued her journey to Paris unmolested. 
 
 On her arrival, she had an audience of the King, in 
 Madame de Montespan's apartments. His Majesty 
 received her very graciously, and offered to order M. de 
 Mazarin to pay her a pension of twenty-four thousand 
 livres, with liberty to reside in Rome, if she preferred 
 exile to returning to her husband. An income of twenty- 
 four thousand livres seemed a miserable pittance to a 
 woman who had inherited so many millions — (" You 
 will spend it at the first inn you stop at," remarked the 
 Due de Lauzun to her.) But even that seemed to her 
 preferable to a tete-a-tete with M. de Mazarin, and she, 
 accordingly, answered the King that " she felt that it 
 would be impossible for her to return to M. de Mazarin, 
 after all the endeavours he had made to ruin her 
 reputation, and that she accepted the pension with a 
 humble and heartfelt acknowledgment of his Majesty's 
 great favour therein." ^ 
 
 At the beginning of the following spring, she returned 
 to Rome, after an absence of nine months. 
 
 ^ " Mcmoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin." 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 Estrangement between the Constable Colonna and his wife — Growing 
 desire of Marie to return to France — She has a dangerous illness — 
 And believes herself the victim of an attempt at poisoning — A sus- 
 picious letter — Marie confides her fears to the Chevalier de Lorraine — 
 They urge Monsieur to obtain Louis XIV 's protection for the Con- 
 stabless — Recall of the Chevalier de Lorraine to France — He informs 
 the King of the danger which threatens Marie — Louis XIV promises 
 the Constabless an asylum in France — Marie persuades the Duchesse 
 de Mazarin to accompany her — Flight of the two sisters — Their 
 perilous journey — Their arrival at Marseilles. 
 
 T70R two or three years after the separation di letto 
 "*■ between Marie and the Constable Colonna, of which 
 we have spoken in the preceding chapter, their relations 
 appear to have been amicable enough ; but this state of 
 affairs did not last. Whether it was that Colonna had 
 his suspicions that what was denied him by his wife was 
 accorded to others — Marie has been accused by some 
 writers, though apparently on very untrustworthy evi- 
 dence, of tender relations with both Cardinal Chigi and 
 the Chevalier de Lorraine^ — or that he was beginning 
 to grow weary of the caprices and feverish activity which 
 he had endured cheerfully enough so long as he pos- 
 sessed her affection, his manner towards her underwent 
 
 1 If we are to place any faith in Marie's apocryphal memoirs, already 
 mentioned, the Constable was particularly annoyed by a report that his 
 wife had posed pour rensemble to the chevalier — who was by way of 
 being an amateur painter — one day, while bathing in the Tiber. The lady, 
 the writer adds, indignantly repudiated the charge, calling her waiting- 
 women to witness that she never entered the river, unless attired in a 
 robe de gaze which reached to her heels. 
 
 286 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 287 
 
 a change. "We passed the autumn [of 1670] in the 
 country and the Carnival at the Operas," writes Marie, 
 "but with less satisfaction to me, since, for some time 
 past, I had remarked that the Constable had no longer 
 for me the same kindness and affection which he had 
 hitherto shown. He had no more regard for or con- 
 fidence in me ; he rarely addressed me, and, if he did, 
 it was in a way which made me prefer his silence to his 
 words. The Principe di Sonnino [the Constable's 
 brother, formerly known as the Abbate Colonna], who 
 by his kindness has often appeased the secret troubles 
 of his family, and by his prudence has frequently pre- 
 vented them from being made public, will bear witness 
 to what I had to endure." 
 
 The Principe di Sonnino did not, however, succeed, 
 in this instance, in his task of peacemaker, or even in 
 keeping the matter secret, and all Rome was soon dis- 
 cussing the differences between the Constable and his 
 wife ; while the correspondents of the scandal-loving 
 gazettes printed in Holland spread the news all over 
 Europe.^ The Roman ladies, who had never pardoned 
 the Constabless for enjoying a liberty which their hus- 
 bands denied to them, and had often been wounded 
 by the haughtiness with which she treated them, did 
 not fail to avenge themselves by circulating the most 
 scandalous stories about both parties ; the wretched 
 old Archbishop of Amasia was continually whispering 
 malicious innuendoes regarding the Constable's conduct 
 into his niece's ear, adding that he had warned her from 
 the very beginning that the marriage could not fail to 
 
 ^ " The bad feeling which exists between them is known to every one. 
 It is believed that his Excellency the Marquis d'Astorga, Viceroy of 
 Naples, will discuss the matter previous to his departure for Naples, and 
 endeavour to bring about a reconciliation" (^Gazette de Ley den, 22 De- 
 cember 1670, cited by Lucien Perey). 
 
288 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 prove an unhappy one ; and the breach grew wider and 
 wider. 
 
 During the first years of her married life, the love 
 and attentions of the Constable and the brilliant posi- 
 tion she had occupied at Rome had aided Marie in her 
 endeavours to forget the golden dreams of her youth, 
 when even the throne of France had not seemed too 
 high a position for her to attain. But from the moment 
 she was assured of her husband's infidelity, the ghosts of 
 the past refused any longer to be laid, and now that 
 she felt that she had lost not only his affection, but his 
 esteem, her thoughts turned towards France, and the 
 prince who had once loved her so dearly, with a pas- 
 sionate longing. She was, of course, aware that her 
 place in his Majesty's heart had long since been given 
 to others, and that its present occupant was one of 
 whom, if report spoke truly, the King was deeply 
 enamoured. But when she recollected his intense 
 chagrin at her departure, his tender adieux, his promise 
 " to give her proofs of his esteem and attachment 
 wherever she might be," his anxious solicitude during 
 her illness at Loretto, she could not bring herself to 
 believe that his feelings towards her could have changed 
 so far as not to assure her a cordial welcome whenever 
 she might choose to return ; and soon the desire to see 
 France again became a fixed idea, to which all others 
 were subordinated. 
 
 A few days after the return of the Duchesse de 
 Mazarin to Rome, Marie was attacked by " so terrible a 
 colic, that had its violence continued a little longer, it 
 would have infallibly made an end of her." " My ill- 
 ness," she continues, " which was enough to move the 
 most insensible heart to compassion, made no impression 
 on that of the Constable, at least in appearance, since he 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 289 
 
 listened to my complaints for an entire night with the 
 utmost tranquillity." 
 
 At this epoch, the crime of poisoning was still ram- 
 pant in Italy, as, a few years later, it became in France, 
 though, fortunately, only for a comparatively brief 
 period and over a limited area, and every one took 
 infinite precautions on the slightest suspicion. Rightly 
 or wrongly, Marie became convinced that she had been 
 the victim of such an attempt, and that her husband had 
 been its instigator ; and this opinion appears to have 
 been shared by several of her friends. How far her 
 suspicions were justified is difficult to say ; but since 
 Colonna had obviously become weary of his wife, and 
 was, moreover, a man of a peculiarly vindictive temper, 
 who, it was common knowledge, had caused more than 
 one person who had been so unfortunate as to offend 
 him to be assassinated,^ they ought certainly not to be 
 dismissed as the hallucinations of a disordered brain. 
 An incident which occurred during her convalescence 
 increased her fears. 
 
 A letter addressed to the Constable was intercepted by 
 Mor6na, a Moorish waiting-maid whom Marie had 
 brought with her from France, and carried by her to her 
 mistress. Marie, to whose character nothing was more 
 foreign than espionage of this kind, ordered it to be 
 forwarded to its destination; but the girl begged her so 
 hard to open it that at last, though very reluctantly, she 
 consented. The letter advised Colonna that the writer 
 was in a position to arrange a very advantageous match 
 
 1 At the time of the Constable's death, in April 1689, the Due 
 d'Estrees, French Ambassador at Rome, wrote to Louis XIV : "The 
 Pope has shown himself extremely grieved at the death of the Constable 
 Colonna. Notwithstanding his violence and his irregularities, and even 
 several assassinations, for which the Pope testified so much horror at the 
 beginning of his pontificate, he had become a kind of favourite." 
 
 u 
 
290 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 for him, in the event of his happening to become a 
 widower, but added that, unless he were very speedily 
 able to avail himself of the offer, the hand of the heiress 
 in question would be bestowed elsewhere. 
 
 Deeming the letter capable of only one interpretation, 
 the princess, in great alarm, sent immediately for her 
 friend the Chevalier de Lorraine, to whom she confided 
 all her fears. The chevalier, grateful to Marie for the 
 kindness she had shown his brother and himself during 
 their stay in Rome, when almost every door had been 
 closed against them, readily promised her all the assist- 
 ance in his power ; and it was decided that both of them 
 should write to Monsieur, to acquaint him with the 
 situation and beg him to secure the King's protection 
 for the Constabless. 
 
 Monsieur^ who had always been much attached to 
 Marie, and had recently presented her, through the 
 Chevalier de Lorraine, with " a hunting equipage which 
 had cost a thousand pistoles, ornamented with a quantity 
 of the most beautiful and the richest ribbons to be found 
 in Paris," lost no time in laying the two letters before 
 Louis XIV, who, on learning of the danger which was 
 believed to threaten his former inamorata, appeared 
 much distressed. He refused, however, to take any 
 definite steps in the matter until he was in possession of 
 further information, which he promised to procure with- 
 out delay. Soon afterwards, it was announced that, 
 through the intercession of the Abbate Oliva, the 
 General of the Jesuits, the Chevalier de Lorraine and 
 the Comte de Marsan had been pardoned and recalled 
 to Court. 
 
 The two brothers arrived in Paris in March 1672, 
 and the chevalier was immediately granted an audience 
 of the King, in which he did not fail to depict the fears 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 291 
 
 and sufferings of Marie in the most vivid colours ; 
 declared his conviction that her illness of the previous 
 year had not been due to natural causes, and impressed 
 upon Louis the necessity of protecting her from any 
 further attempts upon her life. 
 
 His Majesty, more moved than he cared to appear, 
 inquired what measures M. de Lorraine recommended 
 to save the Constabless from the perils which surrounded 
 her ; to which the chevalier answered that the only 
 possible means of assuring her safety was for her to fly 
 from her husband and seek an asylum in France. 
 
 The King at once decided to follow his counsel, 
 directed him to assure the Constabless of his protection 
 and support, and next day sent a letter for him to trans- 
 mit to Marie, wherein he promised her a passport and 
 an escort to accompany her the moment she set foot 
 in France, and charged her to inform him of the port at 
 which it was her intention to land. 
 
 Marie's joy and relief on receiving the King's letter 
 were intense. Since the departure of the Chevalier de 
 Lorraine and his brother from Rome, the relations be- 
 tween the Constable and herself had become more strained 
 than ever, and the former now made so little effort to 
 conceal the aversion and contempt he had begun to feel 
 for his wife, even in the presence of her relatives, that 
 the Due de Nevers, who was, as usual, spending the 
 winter in Rome, warned his sister to be very cir- 
 cumspect in her conduct, since otherwise he feared 
 that some fine day she might find herself shut up in 
 Palliano, a castle belonging to the Constable on the 
 borders of the Ecclesiastical States and the kingdom 
 of Naples. 
 
 The moment she was assured of the protection of 
 Louis XIV, Marie hastened to make her preparations 
 
292 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 for flight/ She said nothing, however, of her project 
 to the Due de Nevers, fearing that he might deem it his 
 duty to inform his brother-in-law, but took Hortense 
 into her confidence and begged her to accompany her. 
 The duchess tells us that she employed every conceiv- 
 able argument to dissuade her sister, but to no purpose, 
 " for the same stars, or their influences, which drew her 
 into Italy, drew her into France." Finally, she yielded, 
 because, as she explains, " she had no mind to remain at 
 Rome without her, and believed that she might be able 
 to lessen the dangers she would have to incur by sharing 
 them with her."^ 
 
 Under cover to the Chevalier de Lorraine, Marie 
 now wrote to Louis XIV, expressing her gratitude for 
 his assurance of protection, and begging him to send to 
 the intendant of the galleys at Marseilles the pass- 
 ports and the necessary papers for her and her sister, the 
 latter being still in dread of the pursuit of her husband. 
 She also requested permission to take up her residence 
 in Paris, at the Hotel de Nevers, with her brother, who, 
 she had no doubt, would approve of her flight, although 
 he might have refused to connive at it. 
 
 This done, she despatched Pelletier, an intelligent and 
 devoted valet de chambre in the service of the Duchesse 
 
 ^ In her "Memoires," Marie gives the following reasons for her flight. 
 It will be observed that she only hints at the chief cause of her resolution, 
 namely, the fear that her life was in danger : " The violent conduct of the 
 Constable, joined to the aversion I entertained for Italian customs, and for 
 the manner of life at Rome, where dissimulation and hatred between 
 families are more in vogue than at other Courts, hastened my putting 
 into execution the design I had formed to return to France, the place of 
 my education, the residence of the majority of my relatives, and the 
 centre of my genius, since I had an inclination for the novelties to be 
 found there, the free and joyous humour of the people, and the warlike air 
 and brave deportment of the men, rather than for life in a quiet spot and 
 under a peaceable Government." 
 
 8 " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazarin " 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 293 
 
 de Mazarin, to Naples, where he arranged with the master 
 of a felucca which lay there to convey them to France. 
 It was agreed that the felucca should proceed to Civita 
 Vecchia, and that the fugitives should embark there. 
 
 On learning of the result of Pelletier's mission, the 
 sisters resolved to make their escape without loss of 
 time. Marie took with her the string of pearls, for- 
 merly the property of Queen Henrietta Maria, which 
 Louis XIV had given her just before her departure 
 for La Rochelle, a little valise containing some clothes, 
 and about 700 pistoles. The remainder of her jewellery, 
 the greater part of which were presents from the Con- 
 stable and his relatives, she left behind, with a letter 
 requesting that it should be equally divided between her 
 three sons. Then, on 29 May 1672, taking advantage 
 of the absence of the Constable, who had gone to visit a 
 stud-farm belonging to him at some little distance from 
 Rome, and was not expected to return until the follow- 
 ing day, she left the Casa Colonna, accompanied by her 
 Moorish waiting-maid Morena, and proceeded to the 
 Palazzo Mancini. Here she found a coach in readiness, 
 at the door of which was Hortense, with whom were a 
 waiting-woman named Nanon, Pelletier, and a footman. 
 
 But let us allow Marie to give her own account of 
 their adventure : — 
 
 " In a few moments we entered my sister's coach. 
 On leaving the house we cried to the coachman, ' To 
 Frascati,' in order to deceive a throng of people who 
 were at the gate of the Palazzo Mazarini. But when 
 we had turned the corner of the street, Pelletier, my 
 sister's valet de chambre, who had arranged for the felucca 
 of Naples to be at Civita Vecchia, ordered the coachman 
 to drive straight to the latter place. The coachman 
 obeyed, and we arrived on the outskirts of Civita 
 
294 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Vecchia as night closed in. Pelletier had arranged with 
 the sailors to take us on board four miles from the port. 
 We sent him to announce our coming, after the foot- 
 man, whom we had despatched for that purpose and 
 awaited with extreme impatience, had failed to return. 
 
 " The delay occasioned us a little uneasiness. How- 
 ever, in spite of all our anxiety to conceal ourselves and 
 our fears of being overtaken, Madame de Mazarin and 
 I quitted the coach, penetrated into a very thick wood 
 near the sea, and composed ourselves to sleep, which we 
 did so soundly for two hours that Nanon, my sister's 
 maid, and Morena, who was with me, and mounted 
 guard over us, were astonished to the last degree to see 
 us sleeping so tranquilly. 
 
 " On awakening, towards morning, we perceived the 
 'ualet de chambre^ who told us that he had failed to find 
 the vessel, and that the footman, after getting intoxicated, 
 had remained in an inn to sleep off the effects of the 
 wine he had imbibed, so that we judged it expedient to 
 re-enter the coach and advance a little further, along a 
 by-path, for fear of being overtaken, if we were pursued 
 along the high road. But our horses were so tired that 
 they were scarcely able to stand, which caused my sister 
 to say that it would be better to send them back with the 
 coach to the inn opposite Civita Vecchia, and give the 
 coachman orders to say, if any one came in search of us, 
 that he had seen us embark, in order that they might not 
 pursue us further." 
 
 After having proceeded for a considerable distance 
 along a dusty road and under a scorching sun, they re- 
 tired into the depths of a wood and sent Pelletier once 
 more in search of the felucca, telling him that, in the 
 event of his still being unable to find that elusive 
 vessel, he must charter another. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 295 
 
 "The heat of the sun," continues Marie, "which had 
 been beating on our heads for the space of five hours 
 and which was then at its height, a fast of four-and- 
 twenty hours, and the disappointment of hearing no news 
 of the vessel, threw us into a despair which made me 
 say to my sister that I wished to return, and that it 
 would be preferable to die at Rome, in whatever manner 
 I must, than to die of hunger where we were. But my 
 sister, who is the most patient and the most cheerful 
 woman in the world, encouraged me by her arguments, 
 finally adding that, if in the course of the next half-hour 
 we received no favourable news, we could still return. 
 1 resolved then to wait for that time, and scarcely had a 
 quarter passed when we heard the sound of a horse 
 approaching at full gallop in our direction. Thereupon 
 the fear of being overtaken, joined to the other agitations 
 of my mind, threw me into the greatest consternation 
 conceivable. But my sister, who had at that moment 
 two pistols in her hand, perceiving that it was the little 
 La Roche (the name of the postilion, who had gone to 
 look for the vessel, without saying anything to us about 
 it), reassured me altogether, and my sorrow was on the 
 instant converted into joy by the news that he gave us, 
 which was that, so far as he could gather, our vessel was 
 awaiting us four miles from the place in which we were. 
 He forthwith took charge of our valises, which were 
 neither heavy nor numerous. Nevertheless, we walked 
 in front, on foot, in the full heat of the sun and through 
 a flat country, in which we saw a number of vipers 
 gliding about. 
 
 " The indefatigable Madame de Mazarin constituted 
 herself our advance guard, and continued to walk so 
 fast that, to keep up with her, I was forced to rest from 
 time to time. Hunger, thirst, weariness, and the heat had 
 
296 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 deprived me of strength to such a degree that I was 
 compelled to ask a man who was engaged in ploughing 
 to carry me only some hundred paces towards the sea, 
 telling him that I had lost my people while out hunting 
 (my sister and I having changed our clothes in the 
 coach). At first, he refused, but when I added some 
 pistoles to my request, he finally allowed himself to be 
 persuaded. He then lifted me up in his arms, and in 
 this manner I joined my sister. Almost immediately 
 afterwards, Pelletier arrived and told us that he had 
 chartered another vessel for the sum of one thousand 
 crowns, but that, to tell the truth, he did not like the 
 appearance of the master or the sailors, who looked to 
 him thorough rascals. We answered that Fortune had 
 decided otherwise, having permitted the little La Roche 
 to find the first, and that he had gone to meet her. 
 
 " Pelletier was no less delighted than ourselves at this 
 happy adventure, for he had a very good opinion of the 
 master of the latter vessel. At length, partly on foot, 
 partly with the assistance of the labourer, I reached the 
 seashore, where, soon afterwards, our maids came to 
 rejoin us ; but, finding neither the first nor the second 
 vessel, and seeing our hopes so cruelly frustrated, I 
 abandoned myself to despair. My sister was not less 
 disconsolate than myself at this counter-stroke. How- 
 ever, she concealed her anxiety for fear of augmenting 
 mine. The only recourse we had in this predicament 
 was, after throwing ourselves on a little straw that we 
 found in a cabin, to send Pelletier a second time to look 
 for the vessel, the while, for my part, I begged the 
 labourer to go and procure me a little water. 
 
 "At the end of a quarter of an hour, Pelletier re- 
 turned, and, with a troubled air and in a very frightened 
 tone, told us that we were pursued, and that we were 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 297 
 
 lost. My weakness had rendered me so indifferent that 1 
 heard this intelligence almost without emotion. But 
 my sister, pressing him to tell her if it were true, and 
 eventually perceiving, by the manner in which he assured 
 her of it, that it was nothing, told him angrily to speak 
 seriously ; and when he replied that it was not the case, 
 and that he had intended to frighten us by way of 
 pleasantry, rebuked him sharply and told him that he 
 had chosen his time for jesting very ill. 
 
 " We then made our way to the place where the 
 vessel awaited us, and where, unfortunately, we found 
 also the second, the master and the sailors of which 
 urged us strongly to enter it. But Pelletier, having 
 given me a more favourable account of the master of 
 the first, I promptly entered it, without paying any 
 attention to the importunities of the people in the 
 other. My sister and our maids did the same, but had 
 scarcely done so when the other crew began to threaten 
 us and to endeavour to prevent our putting out to sea, 
 so that I was obliged to give them some money to secure 
 their good-will and free us from the difficulty. 
 
 " I was scarcely out at sea than I began to feel the 
 effects of it, and yet was more sensible of the new pro- 
 position that our master made us of more money for 
 our passage than the sum he had agreed to accept from 
 our valet de chambre. He grounded his demand on the 
 danger to which he had exposed himself in serving us. 
 Pelletier, who did not want for courage, was enraged 
 to find himself deceived in the good opinion of our 
 master, who, contrary to his promise, demanded more 
 than was his due, and, in great wrath, would have made 
 him stand to his bargain. But the master had force on 
 his side, and to his arguments, good or bad, added the 
 threat to throw us overboard or set us ashore on some 
 
298 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 deserted island, so that I ordered Pelletier to desist, and, 
 by adding one hundred pistoles to the sum previously- 
 agreed upon, silenced the master, assuring him of further 
 recompense on his landing us in France, which he 
 promised to do." ^ 
 
 In the meanwhile, in Rome, the greatest excitement 
 prevailed at both the Casa Colonna and the Palazzo 
 Mancini. When night fell, and the two ladies did not 
 return, their respective households became very uneasy. 
 When morning came, and there were still no signs of 
 the absent ones, their anxiety gave way to consternation, 
 and a servant on horseback was despatched to inform 
 the Constable. Colonna at once returned to Rome, and 
 sent off mounted messengers in all directions to gather 
 news of the fugitives, but without any result. Towards 
 evening, however, Madame de Mazarin's coachman 
 arrived, with the news that the two ladies had embarked 
 on a ship near Civita Vecchia, upon which the enraged 
 Constable despatched a courier to the Marquis d'Astorga, 
 Governor of Naples, begging him to send galleys in 
 pursuit of his wife in the direction of Marseilles, a 
 request with which that official hastened to comply. 
 
 The Constable did not doubt that the fugitives would 
 make for France, and he had a shrewd suspicion that 
 Louis XIV was a consenting party to his wife's escape, 
 if he had not actually instigated it. He accordingly 
 called upon the French Ambassador to the Vatican, 
 Cardinal d'Estr^es, who professed himself greatly 
 shocked at the conduct of the Constabless, and promised 
 to write to the Bishop of Marseilles and to Colbert, 
 and also, at Colonna's special request, to the Queen, to 
 beg her Majesty to do everything possible to prevent 
 
 1 " l,a Verite dans son jour." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 299 
 
 the lady having an interview with the King.^ Louis XIV, 
 it should be mentioned, was then with the army in 
 Holland ; but the Constable was well aware that his 
 wife, in her present temper, would be quite capable of 
 pursuing him from one end of Europe to the other. 
 
 Let us, however, leave the Constable, fuming with 
 indignation, and return to the adventurous si ters, 
 voyaging in their little felucca, at the mercy of a :rew 
 of rascally Neapolitans, who were probably only de- 
 terred from throwing them overboard and seizing on all 
 they possessed by the thought of the reward which had 
 been promised them on the safe arrival of their passen- 
 gers on French soil, and through seas swarming with 
 Turkish corsairs. 
 
 "We had the wind very favourable for the first six 
 hours," continues Marie, " after which there fell a great 
 calm, and we made scarcely any progress. At sunrise 
 we sighted a brigantine, and, the master fearing that it 
 was a Turkish vessel, we headed for some rocks on the 
 coast of Tuscany, where he pointed out to us a place 
 where we might land and conceal ourselves, in case he 
 were attacked. Then, under cover of the same rocks, 
 he proceeded to reconnoitre the vessel, and, having finally 
 inquired and learned that she was a Genoese, we con- 
 tinued our voyage in the same calm weather so far as 
 Monaco, where my sister was much incommoded by the 
 sea, which became so rough under the influence of a 
 
 ^ Cardinal d'Estrees also wrote to Pomponne, then Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs. His letter is interesting, since it shows that in well- 
 informed circles Marie's flight was attributed to its true cause : " After 
 the thousand conjectures that have been made about this escape, so far as 
 regards the Constabless, it is thought that the most probable is that she 
 was in dread of being poisoned. The Constable and she voluntarily 
 ceaeed to live together as husband and wife three years since-" 
 
300 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 very high wind, that we should have been wrecked, had 
 not our master been so skilful. 
 
 " As we were unable to disembark for want of a cer- 
 tificate of health, having come from Civita Vecchia, in 
 the environs of which the plague then was, we landed at 
 Monaco, where we secured false ones, which we made 
 use of at Ciotat, our master being unwilling to land at 
 Marseilles, owing to some differences which he had with 
 the people of that port. This proved a rather fortunate 
 circumstance for us, since it enabled us to escape the 
 feluccas and galleys which the Constable had sent in 
 pursuit of us, and which, failing to find us at sea, by 
 reason of the unusual course which our master, a very 
 shrewd man, had kept, made for Marseilles and the 
 other ports, where we should undoubtedly have been 
 captured, had we possessed certificates of health to en- 
 able us to land there. 
 
 *' At length, after a voyage of nine days, we arrived 
 safely at Ciotat, where, having rested about four hours, 
 we mounted some horses which we had hired, and, 
 travelling all night, reached Marseilles at a somewhat 
 early hour, where I first inquired for M. Arnoux, 
 intendant of the galleys, in the hope that he would have 
 the passport for me which I had requested of the King, 
 in the letter I had written his Majesty ere leaving 
 Rome." 
 
 The intendant handed the Constabless a packet con- 
 taining the passport and a letter from Louis XIV for 
 herself, and another from Pomponne, the Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs, to the Comte de Grignan, Madame 
 de Sevigne's son-in-law, the King's lieutenant in Pro- 
 vence, recommending him to receive the lady at Aix and 
 give her all the assistance she might require. Armed 
 with these papers, Marie returned to the inn where she 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 301 
 
 and her sister had put up and went to bed, exhausted 
 with fatigue, to be speedily awakened, however, to hear 
 that a certain Meneghini, or Manechini, a swashbuck- 
 ling gentleman in the Constable's service, who had ap- 
 parently arrived by one of the galleys which had been 
 sent in pursuit of them, desired to speak with her. In 
 great alarm, for she believed that Meneghini's object 
 was to carry her off or perhaps assassinate her, the 
 princess despatched a messenger to inform the intendant, 
 who sent some of his guards to protect her, and begged 
 her to remove to his own house for greater security. 
 However, Meneghini had come with pacific intentions, 
 his orders being to beg her to return to Rome, or at 
 least to postpone the continuance of her journey " until 
 the arrival of a suite more in accordance with her rank," 
 both of which propositions the lady declined. 
 
 The sisters spent the night at the intendant's house, 
 "where the kind reception and the good cheer that was 
 provided for us, and the comfortable beds we found 
 there, repaired in some degree the evils we had suffered 
 on the vessel." On the morrow, the Comte de Grignan, 
 to whom they had forwarded the letter of the Minister 
 for Foreign Affairs, sent an escort of his guards to con- 
 duct them to Aix, where they were lodged in the house 
 of a M. de Mories, a gentleman in the service of the 
 Due de Nevers, who treated them " in the most mag- 
 nificent and most obliging manner conceivable." 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Sensation aroused in Paris by Marie's adventure— The Constable Colonna 
 writes to Louis XIV — Marie sends the valet de chambre Pelletier 
 with a letter to the King — The Constable despatches an agent to 
 Paris — Hortense goes to Turin and the Constabless to Grenoble- — The 
 Queen forbids Marie to continue her journey — Interview between the 
 Due de Nevers and his sister — Brief of Clement X to Louis XIV on 
 behalf of the Constable — Letter of Maria Theresa to the King — Louis 
 XIV leaves the army and returns to France — Second brief of the 
 Pope — Embarrassing position of the King — He advises the Con- 
 stabless to enter a convent — She ignores the orders of the Queen and 
 sets out for Paris — The King sends La Gilbertiere to order her to 
 return to Grenoble — Her interview with the Due de Crequi — Louis 
 XIV accedes to her request to enter the Abbey of Lys and sends her 
 a thousand pistoles — Her sojourn at Lys — Reply of the King to the 
 Pope's brief — He becomes more favourably disposed towards the 
 Constabless — Imprudent letter of Marie to Colbert — Louis XIV sends 
 her to the Abbey of Avenay — She is permitted to reside with her 
 brother at Nevers — She resolves to go to Turin. 
 
 nr^HE news of the arrival of our two heroines in 
 Provence created a great sensation in Paris, and 
 Madame de Sevign^, to whom Madame de Grignan did 
 not fail to send early intelligence of the matter, wrote 
 to her daughter : — 
 
 "In the midst of our chagrins, the description that you 
 have sent me of Madame de Colonna and her sister is a 
 delightful incident ; it is an admirable picture. The 
 Comtesse de Soissons and Duchesse de Bouillon are 
 furious against these madcaps, and say that they ought 
 to be shut up ; they declare themselves strongly opposed 
 to this strange escapade. It is not thought that the 
 
 302 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 303 
 
 King will care to offend the Constable, who is assuredly 
 the most powerful nobleman in Rome. In the meanwhile, 
 we shall see them arrive like Mile, de I'Etoile :^ the 
 comparison is excellent."* 
 
 In the meantime, the Constable Colonna was moving 
 heaven and earth to recover his fugitive wife. He 
 appealed to the Pope ; he enlisted the good office of the 
 Pope's nephew, Cardinal Altieri, who governed the aged 
 Clement X and was bitterly antagonistic to Louis XIV; 
 he sent for the Due de Nevers, who was at Venice, and 
 extracted from him a promise to use all his influence 
 with his sister to induce her to return ; and he wrote to 
 the King a letter in which he characterized the charges 
 which his wife appeared to have brought against him as 
 " imaginary pretexts to excuse her culpable departure" ; 
 dwelt upon the dishonour which her conduct had brought 
 upon him and his House ; implored his Majesty " to 
 make use of his lofty wisdom and to cut the thread of 
 scandal greater still than those of which this regrettable 
 imprudence had already been the cause," and ended by 
 expressing his opinion that, " thanks to his authority 
 and his great wisdom, his Majesty would not fail to 
 find means to bring back Madame to a sense of her 
 duties, and, at the same time, deliver him [the Constable] 
 from a grief as painful as it was undeserved, and which 
 occasioned him such cruel agitation of mind."^ 
 
 Nor did he neglect other means, since he despatched 
 one Saint-Simon, a very resourceful individual in the 
 service of his friend Cardinal Altieri, to France, with 
 orders to endeavour to induce the Constabless to return 
 
 1 One of the characters in the " Roman comique " of Scarron. 
 
 2 Letter of 29 June 1672. 
 
 8 Letter of 21 June 1672, Archives des Affaires Etrang^res, pub- 
 lished by Lucien Percy, " Marie Mancini Colonna." 
 
304 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 to Rome ; and, should he fail in this, which seemed almost 
 certain, to proceed to Paris and do everything possible 
 to persuade the King that a guilty passion for the 
 Chevalier de Lorraine was the true motive of the lady's 
 appearance in France. 
 
 On her side, Marie, foreseeing the influences which 
 would be brought to bear upon the King, was not idle, 
 and lost no time in sending the faithful Pelletier to 
 Holland, where, as we have said, Louis XIV then was, 
 with a letter for his Majesty, begging him to grant her 
 permission to come to Paris. Pelletier, however, was 
 waylaid by a troop of Italian bandits, who attacked him 
 and left him half-dead by the roadside ; nor was it until 
 three weeks later that the Constabless learned of the fate 
 of her envoy, and, in the meantime, suffered torments of 
 anxiety at the non-arrival of the expected reply. There 
 is some reason to believe that the attack upon Pelletier 
 had been instigated by Saint-Simon, in order to prevent 
 the Constabless communicating with the King. About 
 the same time, news arrived that Saint-Simon had reached 
 Paris and had appealed to the Queen and the Ministers, 
 giving out that he was authorised to speak on behalf of 
 the Vatican, in virtue of his connection with Cardinal 
 Altieri. Thereupon Marie quitted Aix, with the inten- 
 tion of proceeding to Paris, accompanied by her sister 
 and escorted by the Chevalier de Mirabeau, over whom 
 Hortense appears to have cast her spells, and some of 
 M. de Grignan's guards ; but, on reaching Pont-Saint- 
 Esprit, they learned that the Due de Mazarin's chief 
 myrmidon, Polastron, and a party of soldiers were 
 approaching to arrest the duchess, against whom the 
 decree of the Grande Chambre, authorising her husband 
 to seize her person wherever he might find her, was still 
 in force. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 305 
 
 This alarming intelligence obliged them to quit the 
 high road and seek refuge in a neighbouring chateau, and 
 the same night Hortense took the road for Savoy, whose 
 ruler, Charles Emmanuel II, it will be remembered, had 
 once been a suitor for her hand, and had treated her, she 
 tells us, with so much courtesy when she passed through 
 Turin on her way to Italy the previous year, that she had 
 resolved to take up her residence in his territories, if 
 ever she quitted Rome.^ 
 
 Madame de Mazarin's reception at Turin exceeded 
 her fondest anticipations. The Duke, delighted to see 
 her, not only promised her his protection, but even went 
 so far as to offer her the ducal chateau of Chambery as 
 a residence, and to give orders for it to be immediately 
 prepared for her reception. However, she only remained, 
 for the present, a very short time in Savoy, as on 
 learning that Marie was awaiting her at Grenoble, she 
 at once set out for that town. During her journey 
 through Charles Emmanuel's territories, every imagin- 
 able honour was paid her, and the various officials 
 received orders to report every incident of her progress 
 to their sovereign. 
 
 On her arrival at Grenoble, Marie had been very 
 courteously received by the Due de Lesdigui^res, the 
 Governor of Dauphine, who begged her to take up her 
 quarters at his hotel, or, if she preferred, at the Arsenal, 
 which latter offer she accepted. But alas ! a rather un- 
 pleasant surprise was in store for her, since, three days 
 later, she received a letter from Maria Theresa — whom 
 Louis XIV, during his absence in Holland, had appointed 
 Regent of the kingdom — commanding her, *'in the most 
 courteous manner conceivable," not to proceed beyond 
 the place where her Majesty's letter might happen to 
 ^ " Memoires de la Duchesse de Mazaiin." 
 
3o6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 find her, and adding " that she had no doubt that such 
 was the intention of the King." 
 
 The Constabless had, of course, no alternative but to 
 obey, and informed the royal messenger that she had no 
 intention of going further, and would render implicit 
 obedience to the Queen's commands. Although much 
 annoyed at being thus prevented from continuing her 
 journey to Paris, she consoled herself by the reflection 
 that some opposition from the Queen was, after all, only 
 to be expected, and that, in all probability, the King's 
 *' intention " in regard to her was very different from 
 that which his jealous consort chose to imagine. But, 
 as we shall presently see, the opposition of Maria Theresa 
 did not stop here. 
 
 Madame de Mazarin reached Grenoble a few days 
 later, and, almost immediately afterwards, the Due de 
 Nevers arrived from Italy. Faithful to the promise he 
 had given the Constable at Rome, he urged Marie very 
 strongly to return to her husband, pointing out the 
 serious obstacles which stood in the way of her being 
 permitted to reside in France, particularly the enmity of 
 the Queen and Madame de Montespan, whom he made 
 no doubt were both equally determined to keep her and 
 the King apart. He expressed his conviction that 
 circumstances would be too strong for her, and that the 
 egotistical monarch would not hesitate to sacrifice her to 
 the jealousy of his wife and mistress ; while, even if he 
 declined to yield to their importunities, it was hardly 
 possible that he could turn a deaf ear to the urgent 
 representations which the Vatican would be certain to 
 make on behalf of the Constable Colonna. Marie 
 replied that she had not taken a resolution of such 
 importance to stop half-way, but that she had no wish to 
 compromise any member of her family. To which her 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 307 
 
 brother, who valued his own peace and comfort above 
 all things, rejoined that he entirely declined to be made 
 a party to her escapade ; and they separated on far from 
 cordial terms. 
 
 The Due de Nevers did not exaggerate the hostile 
 influences which would be brought to bear upon Louis 
 XIV. The Nuncio at the French Court kept Cardinal 
 Altieri fully informed of all that was happening in France, 
 and, on learning from him that Pelletier, now recovered 
 from his injuries, had passed through Paris, on his way 
 to the King in Holland, the Cardinal despatched to his 
 Majesty a brief which he had extracted from the Pope, 
 wherein his Holiness informed the Most Christian King 
 that he took very much to heart the affair which concerned 
 his beloved son, the noble Constable Colonna, and that it 
 was " his sincere desire that his Majesty would lend a 
 benevolent ear to the Constable's representations and 
 assure him of his protection." Altieri himself wrote to 
 the King in more precise terms. " I take advantage of 
 the brief of his Holiness," he writes, *' to represent also 
 to your Majesty my grief at an incident so prejudicial to 
 the family of the Constable, and to beg your Majesty 
 to facilitate the reunion of the fugitive and her husband, 
 by his royal authority and by every means which may 
 appear opportune to his lofty wisdom." 
 
 About the same time that these epistles reached him, 
 Louis XIV received a letter from the Queen which 
 would appear to have been inspired by the Constable's 
 crafty emissary Saint-Simon, wherein she assured him 
 that the fears which had prompted Marie to fly from 
 Rome were purely imaginary, and that her true motive 
 in wishing to establish herself in France was to enjoy 
 the society of the Chevalier de Lorraine, about whose 
 conduct in the affair she expressed herself very strongly. 
 
3o8 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 She insisted, also, on the difficulties and embarrassments, 
 both political and domestic, which the open protection 
 which his Majesty seemed resolved to accord the lady 
 must inevitably entail, and made no attempt to conceal 
 the anxiety and pain which the presence of the Constabless 
 in Paris would occasion her. 
 
 It is highly probable that Madame de Montespan, 
 who, on 20 June of that year, had presented her 
 royal lover with a third pledge of her affection in the 
 shape of a son (afterwards the Comte de Vexin), also 
 wrote to his Majesty to much the same effect, and we 
 can well believe that the arguments of his mistress 
 would have at least as much influence with Louis as 
 those of the Queen. 
 
 However, the King was disinclined to take any further 
 steps in so delicate a matter until his return from Hol- 
 land, and it would seem that Maria Theresa was acting 
 entirely on her own responsibility when she sent orders 
 forbidding Marie to continue her journey to Paris. 
 
 Finding that his demands for the return of his wife 
 and her expulsion from France did not seem to be pro- 
 ductive of any result, the Constable Colonna's suspicions 
 that there was a secret understanding between Marie and 
 Louis XIV gave way to conviction, upon which the tone 
 he had hitherto adopted underwent a complete change, 
 and what he had demanded as a right he now sought as 
 a favour, promising that, if the Court of France would 
 but employ its good offices to induce the princess to 
 return to Italy, the past should be forgotten, and she 
 should be treated with every possible consideration. At 
 the same time, it is evident, from the correspondence of 
 Cardinal Altieri with the Nuncio in Paris, that the 
 Constable's intentions differed very widely from these 
 professions, and that he was fully resolved, when once 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 309 
 
 he had got his truant wife into his hands, that a con- 
 vent, either in Rome or in some other part of Italy, and 
 not the Casa Colonna, should be her residence. 
 
 Towards the end of July, Louis XIV quitted the army 
 and returned to Saint-Germain, where the Court then was. 
 The Nuncio at once pressed for an answer to the repre- 
 sentations which the Vatican had made on behalf of its 
 "beloved son"; but Le Tellier, to whom he applied, 
 answered that the war and other important matters had 
 so occupied his Majesty's mind that he as yet had had 
 no leisure to attend to the affair in question. The 
 Nuncio, very dissatisfied with this evasive reply, there- 
 upon resolved to have recourse to a second papal brief 
 which Altieri had sent him, with instructions not to 
 make use of it, unless other arguments failed ; and 
 accordingly handed it to Le Tellier to transmit to the 
 King. It was as follows : — 
 
 Pope Clement X to Louis XIV, 
 
 " Very dear son in Christ, greeting, etc. 
 
 " It is with great sorrow that we have learned of the 
 sudden departure of our dear daughter in Jesus Christ, 
 the noble Constabless Colonna, since we are animated by 
 the kindliest sentiments towards that illustrious family, 
 and all matters which concern it affect us keenly. Now, 
 we have recently learned that the said beloved daughter 
 in Jesus Christ has set out for France, which, in truth, 
 occasions us a lively joy, since your Majesty will act in 
 conformity with the compassion which is innate in him, 
 in employing his royal authority to send her back as 
 speedily as possible to her husband. The venerable 
 brother Francesco (N),* Archbishop of Florence, will 
 explain our intentions more fully to your Majesty, on 
 
 ^ The Nuncio, Francesco Nerli. 
 
3IO FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 whom we confer, in the meanwhile, our Apostolic bene- 
 diction. 
 
 "Given at Rome, the XII July MDCLXXII, the 
 third year of our Pontificate."^ 
 
 Beset, on one side, by the representations of the 
 Constable and the Holy See, and, on the other, by the 
 importunities of the Queen and Madame de Montespan 
 and the solicitations of Colbert and Louvois, who, aware 
 of Marie's taste for politics, were terrified at the prospect 
 of her resuming her influence over the King's mind, 
 Louis XIV found himself in a most embarrassing posi- 
 tion. He had promised his old love his protection, and 
 his honour, no less than the remains of the affection he 
 had once entertained for her, forbade him to go back on 
 his word. But, even if the fears for her personal safety 
 which had prompted her to take refuge In France were 
 well founded, and not a mere figment of an excited 
 imagination or a pretext for leaving a husband whom 
 she disliked, about which he had begun to have some 
 doubts, the security she sought had been attained so soon 
 as she had set foot In his dominions, and by no means 
 necessitated her residing In Paris. To permit her to do 
 this, in the face of the representations of the Constable, 
 the Nuncio, Cardinal Altierl, and even the Pope, would, 
 he felt, be a most Impolitic step, and one capable of a 
 very sinister interpretation. Moreover, he valued his 
 tranquillity too highly to hazard It lightly, and signs 
 were not wanting that the advent of the Constabless in 
 Paris would be the signal for trouble in more than one 
 quarter of the Court. He, therefore, resolved to adopt 
 a middle course : he would refuse to surrender the lady 
 to her husband, though he would use every possible 
 
 1 Published by Lucien Percy, " Marie Mancini Colonna." 
 
After the painting by Mignard 
 
 MARIE MANCIXI COI.ONXA, PKIXCIPKSSA DI PALLIAXO 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 311 
 
 persuasion to Induce her to return to him ; but, at the 
 same time, he would set his face sternly against her 
 residing in Paris or approaching the Court. 
 
 Meanwhile the Constabless, at Grenoble, was im- 
 patiently awaiting the return of the faithful Pelletier 
 with the King's answer. At last, the letter arrived, and 
 we can imagine the eagerness with which she took it and 
 broke the seal. But a bitter disappointment was in store 
 for her, since, instead of according her the permission to 
 come to Paris which she so ardently desired, the King 
 advised her to retire to a convent, " in order to close 
 the mouths of the slanderers who were placing sinister 
 interpretations on her retirement from Rome." 
 
 The Constabless, deeply chagrined at the contents of 
 the letter, so very different from the kind and sym- 
 pathetic one she had received at Marseilles, felt con- 
 vinced that, by some means, his Majesty's mind had 
 been prejudiced against her. She had been expressly 
 forbidden to proceed beyond Grenoble, and was, more- 
 over, short of money ; but she was not the woman 
 to recoil before difficulties, and, believing that If she 
 could only obtain an audience of the King, all might yet 
 be well, immediately resolved to ignore the orders of 
 Maria Theresa and set out for Paris. " I was so little 
 satisfied with this letter," she writes, " that I determined 
 to go straight to Paris and throw myself at his 
 Majesty's feet, and communicated my intention to my 
 sister. We started in a litter, without saying a word 
 about our journey to any one, from fear that the 
 governor would stop us, and travelled together to 
 Lyons, where we separated, she to return to Chambery, 
 while I continued my journey to Paris, accompanied by 
 a courier whom I had known at Rome, named Marguien, 
 a trustworthy and intelligent man, whom I engaged to 
 
312 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 come with me, and who charged himself with all the 
 expenses of the journey. I travelled post, in a calechcy 
 and Morena and he followed on horseback. 
 
 On arriving at Nevers, the Constabless learned, to her 
 dismay, that a gentleman had forbidden the post, in the 
 King's name, to furnish any one with horses without his 
 permission, and that similar orders had been given to all 
 the postmasters along the road to Paris. She was also 
 informed that the gentleman in question, a certain M. de 
 la Gilbertiere, was awaiting her at the bridge over the 
 Loire, a little further on, and entertained no doubt that 
 he was the bearer of a message from the King, for- 
 bidding her to come to Paris. However, by dint of 
 bribery and coaxing, she succeeded in obtaining post- 
 horses, and, by making a detour through some by-streets, 
 escaped the King's m^essenger and hastened on towards 
 the capital. She travelled all night, and at such speed that 
 her carriage was twice overturned ; but at Montargis her 
 maid Morena was taken ill, and this necessitated a delay, 
 which enabled La Gilbertiere, who had been following in 
 hot pursuit, to come up with them at Fontainebleau. 
 
 La Gilbertiere lost no time in seeking an interview 
 with the Constabless and communicating to her his 
 instructions. " He desired to suggest to me," writes 
 Marie, " that my wisest course would be to return to the 
 Constable, as in France matters were not taking a very 
 favourable turn for me, the King having been given to 
 understand that I flattered myself that I possessed great 
 influence over his mind. To this he added that the 
 King was much annoyed at having accorded me his pro- 
 tection under frivolous pretexts, and for reasons which 
 had no other foundation than my caprice ; and he 
 concluded by informing me that, in the event of my 
 being resolved not to return to my home, I should 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 313 
 
 go back to Grenoble and enter the Abbey of Montfleuri. 
 These were the exact terms of his embassy. 
 
 *' I replied that I had not quitted my home to return 
 there so soon ; that frivolous pretexts had not caused me 
 to take this resolution, but good and solid reasons, 
 which, however, I could and would explain only to the 
 King, and that I hoped for justice from him ; that, pro- 
 vided I could speak to him once, which was all I 
 demanded, he would be easily disabused of all the bad 
 impressions that had been given him of me ; that I was 
 very far from flattering myself that I possessed the sup- 
 posed empire over him of which he had just spoken to me ; 
 that I possessed neither sufficient merit nor sufficient 
 capacity to take any part whatever in the management of 
 his affairs ; that all I asked for was to withdraw to Paris, 
 and that I limited my ambition to the extent of a cloister, 
 where I begged his Majesty to suffer me to dwell 
 among my relatives, as the Grand Duchess of Tuscany 
 and the Princesse de Chalais were at present living, and 
 as had a thousand other ladies, either widows or 
 separated from their husbands. As for returning to 
 Grenoble, I found myself too fatigued to undertake 
 another journey ; and, besides, I awaited his Majesty's 
 answer in regard to the steps I should take." 
 
 So saying, she turned her back upon the King's 
 emissary, and taking up a guitar which stood in a corner 
 of the room, began to play upon it, as a signal that the 
 interview was at an end. Louis XIV had refused even 
 to grant an audience to the woman who, twelve years 
 before, had reigned at his Court almost like a queen. 
 Her disappointment and mortification were intense, but 
 she derived some little comfort from the reflection that 
 La Gilbertiere's mission must be the work of Maria 
 Theresa rather than of the King. 
 
314 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Some days later, the Constabless received a visit from 
 the Due de Crequi, First Gentleman of the Chamber to 
 Louis XIV, whom his Majesty had sent to reply to the 
 propositions she had made to La Gilberti^re. The duke 
 found her lodged in a wretched auherge^ stretched on a 
 pallet, and was unable to prevent himself from expressing 
 his compassion at a spectacle which contrasted so strangely 
 with the pomp and grandeur of the Casa Colonna where 
 he had last seen her. The princess, however, cut short 
 his " lamentations," by begging him to come at once to 
 the point, upon which he told her, in the most courteous 
 terms at his command, that the King did not wish her 
 to enter Paris or to speak to him, since he had given his 
 word to the Nuncio and the Constable, for reasons of 
 which she could not be ignorant, that he would not do 
 so, and that her only alternative, if she did not prefer to 
 return to Rome, which was the wisest and the most 
 honourable course to take, was to go back to Grenoble. 
 
 The lady rejoined that she was desolated by the King's 
 refusal to allow her the honour of seeing him and to 
 enter Paris ; but that she felt sure that he was too kind- 
 hearted to compel her to make the return journey to 
 Grenoble in the state in which she then was, prostrated 
 by the heat and the rapidity with which she had travelled 
 thither, and accordingly begged him to permit her to 
 enter the Abbey of Lys, a convent situated near Melun, 
 about two hours' journey from Fontainebleau. 
 
 M. de Crequi suggested that she should write a note 
 to the King to that effect, promising to deliver it imme- 
 diately on his return. He kept his word, and the follow- 
 ing morning one of the royal pages arrived at Fontaine- 
 
 1 This wretched auberge seems to have been chosen for the sake 
 of effect, as the Duke of Modena, who had a palace at Fontainebleau, 
 had placed it at her disposal ; but the offer had been declined. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 315 
 
 bleau, bearing the permission the Constabless had re- 
 quested, and an order to the Abbess of Lys to receive 
 her. La Gilbertiere, who had arrived at the same time 
 as the page, was charged to escort her to the convent. 
 
 Soon afterwards, came a messenger from Colbert, 
 bringing her " two purses of five hundred pistoles each, 
 on behalf of the King, which his Majesty had given 
 orders to send her, and this sum he continued to pay 
 every six months during the time that I remained under 
 his protection."^ 
 
 The Constabless saw in these attentions of the King, 
 and particularly in the permission to reside at Lys, so 
 near to Fontainebleau, signs of a disposition on his part 
 to relax the severity he had lately shown towards her ; 
 and she was, in consequence, extremely mortified at 
 finding on her arrival at Lys that she was to be treated 
 like a prisoner of State, that she was to be kept under 
 the strictest surveillance, and that no one was to be 
 allowed to visit or communicate with her, save her 
 sisters, Mesdames de Soissons and de Bouillon, and 
 their husbands, unless by special permission. 
 
 However, the abbess and the nuns showed her the 
 greatest consideration, and did everything possible to 
 mitigate the rigour of her imprisonment. Both her 
 sisters came to see her and overwhelmed her with 
 presents and caresses, the Comtesse de Soissons, who 
 appears to have forgotten their former rivalry in her 
 hatred of the La Vallieres and Montespans, sending her 
 a sumptuous bed, ornamented with tapestries, and other 
 costly articles of furniture, to relieve the bareness of her 
 
 ^ Madame de Scudery wrote to Bussy-Rabutin : " She [the Con- 
 stabless] replied playfully to M. de Crequi that she had often heard of 
 people who gave money to ladies in order to sec them, but never not to see 
 them." 
 
3i6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 cell. However, poor Marie was very far from happy, 
 and the abbess, who had received instructions from 
 Colbert to furnish him with the minutest details con- 
 cerning her charge, informs the Minister, in one of her 
 letters, that the Constabless " has always appeared very 
 gay since she has been here, but, in reality, we believe 
 that she is very wretched."^ 
 
 While the Constabless was fretting behind the walls 
 of her convent, the Nuncio in Paris continued to press 
 for a definite answer to the demands which Clement X 
 and Cardinal Altieri had addressed to Louis XIV. But 
 the King, true to the middle course which he had 
 resolved to adopt, showed no disposition to surrender 
 the lady to her husband, and the Nuncio invariably re- 
 ceived the same assurance, namely, that, while the King 
 was prepared to use every possible persuasion to induce 
 the Constabless to return, he would not force her to do 
 so or even refuse her an asylum in his dominions. At 
 length, at the end of August, Louis XIV decided to 
 return a positive answer to the representations of the 
 Vatican, and wrote Clement X a very cold letter, wherein 
 he presumed that " his Holiness had been informed by 
 the Nuncio of all the reasons which had prevented him 
 replying earlier to his brief of 22 June touching the 
 retreat of the Constabless Colonna into his realm," and 
 that " his Holiness had seen, from all the orders that he 
 had issued relative to the affair, that he had an equal 
 desire with his Holiness to contribute in every possible 
 way to re-establish that confidence which had at first 
 existed between two persons who ought to be so closely 
 united." 
 
 1 Letter of 27 August 1672, published by Amedee Renee, " Les 
 Nieces de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 317 
 
 After this very plain hint, the Vatican declined to 
 take any further steps on behalf of the Constable, and 
 though Colonna called upon the French Ambassador at 
 Rome to protest against the conduct of the King, he got 
 little consolation in that quarter, and the Ambassador 
 wrote to the Minister for Foreign Affairs that he was of 
 opinion that the Constable was more moved by the 
 scandal which his wife's flight had aroused than by a 
 sentiment of the heart, " which," he added, " is 
 sufficiently diverted by other amusements." Evidently, 
 Cardinal d'Estrees was quite au courani with the gossip of 
 the Eternal City. 
 
 It would appear that Louis XIV sympathised far 
 more deeply with the troubles of his old love than that 
 lady had any idea. The curt messages he had sent her 
 by La Gilberti^re and the Due de Crequi had been pro- 
 voked by her unexpected arrival at Fontainebleau and 
 her evident determination to ignore the wishes he had ex- 
 pressed in the letter which she had received at Grenoble. 
 But his anger did not last long, and, on the return of 
 the Comtesse de Soissons from her visit to Lys, the 
 King sent for her to ask news of her sister, and also 
 requested Colbert to submit to him the reports which 
 he received from the abbess ; and, on learning how 
 irksome Marie found the restraint to which she was 
 subjected, gave orders that she was to be allowed to 
 take walks in the Forest of Fontainebleau, though 
 always well accompanied. 
 
 The Constabless, however, was of course unaware 
 of the more favourable disposition of his Majesty 
 towards her, or of the reply which he had made to 
 the demands of the Vatican for her surrender, and, as 
 time went on, she became more and more incensed 
 
318 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 against the King, who, after countenancing her flight, 
 now treated it as a crime, and had transformed the 
 asylum he had promised her into a prison. An incident 
 which occurred towards the end of September put the 
 finishing touch to her resentment. 
 
 Colbert, to whom Louis had entrusted the entire 
 direction of the princess's affairs, took upon himself to 
 inform her that she would be expected to defray the 
 cost of the maintenance of herself and her attendants 
 at the convent out of the money which the King had 
 sent her at Fontainebleau. As the Constabless had 
 already expended the greater part of that sum in re- 
 plenishing her wardrobe and in repaying the courier 
 Marguien for the money he had disbursed on her behalf 
 during the journey from Grenoble, she was extremely 
 indignant, and, under the impression that the order had 
 emanated from the King himself, wrote to the Minister 
 " a very imprudent letter, complaining of the little con- 
 sideration that his Majesty had for her, to which, she 
 added, that, since he was unwilling to give her liberty 
 to go to Paris, he should at least accord her that of 
 going anywhere else she might wish."^ 
 
 The tone of this letter deeply offended the King, and 
 the enemies of the Constabless did not fail to profit by 
 the occasion to persuade him that she was too near 
 Paris, and that, one fine day, she would escape and 
 make her appearance there. Louis XIV, fearful of such 
 an event, which would be sure to provoke a grave 
 scandal, thereupon directed Colbert to inform Marie, 
 on his behalf, that she must choose a convent sixty 
 leagues distant from Paris, and that, after the letter she 
 had just written, she was no longer deserving of his 
 protection. 
 
 ^ " La Verite dans son jour." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 319 
 
 This new disgrace threw the poor lady into the depths 
 of despair, and she wrote imploring Colbert to inter- 
 cede for her with the King and obtain his pardon, pro- 
 testing that she had regretted what she had written " so 
 soon as she had recovered her self-possession." Colbert 
 replied that his Majesty had been graciously pleased 
 to accept her excuses, but that he persisted in his 
 resolution to send her sixty leagues from Paris, and 
 begged her to notify him without delay what convent 
 she had selected. The Constabless informed the Minis- 
 ter that she would repair to whatever convent his 
 Majesty might be pleased to name, and she added : 
 " Only tell the King that I ask to speak to him once 
 more before I go. That will be for the last time in 
 my life, and I shall return to Paris no more. Grant 
 me this favour, I implore you, Monsieur, and, after 
 that, I promise him that 1 will go even further, if he 
 desires it, being always very disposed to obey him." 
 
 To this touching letter Louis XIV replied himself, 
 though not until after an interval of several days, which 
 leads us to suppose that Colbert very probably had not 
 deemed it advisable to show it him. 
 
 Louis XIF to the Constabless Colonna. 
 
 "Versailles, 29 September 1672. 
 " My Cousin, — Being desirous of giving you a con- 
 venient abbey to which you may retire and dwell in full 
 security during the time you remain in my realm, I have 
 found that the one most likely to be in accordance with 
 your wishes is that of Saint-Pierre, of my town of 
 Rheims, of which the Dame d'Orvel is abbess ; and for 
 that purpose, so soon as I receive your final response to 
 this letter, I will send the Sieur Goberti^ to conduct you 
 
 1 Presumably, La Gilbcrtii^re. The Abbess of I>ys, in a letter to 
 Colbert, speaks of him as La Giberti. 
 
320 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 thither. On this, I pray God that he will have you, my 
 cousin, in his holy and worthy keeping."^ 
 
 "And that," writes poor Marie, " was all the reply 
 that I received to my letter." 
 
 Four or five days later, La Gilbertiere arrived with a 
 coach and an order to the Abbess of Lys for the Con- 
 stabless to leave her convent, and escorted her, together 
 with the faithful Morena and three other waiting- 
 women — whom the Constable, anxious, in spite of his 
 indignation against his wife, that she should maintain a 
 suite in accordance with her rank, had sent from Rome 
 — to the Abbey of Avenay, three leagues from Rheims 
 and thirty from Paris. The King had thus diminished 
 by half the distance of her exile. 
 
 This abbey, which had been chosen by Louis XIV, at 
 the last moment, In place of that mentioned in his letter 
 to Marie, was a noble chapter, which served as a retreat 
 for ladies of very high rank. Its superior was Madame 
 Brulart de Sillery, grand-daughter of Henri IV's Chan- 
 cellor of that name, who " received her with every mark 
 of esteem and kindness that it was possible to desire." 
 
 Notwithstanding the efforts of the good abbess, the 
 poor lady seems to have been profoundly miserable, as 
 the convent was too far from Paris to permit of the 
 visits of her relatives, and there was, therefore, nothing 
 to relieve the tedium of her existence. However, after 
 she had been there about three months, she received a 
 visit from her brother, the Due de Nevers, whom she 
 had not seen since they parted on such unfriendly terms 
 at Grenoble. Struck by his sister's melancholy, the 
 duke judged the moment favourable to make a last 
 
 1 Bibliotheque Nationale MSS. cited by Chantelauze, " Louis XIV 
 et Marie Mancini." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 321 
 
 effort to bring about a reconciliation between her and 
 her husband, or, failing that, to induce her to leave 
 France, and accordingly told her that it was perfectly 
 hopeless for her to expect any amelioration of her lot 
 so long as she remained in France, as the Queen and 
 Madame de Montespan would be certain to check any 
 inclination towards clemency that the King might show. 
 Marie replied angrily that the King was grievously mis- 
 taken if he imagined that the severity with which he had 
 thought fit to treat her would have the effect of inducing 
 her to return to the Constable, and that rather than do 
 so, she would leave France and seek " a more hospitable 
 country." 
 
 This was exactly what her brother, who appears to 
 have been acting in concert with Louis XIV and also 
 with the Constable, wanted ; but since he feared some 
 fresh scandal, unless he first succeeded in calming the 
 state of exasperation in which she then was, he promised 
 to ask permission of the King for her to remove from 
 Avenay to his house at Nevers. A few days later, he 
 returned with the desired permission, and Marie joy- 
 fully quitted the abbey, but not before her brother had 
 extracted from her a promise that, in the event of any- 
 thing occurring to oblige him to leave Nevers, she would 
 at once enter another convent. 
 
 After the Constabless had passed a very pleasant week 
 at Nevers, where her charming sister-in-law, nee Diane 
 de Thianges, overwhelmed her with kindness, the duke 
 suddenly announced that important business called him 
 to Venice, and reminded her of her promise. Marie, 
 though in despair at being separated from the duchess, 
 thereupon made the round of the convents in the town, 
 but, not finding one to her liking, suggested that she 
 should accompany her brother as far as Lyons, where 
 
 Y 
 
322 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the convents were more commodious than those at 
 Nevers. The duke acquiesced readily enough, for, as 
 we have said, it was his object, if he could not prevail 
 upon his sister to return to her husband, at any rate to 
 induce her to leave France, and at Lyons she would be 
 within a short journey of the frontier. 
 
 On reaching Lyons, where they were received by the 
 Marquis de Villeroi, in the absence of his father, the 
 duke of that name, who was governor of the province, 
 the Constabless visited several convents, and had almost 
 decided to enter that of Sainte-Marie de la Visitation, 
 situated on an eminence which commanded a view of the 
 whole city, when " destiny, ever the enemy of her happi- 
 ness, inspired the Marquis de Villeroi and her brother 
 to dissuade her, and they succeeded so well in exaggerat- 
 ing the sufferings which she had endured in France, and 
 the ill-treatment which she had received from the King, 
 that she took the resolution to leave it and withdraw 
 into Italy, without, however, informing them of the part 
 to which it was her intention to proceed."^ This, as 
 will be anticipated, was Savoy, where her sister Hortense 
 had already found an asylum. 
 
 Foreseeing that his wife was not unlikely to take this 
 resolution sooner or later, the Constable Colonna had, 
 some weeks previously, begged Cardinal d'Estrees, the 
 French Ambassador at Rome, to communicate with the 
 Duke of Savoy, in order to ascertain whether he would 
 be willing to admit the princess into his realm, in the 
 event of her desiring to come thither. The Constable 
 was, above all things, anxious to get his wife out of 
 France and out of reach of Louis XIV, and, since he was 
 on friendly terms with Charles Emmanuel, he did not 
 doubt that that prince would do everything possible to 
 1 " La Vcrite dans son jour." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 323 
 
 persuade his wife to return to him, and, if she refused, 
 very probably consent to surrender her into his hands. 
 
 To the cardinal's letter the Duke sent a very favour- 
 able reply, promising not only to receive the Constabless, 
 should she demand his protection, but " to make use of 
 the greatest diligence to dispose her, by the good offices 
 that he might judge most efficacious, to lend ear to an 
 agreement so proper and so laudable (i.e. a reconciliation 
 with her husband)." 
 
 And so it came about that when Marie wrote to 
 Charles Emmanuel to solicit his protection and permis- 
 sion to enter some convent in Savoy or Piedmont, she 
 received in reply a very courteous letter, readily grant- 
 ing her request and inviting her to Turin. 
 
CHAPTER XVn 
 
 Cordial reception of the Constabless by Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy — 
 She enters the Convent of the Visitation at Turin — A touching in- 
 cident — Kindness of the Duke of Savoy to Marie — His reply to the 
 representations of the Vatican — He falls in love with the Constabless 
 — Don Maurizio di Bologna and the bravoes — Visit of the Marchesa 
 Paleotto to Marie — Alarm of the latter — She goes to visit the 
 Duchesse de Mazarin at Chambery — Selfish conduct of Hortense — 
 Return of Marie to Turin — Arrival of the Marchese di Borgomainero 
 — Treaty between the Constabless and her husband— Marie goes to 
 reside with the Prince de Carignan — Irritation of the Constable — 
 Louis XIV, at his solicitation, orders the Prince de Carignan to send 
 the Constabless away — Charles Emmanuel invites her to La Venerie 
 — Her dazzling position — Nature of her relations with the Duke of 
 Savoy considered — She quarrels with Charles Emmanuel — Vain 
 attempts of the Duke to effect a reconciliation — Louis XIV refuses 
 the Constabless permission to enter a convent in France — She sets out 
 for Flanders with Borgomainero. 
 
 "IITARIE arrived in Piedmont at the end of January 
 "^ "^ 1673, and was met at Rivoli by a gentleman of 
 the Duke's household, with one of the royal carriages 
 and an escort of guards, who conducted her to Turin. 
 Some distance from the city she was met by Charles 
 Emmanuel himself, accompanied by a number of gentle- 
 men on horseback, all eager to behold this beautiful 
 Constabless, whose adventures had been for the past few 
 months the talk of Europe. 
 
 The Duke received his fair guest most cordially, 
 begged her to enter his own coach, and seemed so much 
 impressed by the charms which had come so near to up- 
 setting all Mazarin's carefully-laid schemes that he could 
 
 324 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 325 
 
 hardly take his eyes from her face, until the lady, in 
 some embarrassment, lowered her veil. In the mean- 
 while, they had entered Turin and arrived at the Con- 
 vent of the Visitation, where his Highness had given 
 orders for the best apartment to be prepared for the 
 reception of the Constabless. The Archbishop of 
 Turin was at the gate to receive them, and, while 
 Marie went to her apartment to make some change in 
 her dress, the Duke, who had received the archbishop's 
 authorisation to enter the convent with her, waited in 
 the garden. Presently the lady joined him, and, not- 
 withstanding the cold, they paced the garden together 
 for two hours, conversing with great animation. Before 
 leaving, the prince, in the most delicate manner con- 
 ceivable, begged his companion to regard him as her 
 treasurer, if ever she happened to be in need of money. 
 "This is all I possess," answered Marie, and, quickly 
 unclasping the top of her corsage, she showed him a 
 superb string of pearls which she wore round her neck. 
 " It is the necklace which the King gave me when I left 
 for Brouage," she added, in a tone of deep emotion. 
 " It shall never leave me." 
 
 The Duke subsequently related this incident to M. de 
 Gomont, the plenipotentiary whom Louis XIV had sent, 
 at his request, to arrange terms of peace between Savoy 
 and Genoa. Gomont duly informed his master, and the 
 King, touched by this souvenir of the past, promptly re- 
 mitted to the Constabless a further sum of one thousand 
 pistoles, although this pension had originally been pro- 
 mised her only so long as she remained in France. 
 
 Turin was at this period one of the gayest and most 
 brilliant Courts in Europe. The Duke and Duchess,^ 
 
 ^ Marie Jeanne de Savoie-Nemours, only daughter of the Due de 
 Nemours. 
 
326 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 both young and fond of pleasure — the former rather 
 too much so, from all accounts, though his numerous 
 gallantries do not seem to have lessened the affection he 
 had always felt for his wife — neglected nothing to attract 
 to their Court foreigners of distinction and the wealthiest 
 and most magnificent of their own nobility. Splendid 
 receptions, balls, f^tes, ballets, tournaments, horse-races 
 in summer and sleigh-races in winter, followed one 
 another in rapid succession, and scarcely a day passed 
 without the courtiers being called upon to assist at one 
 or more of these diversions. Poor Marie, shut up in her 
 convent, was of course precluded from participating in 
 any of the gaieties which were going on around her; but 
 the good-natured and gallant Duke, pitying the loneli- 
 ness and monotony of her life, visited her frequently, 
 and, on one occasion, gave orders that the start for a 
 sleigh-race should take place under the convent walls, 
 in order to afford her some amusement. 
 
 The Constable Colonna, who was duly informed of 
 this incident by the Nuncio at Turin, was highly indig- 
 nant. In his eyes, the Convent of the Visitation ought 
 to be a prison, of which the Duke of Savoy would be 
 the gaoler, and here was the prince evidently bent on 
 doing everything in his power to relieve the tedium of 
 his wife's existence ! Nor did the reports which reached 
 him of the frequent visits which the Duke paid to the 
 convent tend to promote a more amiable frame of mind, 
 and he accordingly spurred on the Vatican to make the 
 same demands to Charles Emmanuel as it had previously 
 to Louis XIV. Cardinal Altieri extracted another brief 
 from the aged Pontiff, who must have been by this time 
 heartily tired of hearing the name of his " beloved 
 daughter," the Constabless Colonna ; and the Nuncio 
 was instructed to make strong representations to the 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 327 
 
 Duke on the subject ; but all to no purpose. Charles 
 Emmanuel replied that he had already urged the lady to 
 be reconciled to her husband in such " severe " terms 
 that he had caused her to shed tears ; but that he had 
 given her his word that he would not permit any violence 
 to be employed against her, and that he would accord 
 her his protection whether she decided to remain at 
 Turin or to go elsewhere. The Nuncio protested ; the 
 Duke declared that nothing could induce him to go back 
 on his word, and the diplomatist sorrowfully informed 
 the Vatican that " he greatly feared that it would be im- 
 possible to obtain anything from him." 
 
 Gradually the restrictions to which the Constabless 
 had at first been subjected were removed. The Nuncio, 
 at bottom a kind-hearted man, petitioned the Vatican 
 to allow the devoted Morena, who, on account of her 
 religion, had been excluded from the convent, to join 
 her mistress, and the request was acceded to. Next, 
 the Archbishop of Turin granted her permission to 
 receive as many visitors as she pleased in her little apart- 
 ment, and Gomont and the French Ambassador, Servien, 
 visited her two or three times a week. Finally, she was 
 even allowed to take walks outside the convent walls, 
 which was altogether contrary to the rules of Italian 
 convents, far more rigorous than those of France. 
 
 For these concessions Marie was no doubt indebted 
 to the good offices of Charles Emmanuel. The Duke 
 was falling more and more under the spell of his guest's 
 charms, and " paid her interminable visits," which soon 
 became the chief topic of conversation in both Court 
 and town ; and it was whispered that the Constabless had 
 established as complete an empire over the mind and 
 heart of his Highness as she had formerly exercised 
 over Louis XIV's. 
 
328 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 These reports duly reached the Constable Colonna, 
 who thereupon despatched one of his confidants, a certain 
 Don Maurizio di Bologna, ostensibly on a visit of 
 courtesy to his wife, but in reality to spy upon her 
 actions and keep him informed of all that concerned 
 her. About the same time, a band of bravoes arrived 
 in the neighbourhood, and the Constabless was convinced 
 that they had been sent by her husband to carry her off, 
 if she were indiscreet enough to venture far from the 
 convent. Don Maurizio pretended that they were in 
 the pay of the Governor of Milan, and had come in 
 search of a man who, having committed an assassination 
 in that city, had fled to Turin ; but, in order to reassure 
 the princess, the Duke of Savoy caused them to be 
 expelled promptly from his dominions. 
 
 Soon after this incident, Marie received a visit from 
 her husband's former enchantress, the Marchesa Paleotto. 
 This lady, who had long since been abandoned by 
 Colonna for fresh conquests, but had never pardoned 
 his defection, sought to persuade the Constabless that 
 it was commonly believed at Rome that, if her husband 
 ever succeeded in getting her into his power again, he 
 would certainly cause her to be made away with, and 
 darkly hinted that the object of Don Maurizio in 
 coming to Turin was to bribe one of her waiting- 
 women to poison her. She succeeded in alarming the 
 Constabless to such an extent that she had an attack 
 of fever, which greatly disturbed the Duke, who sent his 
 own physicians to visit her three times a day and wrote 
 her numerous letters of sympathy with his own hand. 
 
 On her recovery, the princess confided to Charles 
 Emmanuel the fears which oppressed her, and though 
 the Duke offered to send her her meals every day from 
 his own table, under the pretext that the doctors had pre- 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 329 
 
 scribed for her a special diet, nothing would satisfy her 
 but to leave Turin and take refuge with her sister 
 Hortense at Chambery. The Duke, who had tried 
 every possible means to dissuade her, was, of course, 
 in despair at the prospect of her departure, but she 
 consoled him by a promise that she would not be absent 
 more than a month. She set out for Chambery at the 
 beginning of April 1673,^ in one of the prince's car- 
 riages and escorted by some of his guards, while, to 
 render her still more secure, Charles Emmanuel gave 
 orders that, for that day, horses were not to be furnished 
 to any one, save the courier of the French Embassy ; 
 and when Don Maurizio demanded horses in order to 
 follow her, they were refused him. The greatest 
 secrecy as to her destination had been preserved, and 
 it was the belief in Turin that she was on her way to 
 England, where Charles II, whom she had met fre- 
 quently at the French Court during his days of exile, 
 had instructed Lord Montague, the English Minister to 
 Savoy, to offer her an asylum. 
 
 During the weary months which poor Marie, wounded 
 to the heart by the severity of Louis XIV and tormented 
 by the persecutions of her husband, had been spending 
 in convents at Lys, Avenay, and Turin, Hortense, in- 
 stalled in the ducal chateau at Chambery, had been lead- 
 ing a very different kind of life. The generosity of Charles 
 Emmanuel enabled her to maintain a semi-royal state, 
 and to gather around her a little Court, composed of the 
 nobility and the high officials of the province ; and we 
 may presume that she had no lack of adorers, without 
 whom she would have found even the most sumptuous 
 
 ^ ^1 M. Chantelauze says that she "escaped" from the convent, but this 
 is incorrect. 
 
330 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 existence difficult to endure. The Duke invited her to 
 his hunting parties, entertained her magnificently at his 
 country residences, and occasionally came to pay her 
 homage at Chambery. As for her husband, she troubled 
 very little about him, except to apply to him for the pay- 
 ment of the pension of 24,000 livres which Louis XIV 
 had promised her, and which seems to have been occasion- 
 ally in arrears, since, in September 1672, we find her 
 writing to the King, begging him to command M. de 
 Mazarin to disgorge without further delay, and " not 
 to reduce her to the extremity of not knowing where 
 to lay her head." 
 
 On receiving the letter announcing that her sister 
 was on her way to visit her, Hortense was anything but 
 delighted. Beneath an appearance of good nature and 
 a readiness to oblige in small things, the beautiful 
 duchess concealed a thoroughly selfish heart, and now, 
 forgetting the obligations under which Marie had 
 placed her, in the fear that she might compromise her 
 own interests with Louis XIV, and perhaps forfeit her 
 pension by extending to her her hospitality, she sud- 
 denly remembered a vow which she had made to Saint- 
 Francis of Sales, and the accomplishment of which 
 would not permit of a moment's further delay, and 
 hastily quitted Chambery without saying a word as to 
 her destination. 
 
 Marie was naturally much incensed at the conduct of 
 her sister, and after remaining a few days at Saint-Inno- 
 cent, as the guest of the bishop, returned to Turin, 
 where she had the additional mortification of learning 
 that Louis XIV, at the solicitation of her husband, who 
 appears to have been under the impression that France 
 had been her objective, had issued the most stringent 
 injunctions to the officials of the frontier provinces to 
 
From an engraving by G. Vallet 
 
 CHARLES K.MMANL'EL II, DUKK OF SAVOY 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 331 
 
 prevent her entering his realm. However, the Duke 
 of Savoy showed himself so delighted at her return, and 
 paid her such delicate attentions, that she soon recovered 
 her spirits, and profited by the permission which she had 
 obtained to leave the convent once a week to attend several 
 hunting-parties and other entertainments which Charles 
 Emmanuel gave at his country-seat of La Venerle. 
 
 Having tasted the sweets of liberty once more, the 
 Constabless began to find the restrictions of convent life 
 more irksome than ever, and she implored the Duke to 
 permit her to leave her cloister. The prince, only too 
 anxious to have greater facilities for enjoying the society 
 of the lady to whom he had now completely lost his heart, 
 communicated with the Constable, who despatched an 
 envoy to Turin In the person of Don Carlo d'Este, Mar- 
 chese dl Boro:omainero.^ Between this nobleman and the 
 Prime Minister of Savoy, the Marchese di SanTommasso, 
 interminable pourparlers took place, until the latter de- 
 clared that no affair of State had ever occasioned him such 
 trouble and annoyance. At length, a kind of treaty was 
 drawn up, whereby It was arranged that the Constabless 
 was to be permitted to remain at large for the space of 
 four months, but on the condition that she should not 
 quit the dominions of the Duke of Savoy, who, on his 
 side, undertook to prevent her departure. If, on the 
 expiration of the four months, the lady still declined to 
 return to her husband, she must then select a convent 
 (those In the Ecclesiastical States and all States subject to 
 the Spanish Crown excepted), and remain there during 
 the Constable's good pleasure. 
 
 Marie now quitted her convent and accepted the 
 invitation of the Prince de Carignan, brother of the 
 
 ^ He was the second son of Filippo Francesco d'Este and Margherita, 
 legitimated daughter of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. 
 
332 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Comte de Soissons, to take up her residence at his 
 palace. Here she was so hospitably entertained that the 
 Constable, informed by his agents, Don Maurizio and 
 Borgomainero, of the minutest details concerning his 
 wife, became exceedingly angry, and wrote a very dis- 
 courteous letter to the prince, complaining that the hos- 
 pitality which his wife was receiving at his palace was 
 the principal motive of her persistent refusal to return to 
 Rome, and accusing him of encouraging her in her con- 
 tumacy. 
 
 M. de Carignan informed the Prime Minister, and 
 the lady's affairs had by this time assumed so much im- 
 portance that a Council of State was held to consider 
 what course to pursue. In the meantime, however, the 
 irate Constable had appealed to Louis XIV, who, anxious 
 to avoid any appearance of supporting the Constabless 
 against her husband, wrote to the Prince de Carignan, 
 who was a French subject, ordering him to send her away. 
 The prince, in great distress, informed his guest of the 
 receipt of the King's letter, which, he said, left him no 
 alternative but to obey, and Marie, in high dudgeon, at 
 once quitted the palace, without even taking leave of 
 her host, and hurried to La Venerie, where Charles 
 Emmanuel then was, to inform him of the manner in 
 which she was being treated. The chivalrous Duke im- 
 mediately offered her the hospitality of La Venerie, and 
 a few days later, the Constable Colonna had the mortifi- 
 cation of learning: that his wife was installed in one of 
 the finest suites of apartments in the ducal residence. 
 
 The position now occupied by the adventurous prin- 
 cess was in many respects similar to that which she had 
 enjoyed at the French Court during the two years which 
 had preceded her exile to La Rochelle. It was in her 
 honour that all the hunting-parties, fetes, and ballets 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 333 
 
 were arranged ; every day she received in her apartments 
 the foreign Ministers and the principal personages of 
 the Court, and she exercised over the Duke the most 
 absolute empire, for the Duchess of Savoy was the 
 most complacent and unsuspicious of consorts, and there 
 was no Mazarin to interfere. What was the exact nature 
 of that empire is difficult to determine ; the Duke was 
 certainly of a very ardent temperament, and his conquests, 
 or what he flattered himself were conquests, were in- 
 numerable. But, on the other hand, the Constabless had 
 hitherto shown herself as discreet in affairs of the heart 
 as she was rash and impetuous in other matters ; and 
 we are, therefore, inclined to think that his Highness 
 remained a soupirant^ *■'' toujour s afflige, jamais desespere" as 
 that most ingenious of literary forgers. La Beaumelle, 
 makes Madame de Maintenon say of Louis XIV. 
 
 One cloud alone obscured the brightness of the prin- 
 cess's horizon : the thought that, in a few short weeks, she 
 would have to choose between a reconciliation with her 
 now detested husband and a return to the solitude and 
 monotony of convent life. Marie, however, was never 
 one of those who take thought for the morrow, and the 
 knowledge that this delightful existence must so soon 
 come to an end caused her to plunge with an added zest 
 into the pleasures of the moment. 
 
 But, ever unfortunate, her evil star was soon in the 
 ascendant again. She quarrelled with the Duke and 
 quitted his realm, to fall into a succession of misfortunes 
 far greater than those which she had hitherto experienced. 
 Let us listen to her own account of the matter : — 
 
 "My happiness was too great. Fortune, which de- 
 lighted in tormenting me, took care not to permit it to last. 
 To interrupt, accordingly, its course, she inspired his 
 Royal Highness with political sentiments, and impelled 
 
334 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 him one day to propose to me to return to Rome, point- 
 ing out that I should be much happier there than in a 
 cloister, and that, if there were any obstacle to my return, 
 besides the ill-feeling existing between the Constable and 
 myself, he would be the guarantor of our reunion. 
 
 '* This proposal, joined to other things that he said to 
 me at La Venerie, shocked me so much that, following 
 the impulse of my hasty temper, I determined to set out 
 immediately to return to the convent. And this I did, 
 although the Duchess of Savoy hindered my departure 
 and kept me a week longer, at the expiration of which 
 time they both accompanied me to the convent." i 
 
 According to Lucien Percy and Marie and Hortense's 
 Italian biographer, Signor Domenico Perrero,^ the Con- 
 stabless, in her " M^moires," has told us only a portion of 
 the truth. The real facts were as follows : — 
 
 The Duchess of Savoy, although as we have men- 
 tioned, one of the most complacent and unsuspicious of 
 consorts, was beginning to be somewhat alarmed at the 
 assiduous attentions paid by the Duke to their beautiful 
 guest, and the influence which the latter exercised over 
 her husband. The prince, perceiving this, proposed one 
 day to Marie that, in order to allay any suspicions which 
 might have arisen in his consort's mind, it would perhaps 
 be as well if, now and again, he were to insist, in the 
 Duchess's presence, on the advisability of a reconciliation 
 between the Constabless and her husband. Unhappily 
 for herself, Marie appears to have misunderstood him, 
 and when, shortly afterwards, his Highness proceeded 
 to put his little plan into execution, she flew into a 
 violent passion, brusquely quitted the room, and, the 
 
 1 " La Verite dans son jour." 
 
 2 Lucien Percy, "Marie Mancini Colonna." Perrero, "La Duchessa 
 Ortensia Mazzarino, la Principesse Maria Colonna, et il duca Carlo 
 Emanuele II di Savoia." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 335 
 
 same evening, announced her intention of immediately 
 returning to the convent. 
 
 At the request of the Duchess, Marie, as she has told 
 us, consented to remain another week at La V^nerie, 
 during which the Duke attempted to heal the breach 
 between them ; but to no purpose. However, he did 
 not abandon hope, and, after the Constabless's return to 
 the convent, sent the Prime Minister, San Tommasso, 
 to endeavour to bring the lady to a more reasonable 
 frame of mind. But his efforts were equally fruitless, 
 and Marie directed him to inform his Highness that 
 she had determined to relieve him of the burden of her 
 presence so soon as the four months mentioned in the 
 agreement with the Constable had expired, and that 
 nothing could alter her resolution. 
 
 .Still hankering after her beloved France, the Consta- 
 bless wrote to Louis XIV, begging him to permit her to 
 enter some convent within his realm and informing him 
 of the agreement which she had entered into with her 
 husband, whereby she had solemnly engaged not to leave 
 whatever religious house she might decide to enter with- 
 out his express permission. This, she imagined, would 
 relieve his Majesty's mind of all fears of her suddenly 
 descending upon him at Versailles or Fontainebleau. 
 She also wrote to Colbert and to other Ministers, en- 
 treating them to intercede for her with the King. 
 
 Louis XIV, as might have been foreseen, refused to 
 accede to her request — or rather, he ignored it ; but he 
 directed Colbert to send her a further sum of a thousand 
 pistoles, since he did not wish it to be supposed that his 
 refusal had been prompted by motives of economy. 
 
 Marie now resolved upon a most fatal step. The 
 Constable Colonna, who had of late adopted a much 
 more conciliatory tone towards his wife, even going so 
 
336 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 far as to second her request to Louis XIV to allow her 
 to re-enter France — he had, of course, previously taken 
 care to ascertain that there was not the remotest likeli- 
 hood of such a request being granted — now suggested 
 that, since France was closed to her and she did not 
 wish to remain in Savoy, she should enter some convent 
 in Flanders, whither he would send his friend the Mar- 
 chese di Borgomainero to escort her. The Constabless 
 had at first entertained the most profound distrust of 
 this personage, whom she regarded as the creature of 
 her husband ; but he was a handsome man of insinuating 
 manners, and he ended by gaining her entire confidence 
 and in convincing her of his own and the Constable's 
 good faith. And so, notwithstanding the warnings of 
 the French plenipotentiary Gomont, who entertained a 
 warm regard for the Constabless, and entreated her not 
 to trust Borgomainero, Marie resolved to proceed to 
 Brussels, and, on 15 October 1673, left Turin, in com- 
 pany with the marquis and a certain Abbate Oliva, whom 
 the Constable had sent from Rome to act as her chaplain. 
 Charles Emmanuel, to whom, the lady tells us, she 
 went to bid adieu, " more from motives of courtesy 
 than of inclination," overwhelmed her with reproaches, 
 and appeared deeply grieved by her determination to 
 leave his realm, " imploring her earnestly to tell him 
 whither she was bound, and assuring her that in no 
 country would she find a prince more devoted to her, or 
 one who would accord her more powerful protection." 
 " I listened," she adds, " to his reproaches and his offers 
 with great attention, and, in taking leave of him, 
 thanked him for the latter, which my resolution to quit 
 his State left me no longer room to accept. He gave 
 me his hand and conducted me to the coach in which 
 we departed." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A comedy of errors — The Constabless is warned by the French pleni- 
 potentiaries at Cologne not to enter Flanders — She is lodged in the 
 citadel of Antwerp, and finds herself a prisoner — She obtains per- 
 mission to enter a convent at Brussels — But, at the last moment, 
 changes her mind, and takes sanctuary in a church — She returns to 
 Antwerp — Letter from the Duke of Savoy — The Constable Colonna 
 gives his consent to her entering a convent in Madrid — She embarks 
 for Spain with Don Ferdinando Colonna — -Her arrival in Spain — 
 The Admiral of Castile — Marie's stay at his house — She enters the 
 Convent of San Domingo-el-Real — Permission to leave it refused her 
 — She escapes, but is induced to return — Her letter to Charles II 
 of England — Publication of Marie's apocryphal Memoirs — Her 
 genuine Memoirs — Recall of Don Juan of Austria to Madrid — 
 Second escape of the Constabless — She is compelled to return — The 
 Council deliberate on her case — She flies to Ballecas, but is again 
 brought back — The Constable Colonna, appointed Viceroy of 
 Aragon, arrives in Madrid — His interview with his wife — Entry of 
 the young Queen, Marie Louise d'Orleans, into Madrid — The 
 Constabless takes refuge at the French Embassy — Severe orders of 
 Carlos II in regard to her — The Queen takes her part — She is 
 forcibly carried off and imprisoned in the Alcazar of Segovia — She 
 promises to become a nun, and enter the Convent of the Conception 
 at Madrid — Brief of Innocent XI — Marie declines to carry out her 
 promise, and scandalises the nuns — She is set at liberty. 
 
 ' I ''HE Constabless, accompanied by Borgomainero, 
 the Abbate Ollva, the faithful Morena, and a 
 valet de chamhre, took the St. Bernard route, but the 
 rest of her suite, with the greater part of her baggage, 
 travelled by way of the Milanese, intending to rejoin 
 their mistress at Mayence. And this division of their 
 forces resulted in an amusing little comedy. The Con- 
 stable Colonna, who, in spite of his assurances to the 
 z 337 
 
338 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 contrary, had not the smallest intention of keeping faith 
 with his wife, had no sooner been informed of her in- 
 tention to leave Turin than he sent a courier to the 
 Duque d'Ossuna, the Governor of the Milanese, with 
 whom he was on intimate terms, begging him to arrest 
 his wife and keep her until further instructions from 
 him. He apparently, however, neglected to inform 
 Borgomainero of his intentions, so that the only prison- 
 ers whom the governor secured were Marie's waiting- 
 women, one of whom, called Nanette, being a very 
 handsome and distinguished-looking young woman, was 
 mistaken by the officer in command of the soldiers sent 
 to arrest them for her mistress, and treated with every 
 imaginable honour ; nor was it until she had been in a 
 very luxurious kind of captivity at Ancona for nearly 
 a week that the mistake was discovered, and she and her 
 companions permitted to resume their journey. The 
 Constable, on hearing of what had occurred, hastened to 
 disavow the governor's action ; nevertheless, it seems 
 scarcely credible that Marie should still have persisted 
 in her belief in his good faith, and that, when she 
 arrived at Cologne, where the abortive Congress was 
 then sitting, she should have refused to listen to the 
 warnings of the French plenipotentiaries, Courtin and 
 Barillon, who begged her not to venture into Flanders, 
 as, from information they had received, they had not the 
 least doubt that she would be arrested the moment she 
 set foot on Spanish territory. On arriving at Malines, 
 she was received with great courtesy by the governor of 
 the town, but informed that he had orders from the 
 Comte de Monterey, the Governor of Flanders, not to 
 allow her to proceed to Brussels, where she had decided 
 to enter the Couvent de Barlemont, until everything was 
 ready for her reception. A few days later, Monterey 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 339 
 
 sent one of his suite to request the princess to proceed 
 to Antwerp, whither instructions had been sent to pre- 
 pare apartments for her reception in the citadel. Here 
 she was again received with great respect, and conducted 
 to the fortress by the governor himself and an escort of 
 nobles. But when, a day or two later, she expressed a 
 wish to take a drive into the town, she was informed 
 that it could ,not be permitted, and, going to the door of 
 her apartment, found an officer and two guards stationed 
 there. 
 
 From that day she was treated like a State criminal, 
 prohibited from receiving visitors, and even from com- 
 municating with her friends. However, having pressed 
 the Comte de Monterey to permit her to enter a convent 
 at Brussels, her request was eventually acceded to, and 
 Borgomainero was charged to prepare an apartment for 
 her in the Couvent des Anglaises in that city. She set 
 out for Brussels, accompanied by the captain of the 
 governor's guards, but, ascertaining in the course of 
 the journey that the Couvent des Anglaises was little 
 better than a prison, and that every imaginable precau- 
 tion had been taken to guard against any possibility of 
 her escape, she resolved that nothing should induce her 
 to enter it, and took sanctuary in an adjoining church, 
 *' under the pretext of making her devotions," which 
 she absolutely refused to quit, unless the governor would 
 promise her permission to enter some convent of her 
 own selection. 
 
 The captain of the guards sent for the governor, 
 who, finding entreaties and threats equally unavailing, 
 sent, in his turn, for the Nuncio and the Archbishop 
 of Brussels, to obtain their authorisation to enter the 
 church and remove the lady by force. The ecclesiastics, 
 however, anxious to avoid scandal, counselled patience, 
 
340 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 and Monterey, having posted a guard at the door of 
 the church, withdrew. The princess, on her side, had 
 resolved to spend all night in the church, when a 
 worthy citizen named Bruneau, with whom she had 
 some slight acquaintance, entered and begged her to 
 leave the church and enter his house hard by, warning 
 her that the governor had only desisted from employing 
 force for fear of scandal, and that, so soon as night fell, 
 the soldiers had orders to tear her from her sanctuary. 
 The lady consented, and repaired to M. Bruneau's 
 house, around which the soldiers immediately posted 
 themselves, and rendered it " more secure than the 
 tower of Danae." 
 
 After " sobs and tears " had failed to procure any 
 mitigation of her lot from the stony-hearted governor, 
 the Constabless implored him to allow her to proceed to 
 Madrid and enter a convent there. Overjoyed at the 
 prospect of being relieved of his troublesome charge, 
 the Comte de Monterey wrote to the Constable, urging 
 him to give her the desired permission. In the mean- 
 time, as he found himself obliged to proceed to Antwerp 
 and to withdraw his guards, he begged the princess to 
 return to the citadel, promising that she should be 
 treated with less rigour, and that he would even permit 
 her an occasional drive, under the escort of the lieu- 
 Tenant of the fortress. And, having first insisted on 
 his signing a sort of treaty embodying these conditions, 
 she consented. Here a letter full of expressions of 
 tenderness and devotion from the Duke of Savoy was 
 smuggled into the fortress by the faithful Morena, and, 
 we are assured, produced on the wounded feelings of 
 her mistress " the effect of a sovereign balm." From 
 that time a regular correspondence was established be- 
 tween Marie and Charles Emmanuel, which continued 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 341 
 
 until the latter's untimely death in the following June ; 
 but unfortunately none of these letters have come down 
 to us. 
 
 A few weeks later, Don Ferdinando Colonna, a natural 
 brother of the Constable, arrived at Antwerp and in- 
 formed Marie that her husband had given his consent 
 to her removing to Madrid, and had charged him to 
 escort her thither. Marie, thereupon, wrote to the 
 Duque de Medina de Rio Secco, Admiral of Castile, 
 who was a friend of her husband, to beg him to re- 
 ceive her on her arrival in Madrid, and to the Queen- 
 Dowager^ to request permission to enter a convent 
 there, and without waiting for an answer, she and Don 
 Ferdinando travelled to Ostend and embarked on an 
 English vessel, which, in nine days, landed them at 
 San -Sebastian. Here they waited a week, when, 
 having received no reply either from the Queen- 
 Dowager or the Admiral, they continued their journey 
 until they reached Alcobendas, a village three leagues 
 from Madrid, where a courier met them with the ex- 
 pected letters, both containing favourable answers. A 
 little further on, they saw approaching at a gallop two 
 handsome but unwieldy carriages, each drawn by six 
 magnificent mules. They contained the Admiral of 
 Castile, the Duque d'Albuquerque, the Marques d'Al- 
 cagnicas, his second son, and the wives of the two last 
 noblemen, who had come to receive their guest and con- 
 duct her to a beautiful pleasure-house belonging to the 
 Admiral in the environs of Madrid, " splendidly fur- 
 nished and ornamented with the richest paintings in 
 Europe." 
 
 ^ Maria Anna of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Ferdinand and the 
 Infanta Donna Maria. She governed Spain during the minority of her 
 son, Charles II, from 1 665-1675. 
 
342 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 The Admiral of Castile, although more than fifty 
 years of age, was one of the handsomest as well as one 
 of the wealthiest grandees in Spain, a great patron of 
 art and letters and an amateur poet of some distinction. 
 His love for the arts, however, was not his chief pas- 
 sion, and he is said to have kept as many as sixteen 
 mistresses in his immense palace in Madrid, without, 
 however, in any way incommoding the duchess, who 
 complacently ignored their presence. With the beauti- 
 ful Constabless he fell deeply in love at first sight ; but 
 the lady does not appear to have responded to his 
 advances. 
 
 The life now led by Marie was in pleasing contrast to 
 the rigorous confinement to which she had been subjected 
 at Antwerp and Brussels. She was splendidly lodged 
 and " treated like a queen " by her host, who did every- 
 thing possible to please and divert her, visited by the 
 greatest families of the capital, the Nuncio and the 
 foreign Ministers, and received by the Queen-Dowager. 
 She was still, however, in a state of honourable captivity, 
 and the Abbate Don Ferdinando Colonna watched over 
 her with jealous care, and was terribly alarmed whenj 
 one day, accompanied by Morena, and without saying a 
 word to any one, she went for a drive along the pro- 
 menade by the river. This proceeding, the Nuncio 
 Marescotti informs Cardinal Altieri, had greatly shocked 
 the Court and society generally, as it was not the custom 
 in Madrid for ladies of quality to frequent the public 
 promenades, and he feared that, after this escapade, no 
 grande dame would care to visit her. However, her 
 friends excused the Constabless's conduct on the ground 
 of her ignorance of Spanish etiquette, and the wrath of 
 the fashionable world was appeased. 
 
 After remaining for some three months in the 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 343 
 
 Admirars delightful residence, Marie, unwilling to be at 
 any further expense to her host, requested permission of 
 the Queen-Dowager to allow her to enter the convent 
 of San Domingo-el-Real. It was contrary to the rules of 
 Spanish convents to take pensioners, and the nuns refused 
 to receive her, until the Queen-Dowager had declared, 
 by a royal decree, that this favour would not be con- 
 sidered a precedent. The princess entered the convent 
 at the beginning of September 1674, escorted thither by 
 the Admiral and the Nuncio. In order to enjoy greater 
 liberty, she was given a house adjoining the monastery, 
 precautions having first been taken to make it secure, 
 One half she occupied herself; while the Abbate 
 Colonna and her domestics were installed in the other. 
 Don Pedro of Aragon, whom she had known during his 
 Viceroyalty at Naples, from 1666 to 1672, furnished it 
 from top to bottom with tapestries of great value. 
 
 Perhaps the Constabless might have resigned herself 
 to pass the remainder of her days in the convent of 
 San Domingo-el-Real, where the abbess, Donna Vittoria 
 Porcia Oroseo, and the nuns did all in their power to 
 render her stay as pleasant as possible, if, as she had been 
 fully led to expect, permission had been granted her, as 
 at Turin, to go out once a week to visit her friends at 
 the Court. But, on the express demand of her hus- 
 band, this privilege was refused her, and, in great indig- 
 nation at what she considered an unpardonable breach of 
 faith on the part of the Court, Marie now demanded 
 permission to return to Flanders and make her home 
 with her second son Don Marco Colonna, who, although 
 only a boy of thirteen, had recently, at her request, 
 received the command of two companies of Spanish 
 cavalry stationed there. The Queen-Dowager and the 
 Admiral both wrote to the Constable to obtain his con- 
 
344 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 sent ; but Colonna replied that he preferred to know that 
 his wife was in security in Madrid rather than at liberty 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Soon after this, the Marques de los Balbases, who 
 had never forgiven the Constabless for the manner in 
 which she had treated him on the occasion of their first 
 meeting fourteen years before, when, it will be re- 
 membered, he had pretended to be her husband, wrote 
 to Rome, warning the Constable that it was his wife's 
 intention to fly from Spain, as the result of which the 
 unfortunate lady was kept under the strictest sur- 
 veillance, and even the liberty which she had heretofore 
 enjoyed to go wherever she pleased within the convent 
 was curtailed. Her patience was now exhausted, and, at 
 the beginning of November, taking advantage of the 
 absence of the watchful Don Ferdinando, she effected her 
 escape and took refuge at the house of one of her friends, 
 from whence she wrote to the Admiral and other 
 Ministers, to inform them that her intention was not 
 to fly to France or England, as her enemies had falsely 
 asserted, but only to reside in the house in which 
 she then was, and begging them to assist her to obtain 
 this concession. However, neither the Admiral nor 
 his colleagues seemed disposed to assist her, and, after 
 a week of comparative liberty, through the efforts of 
 the Nuncio Mellini and the Admiral, the Constabless 
 consented to return to her convent. Here a new 
 difficulty presented itself, as the nuns refused to 
 receive a lady who had caused such a scandal, and it 
 was not until the Nuncio threatened them with ex- 
 communication that they finally yielded. 
 
 The Nuncio promised the Constabless to write to her 
 husband and endeavour to prevail upon him to consent 
 to her leaving the convent, begging her, at the same 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 345 
 
 time, to give him her word that until his reply was 
 received she would make no further attempt to escape. 
 Marie declined, however, and, shortly afterwards, a 
 second scandal was only prevented by the vigilance of 
 Don Ferdinando. 
 
 During the next two years, the life of the Constabless 
 was uneventful ; she remained in her convent, chafing 
 under the restraints to which she was subjected, and 
 continually petitioning the Queen-Dowager and the 
 Ministers to accord her her liberty ; but, since her 
 husband absolutely refused to give his consent to her 
 leaving her prison, her prayers were unproductive of 
 any result. In March 1676, we find her writing to 
 Charles II of England, who, during her stay at Turin, 
 had, as we have seen, offered her an asylum in his realm. 
 She makes no definite request, save that of retaining his 
 friendship, but she no doubt hoped that he would 
 interest himself on her behalf. 
 
 The Constabless to King Charles II of England. 
 
 "Madrid, 26 March 1676. 
 
 " I should have given myself the honour of writing 
 to your Majesty, if I had been able to hope that my 
 letters would have been conveyed to him with all the 
 secrecy that I wished. My desire to retain the kindly 
 sentiments which your Majesty expressed for me, while 
 I was at Turin, and my fear that you have been pre- 
 judiced against me, impels me to ask you for their 
 confirmation. Send it me, I entreat you, since I could 
 receive nothing more opportune or more agreeable in 
 the state in which I find myself. But let your Majesty 
 accompany it with secrecy, since there is nothing of 
 more importance, and since the good or ill success of 
 
346 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 my affairs depends upon it absolutely, as I depend upon 
 your Majesty ; being all my life his most humble and 
 very obedient servant." ^ 
 
 About the same time, appeared a pamphlet entitled 
 "Les Memoires de M.L.P.M.M. [Madame la Princesse 
 Marie Mancini] Colonne, G. Connetable du Royaume 
 de Naples." This little work, a tissue of gross false- 
 hoods, took the same form as the "Memoires" which the 
 Duchesse de Mazarin had just published in collaboration 
 with Saint-Real, and this gave it a false appearance of 
 authenticity, and caused it to command a ready sale. 
 It had been, as a matter of fact, inspired, if not actually 
 written, by Marie's enemy, the Marques de los Balbases, 
 with the intention of injuring the poor lady still further 
 in public estimation.^ A copy fell into the hands of the 
 Constabless, who, in high indignation, at once set to 
 work on the compilation of her genuine Memoirs, 
 which appeared under the title of " La Verite dans son 
 jour.' The publication of this work, which, unfortunately, 
 does not go beyond the year 1677, assisted by the 
 version of it which Bremont published in Belgium, 
 called the " Apologie ou les Veritables Memoires de 
 Marie de Mancini, Connetable Colonne," did much to 
 counteract the evil effect of the apocryphal Memoirs ; 
 but unhappily the latter had a considerable start, and 
 continued to be accepted by many persons as from the 
 Constabless's own pen. 
 
 1 British Museum MSS. 
 
 - This is the opinion of the latest and best-informed of Marie's French 
 biographers, Lucien Perey; but M. Chantelauze, though acknowledging 
 that the first part is undoubtedly spurious, expresses his belief in the 
 authenticity of the second, which, however, he thinks was never intended 
 for publication, and owed its appearance to some person to whom the 
 Constabless had been so indiscreet as to lend the manuscript. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 347 
 
 At the beginning of the year 1677, Carlos II decided 
 to recall his half-brother, Don Juan of Austria, from his 
 exile at Saragossa, to which the jealousy of the Queen- 
 Dowager had relegated him, to entrust him with the 
 chief share in the government of his kingdom. " It 
 was at this moment," writes the Constabless, " that I 
 saw appear a ray of hope, and remembering that Padre 
 Ventimiglia, whose capabilities and rare talents had 
 rendered him as illustrious as the nobility of his birth, 
 had told me an infinitude of times that my liberty must 
 be the work of this prince, and that his return would 
 undoubtedly give it me, I considered seriously about 
 taking advantage of an event so favourable, not doubt- 
 ing that it would produce the effect for which I had 
 been led to hope." 
 
 In the belief that her unhappy lot could not fail to 
 appeal to the generous and chivalrous Don Juan, not- 
 withstanding the way in which she had treated his jester 
 Capitor, during the prince's visit to the French Court 
 in 1659, the Constabless could not bring herself to 
 await his arrival in Madrid, and no sooner was she in- 
 formed that he had quitted Saragossa, than she resolved 
 to go and meet him. Accordingly, one fine day, she 
 succeeded in effecting her escape, for the second time, 
 and made her way to the house of the Marquesa de 
 Mortara, sister-in-law of the abbess of the convent 
 which she had just quitted. The marchioness, overcome 
 with astonishment at this visit, received her unwelcome 
 guest very courteously, but lost no time in writing to 
 inform Don Garcia de Ledra, the President of the 
 Council of Castile, of what had occurred ; while, on her 
 side, Marie wrote to several grandees, begging them to 
 assist her to carry out her intention. Two days later, the 
 Nuncio, the Admiral, and the President of the Council 
 
348 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 came to visit her, bearing the King's order for her to 
 return to the convent. The Constabless angrily refused, 
 upon which her visitors gravely informed her that they 
 were authorised to employ force, if necessary ; and the 
 Marquesa de Mortara, adding her entreaties to their 
 persuasions, the Constabless " condescended to return." 
 This return was not easy, and the intervention of the 
 Nuncio and a peremptory order from the King were re- 
 quired to compel the now exasperated nuns to receive 
 their penitent. 
 
 A week later, Don Juan arrived in Madrid, and the 
 Constabless lost no time in addressing to him a memorial 
 reciting her woes and imploring him to redress them. 
 Don Juan was about to grant her petition, when the 
 King received a letter from Colonna, complaining of the 
 recent flight of his wife, and begging that, for greater 
 security, she should be imprisoned in a fortress. Don 
 Juan thereupon laid both the memorial and the letter 
 before the Council, which finally decided that Marie 
 should be set at liberty and allowed to take up her resi- 
 dence in a house suitable to her rank. As, however, 
 the King judged it best to suspend the decree of the 
 Council until he had received an answer to a letter 
 which he had addressed to the Constable, the lady lost 
 patience, made her escape from the convent for the 
 third time, and proceeded to Ballecas, a village a league 
 from Madrid. The Nuncio and Don Ferdinando pur- 
 sued her, and persuaded her to return to the capital ; 
 but, though she was not sent back to the cloister, the 
 Council decided that, instead of being allowed to occupy 
 a house of her own, she must reside in one with Don 
 Ferdinando. 
 
 Six months later, the Constable Colonna was appointed 
 Viceroy of Aragon by Don Juan, who had need of his 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 349 
 
 Influence and that of his friends in his struggle against 
 the party of the Queen-Dowager. To please the Con- 
 stable, who had been much irritated by the permission 
 accorded his wife to leave her convent, and in the hope 
 of reconciling them, the prince begged Marie to return 
 to her cloister, in order that her husband might find 
 her there on his arrival at Madrid. She consented, 
 declaring, at the same time, that she would not remain 
 there more than three months. However, it was not 
 until the beginning of November 1678, that Colonna 
 reached Madrid, accompanied by his three sons and a 
 party of his household. On the day of his arrival, he 
 visited the convent of San Domingo-el-Real, where he 
 and his wife, according to the Gazeta de Madrid, "ex- 
 changed the most lively demonstrations of joy and 
 reciprocal affection, which caused one to hope more 
 and more for their approaching reunion." 
 
 How far these demonstrations of affection were sin- 
 cere is difficult to say, but it would appear that, thanks 
 to the efforts of the Nuncio, Marie was now better dis- 
 posed towards her husband than she had been for a long 
 time. She refused, however, to live with him or ac- 
 company him back to Roiix^ when he returned thither, 
 but consented to follow him to Saragossa and enter a 
 convent there, on the distinct understanding, however, 
 that she was to be allowed to go out two or three times 
 a week. 
 
 However, the Pope, who had been appealed to, 
 declined to grant her this permission, and, learning, 
 about the same time, that her husband had brought with 
 him to Saragossa a desperate character named Resta, 
 who had fled from Rome to escape the punishment of 
 his crimes, she became convinced that the Constable 
 intended to employ this person to carry her off to Italy 
 
350 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 and perhaps assassinate her on the way, and absolutely 
 refused to leave Madrid. 
 
 The death of Don Juan of Austria, on 17 December 
 1679, removed a friend upon whose powerful pro- 
 tection she had always been able to rely. But the 
 marriage of Charles II with Marie Louise d'Orleans, 
 daughter of Monsieur and Henrietta of England, in- 
 spired her with fresh hope, since she could not doubt 
 that the daughter of a prince who, thanks to the 
 Chevalier de Lorraine, had always defended her in- 
 terests, would sympathise with her misfortunes. 
 
 The young Queen made her entry into Madrid on 
 13 January 1680, with all the pomp usual in such 
 circumstances. 
 
 " The Queen-Mother," writes Madame d'Aulnoy, 
 " went in the morning to Buen-Retiro, which she left, 
 some time later, in company with the King. They went 
 together to see all the streets through which the Queen 
 was to make her progress, and took up their position at 
 the house of the Condesa de Onate, in a balcony made 
 for the purpose, and having a lattice-window gilded all 
 over. About eleven, the Queen, mounted on horse- 
 back, and those who were to precede her began to march, 
 and passed through a marble gate, which had been but 
 lately erected. The kettledrummers and the trump- 
 eters of the city, habited in the costumes usually worn 
 in these ceremonies, led the procession ; after them 
 came the Alcaldes, the nobility, and the knights of the 
 three military Orders (St. James, Calatrava, and Alcant- 
 ara), the gentlemen of the King's Household, the high 
 officials of the Queen's, and the grandees of Spain, 
 followed by a great number of lackeys, whose different 
 liveries, gallooned with gold and silver, made an agree- 
 able diversity. The Queen's equerries marched on foot 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 351 
 
 before her, the Conde de Villa Mayana, her chief 
 gentleman-usher, was on her right hand, and she was 
 surrounded by her gentlemen-in -waiting and her 
 pages (When she walked on foot, she always leaned on 
 one of these). The Duquesa de Terranova and Dona 
 Laura de Alagon followed her, both of them mounted 
 on their mules and in their widow's weeds, which some- 
 what resemble the costume of nuns, except that, when 
 on horseback, they wear enormous hats, which are not 
 less unsightly than the rest of their garb. Next, we 
 saw the Queen's maids-of-honour, all very beautiful and 
 richly dressed ; they were on horseback, and each was 
 escorted by her relations, in the midst of whom she 
 rode ; then came several beautiful horses, led by grooms 
 in rich liveries. In the Prado, which is one of the most 
 agreeable walks in Madrid, by reason of the fountains 
 which water it, a gallery open on every side had been 
 erected, with one-and-twenty arches, to which were 
 affixed the Arms of the several kingdoms under the 
 dominion of Spain. The Queen found, at the end of 
 the gallery, a triumphal arch, very magnificent and well 
 designed, through which she entered the city. The 
 Corrigidors and the Rigidors, apparelled in scarlet and 
 gold brocade such as the Castilians wear, presented her 
 with the keys of the city, and with a canopy, which 
 they carried over her head during the procession. The 
 streets were adorned with the richest tapestries, and the 
 precious stones that were to be seen in the Goldsmiths' 
 Row were valued at eleven million.^ 
 
 ^ Another account says: "On each side of the street was a row of 
 great angels made of pure silver. One saw there shields of gold, on 
 which were inscribed the names of the King and Queen, with tlie Arms 
 formed of pearls, rubies, diamonds, and other precious stones, of such 
 richness and beauty that the connoisseurs declared that they were worth 
 more than twelve million." 
 
352 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 " It would take too much time to describe all the 
 magnificence of that day, and I shall therefore confine 
 myself to saying that the Queen was mounted on a fine 
 Andalusian horse, which, in this noble march, seemed 
 proud to carry so beautiful and great a princess. 
 Her gown was so covered with embroidery that its 
 material was completely hidden ; she wore on her head 
 white plumes blended with red, and a pearl called there 
 the * Peregrina,' which is as big as a small Catherine 
 pear and is of inestimable value, hung below a clasp of 
 diamonds which decorated her hat. She wore on her 
 finger the great diamond of the King, which, so they 
 assert, surpasses in beauty anything that was ever set in 
 a ring. But the graceful deportment of the Queen in 
 all her actions, and particularly in the management of 
 her horse, and the charm of her person made a greater 
 lustre than all the precious stones she wore, although it 
 is certain that people were well-nigh dazzled by the 
 glitter of them. She halted below the balcony of the 
 Condesa de Oilate to salute the King and Queen- 
 Mother. They opened the lattice about four fingers' 
 breadth, in order to see her, and the King, taking his 
 handkerchief in his hand, carried it several times to his 
 lips, his eyes, and his heart, which is the most gallant 
 action that a Spaniard can perform. The Queen con- 
 tinued her way, and the King and the Queen-Mother 
 received her in the court of the Palace. He assisted 
 her to alight, while the other, taking her by the hand, 
 conducted her to her apartments, where she embraced 
 her repeatedly, telling her that she was but too happy to 
 have such an amiable daughter-in-law."^ 
 
 Before the departure of the Constable for Saragossa, 
 Marie had expressed a desire to leave her convent 
 
 1 *' Memoires de la Cour d'Espagne." 
 
I M.IIUF. l.orisK n'oi'j F. /w 
 '■ CJ f'Hrtii-ifftt/' .'/ri/ir Sti/iird , 
 
 /iA. ■> St. 1 ) KSP-iO\K 
 
 )('Frnnrt'J)iic i- Oi-Luiu.i , 
 
 o'/ip, C/i.jr/ej; ZfFnrla Cracr l)e 2)/eti Roy Cafholiijiw %J f^fJdc/iu 
 
 From ail engraving by L'Armessin 
 
 MARIE LOUISE DORLKAXS, OUKKN OF SPAIN 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 353 
 
 and spend a few days at the house of his brother-in-law, 
 the Marques de los Balbases, in order to witness this 
 pageant. The Constable, somewhat to her surprise, 
 did not raise the least objection, and she was still more 
 puzzled at the warmth of the welcome which awaited 
 her at Balbases's house. Finding herself so well re- 
 ceived, she resolved to remain there until the return of 
 her husband from Saragossa. But, two days before the 
 entry of the Queen, she received warning, from one of 
 her friends, that Balbases had arranged with Colonna to 
 have her seized and carried off to Saragossa. On 
 learning this, she asked for a coach in order to go for 
 a drive, and, on its arrival, directed the coachman to 
 take her to the French Embassy. 
 
 " Yesterday, at ten o'clock in the morning," writes 
 the Ambassador's wife, Madame de Villars, *' we saw 
 enter our room a tapada^^ followed by another, who 
 appeared to be her attendant. I made a sign to M. de 
 Villars that it was for him to do the honours ; the 
 attendant retired. The other signified her desire that 
 some persons who were in the ante-chamber should 
 retire also ; she went to a window with M. de Villars, 
 at the same time making a sign to me to approach. 
 She raised her cloak ; but I was but little the wiser, 
 though I had some recollection of a person who 
 resembled her. M. de Villars exclaimed: * It is the 
 Constabless Colonna,' upon which I paid her some 
 compliments. She wept and besought us to have pity 
 upon her. To describe her appearance in a few words, 
 her shape is one of the most beautiful ; her corsage 
 d VEspagnoky which does not conceal her shoulders 
 either too much or two little. Two long tresses of 
 black hair tied with a beautiful flame-coloured ribbon ; 
 
 ^ A woman who conceals her face with a mantilla or a veil. 
 
354 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the rest of her hair in disorder and badly combed ; 
 very beautiful pearls round her neck ; ^ an agitated 
 manner, which would not become any one else, but 
 which, for her, seemed rather natural ; beautiful teeth." 
 
 The Ambassador, in great embarrassment, for the 
 lady had announced her intention of remaining at the 
 Embassy until she was forcibly ejected, started off for 
 Balbases's house "to find some way out of the difficulty." 
 It was suggested that the Constabless should retire to 
 her convent ; but the nuns absolutely refused to receive 
 her, and the other convents followed suit. " I was 
 obliged," writes M. de Villars to Louis XIV, "to 
 summon the Nuncio and some ladies among her 
 friends, and, after a long and difficult negotiation, 
 which lasted until midnight, we have brought her back 
 with her own consent to the marquis's house." 
 
 A few days later, by order of the King, the Consta- 
 bless was sent to a convent of Franciscan nuns at 
 Cien-Puzuales, some five leagues from Madrid. Here 
 she remained for a month, when Colonna returned to 
 the capital, and she was brought back and installed in 
 her external apartment at the Convent of San Domingo- 
 el-Real, " where the Constable went every day to con- 
 verse with her in her parlour, and to pay her attentions 
 such as a lover might pay to his mistress."" 
 
 These attentions on the part of the Constable were 
 not without an ulterior object. He desired to obtain 
 his wife's consent to transfer part of the dowry which 
 Mazarin had given her to their eldest son Filippo, Prin- 
 cipe di Palliano, for whom he desired to arrange a 
 marriage with the daughter of the Spanish Prime 
 Minister, the Duque de Medina Coeli. After some 
 
 1 Presumably, the pearls given her by Louis XIV. 
 
 2 Madame d'Aulnoy, "Memoires de la Cour d'Espagne." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 355 
 
 hesitation, Marie agreed to what was demanded of her, 
 thanks to which the marriage was decided on, and the 
 Constabless quitted the convent and went to reside at 
 her husband's palace, each of them occupying a separate 
 floor. 
 
 For the first time for several years, Marie now 
 enjoyed the fullest liberty, visiting and receiving whom 
 she pleased, and going regularly to pay her court to the 
 Queen, who treated her with the utmost kindness. In 
 September 1680, the Constable returned to Saragossa, 
 leaving his wife in his palace at Madrid. Soon after- 
 wards, she was officially informed that the King had 
 decided to interfere no more in her affairs, and that 
 nothing remained for her but to obey her husband and 
 go wherever he might desire her, whether to Italy or 
 elsewhere. The next day, she was forbidden to leave 
 the house, the following one, to receive any visitors. 
 Beside herself with fear, for the sinister figure of the 
 Constable's myrmidon Resta was for ever before her 
 eyes, she besought his Majesty to shut her up in the 
 most austere convent in Madrid rather than deliver her 
 to the tender mercies of her husband. But her petition 
 was ignored, although, thanks to the intercession of the 
 young Queen, the King's orders were not immediately 
 executed. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the Constabless declared that she 
 would refuse to sign the contract by which a consider- 
 able part of her fortune was to be assured to the Prin- 
 cipe di Palliano, and would make the hospitals of the 
 city her heirs. This sudden resolution greatly alarmed 
 the Duque de Medina Coeli and his family ; they appealed 
 to the Nuncio, who had great influence over Marie, 
 promising that the King should continue to afford her 
 his protection, and that she should be treated with every 
 
356 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 possible consideration, if she would but renounce the 
 decision at which she had just arrived. The princess 
 eventually yielded, but, in return for this concession, 
 obtained an audience of the Queen, who, in response 
 to her appeal, exacted from the Duque de Medina Coeli 
 his word of honour that during her absence at the 
 Escurial, for which she was about to set out, no 
 violence should be employed against the Constabless. 
 A few days, however, after the Queen's departure, the 
 duke and Balbases, thinking the opportunity too good 
 a one to be lost, obtained an order from the Junta, 
 whom Carlos II had ordered to decide upon the differ- 
 ences between the Constabless and her husband, to have 
 the lady shut up in a fortress. 
 
 One night, Marie, reassured by the promise which 
 had been made her, was sleeping peacefully, when she 
 was awakened by a loud knocking at the door, and the 
 voice of Don Garcia de Medrano, Councillor of the 
 Royal Council, informed her that he had come with an 
 order from the King to convey her to the Alcazar of 
 Segovia. She declined to open to him, upon which the 
 councillor ordered the officers who accompanied him 
 to force the door, which speedily yielded to their 
 assault upon it. One of the invaders roughly seized 
 the Constabless and prepared to tie her arms with a 
 cord. Marie resisted desperately, and, snatching up a 
 little knife which lay upon a table hard by, gave him a 
 cut in the hand. Upon which, the rest of the company 
 " fell upon her with barbarous fury, and dragged her by 
 the hair of her head, half naked as she was, like one of 
 the most abandoned of her sex," to a coach in which sat 
 Don Ferdinando Colonna, who had not dared himself to 
 assist in the outrage, and carried her off to the Alcazar 
 of Segovia. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 357 
 
 In the Alcazar of Segovia the unfortunate lady re- 
 mained for nearly four months, in the closest confine- 
 ment, seeing no one but the Queen's confessor and the 
 kind-hearted Nuncio. To add to her misfortunes, the 
 winter was an extremely severe one, and, in her bare 
 and draughty room, the Constabless suffered terribly 
 from the cold ; while the food served to her was of the 
 poorest quality and abominably cooked. 
 
 In the meanwhile, however, the miserable condition 
 of the princess, of which the Queen's confessor and the 
 Nuncio did not fail to bring back a faithful report to 
 the capital, had begun to excite the greatest indignation 
 in Madrid ; the Queen sent a vigorous remonstrance to 
 the Constable, and the latter, finding the opinion of the 
 Court against him, proceeded to make to his wife the 
 most extraordinary proposition. He would consent, he 
 informed her, to her returning to some convent in 
 Madrid, but on condition that, on the very day on which 
 she entered it, she should assume the dress of a novice, 
 and, three months later, take the vows. He, on his 
 side, also engaged to enter Orders and become a monk. 
 
 As the Constabless had not the least inclination for 
 the religious life, every one was persuaded that she 
 would refuse even to consider such an offer. But, 
 anxious at any price to escape from Segovia, she accepted 
 it, though she was absolutely determined to die rather 
 than make profession. She returned to Madrid on 
 15 February 168 i, and entered at once the Convent of 
 the Conception, in a state of the most profound dejec- 
 tion. She declined to see her husband, but had an 
 interview with her sons, to whom she said that " she 
 esteemed herself the most unfortunate person in the 
 world, and that she was about to take a step which would 
 ruin the rest of her life, and the consequences of which 
 
358 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 she regarded with terror, but that, since she had passed 
 her word, she was resolved upon it." 
 
 *' The Constabless Colonna," writes Madame de 
 Villars, "arrived early on Saturday. She entered the 
 convent ; the nuns received her at the door with tapers 
 and all the ceremonial which is usual on such occasions ; 
 then she was conducted to the choir, where she assumed 
 the dress [of a novice] with a very modest demeanour 
 . . . the dress is pretty and rather coquettish, the 
 convent commodious."^ 
 
 A few days later, a brief arrived from Innocent XI, 
 whereby his Holiness permitted " Lorenzo Onofrio 
 Colonna, Grand Constable of the kingdom of Naples, 
 and Marie Mancini Colonna, Duchessa di Tagliacozzo, 
 in order to appease the controversies and discussions 
 which existed between them, and to enable them to pass 
 the rest of their lives more tranquilly, and to assure the 
 salvation of their souls, to embrace both of them by 
 common accord and mutual consent the religious life ; 
 she in some monastery of the town of Madrid, and he in 
 one of the religious orders of the Hospital of St. John 
 of Jerusalem." And his Holiness further permitted the 
 said Marie Mancini Colonna, in consideration of her 
 being of mature years and having already spent long 
 years in convents, the " privilege " of abridging her 
 novitiate. 
 
 To Lorenzo Colonna the obliging Pontiff also granted 
 certain privileges, permitting him to dispense with the 
 usual vows of chastity and poverty and the obligation 
 of making pilgrimages to the Holy Land, so that all the 
 religious profession of the Constable consisted in wear- 
 ing the Grand Cross of his Order. 
 
 Marie, needless to say, did not avail herself of his 
 
 1 Letter of February 1 68 1. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 359 
 
 Holiness's gracious permission to abridge her novitiate ; 
 Indeed, she absolutely refused to take the vows, and 
 filially declined even to appear in her religious costume, 
 "but wore petticoats of gold and silver brocade under her 
 woollen robe, threw aside her veil, and arranged her hair 
 k PEspagno/e with ribbons of all colours. Sometimes it 
 happened that she was summoned to an observance 
 which she was compelled to attend. Then she resumed 
 her robe over her ribbons and hair, which fell in curls 
 over her shoulders ; this had a very pleasing effect."^ 
 
 But the effect upon the good Sisters of the Convent 
 of the Conception was the very reverse of pleasing. 
 They were unutterably shocked ; but to complain was 
 useless. The Queen had conceived the greatest affection 
 for the Constabless, and visited her constantly ; the King 
 was entirely under his consort's influence ; the Nuncio 
 was Marie's devoted friend. As for the Constable, he 
 had played his last card and lost ; he ignored his wife — 
 if a monk can be said to have a wife — and troubled her 
 no longer. 
 
 Unheard of privileges were granted to the lady, who 
 was still nominally supposed to be preparing herself to 
 become the bride of Heaven. She went for long drives 
 in carriages sent her by the Queen ; she received all 
 manner of people ; she visited the Court, where she was 
 welcomed most graciously by Carlos II, who seemed 
 anxious to atone to her for the severity with which she 
 had been treated in his name. 
 
 At length, however, the long-suffering nuns revolted ; 
 and, in the early spring of 1686, the Constabless's old 
 enemy Balbases succeeded in so disquieting the con- 
 science of the good abbess that, one day when her 
 novice had left the convent to attend a magnificent fete 
 ^ Madame d'Aulnoy, " Mcmoires de la Cour d'Espagne." 
 
36o FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 given by the Admiral of Castile to the King and the 
 two queens, she refused to permit her to return, and 
 informed her that, since she appeared to find the wicked 
 world so pleasant a place, she had better remain in it 
 
 "Deeply offended by this refusal, which was rery 
 galling for a person of her quality and merit," says 
 Madame d'Aulnoy, "she set her friends to employ their 
 influence with the King, who sent orders to the abbess 
 to open her doors to the Constabless. The abbess and 
 all the nuns persisted in their refusal, announced that 
 they intended to present their reasons to his Majesty, 
 and were coming to demand an audience of him." 
 When Carlos II was informed of this, he burst out 
 laughing and exclaimed : * I shall be very much amused 
 to see this procession of nuns who should come 
 chanting — 
 
 Libera nos, Domine, de la Condestabile.' 
 
 The nuns did not come, however, but decided to obey 
 his Majesty's orders."^ 
 
 The Marques de los Balbases did not fail to inform 
 the Vatican of this incident, representing that force had 
 been employed to compel the reluctant nuns to receive 
 the Constabless. But, to his intense mortification, the 
 only result of his interference was that the Pope, wisely 
 concluding that the most effectual means to put a stop 
 to such scandals was to set the lady at liberty, ordered 
 her to leave the convent and forbade her to enter 
 another. Shortly afterwards, the Constable, who knew 
 that there was no likelihood of the King consenting to a 
 second sojourn of his wife in the Alcazar of Segovia, 
 decided to make a virtue of necessity, and consented to 
 her being accorded complete liberty, a decision which 
 
 1 Madame d'Aulnoy, " Memoires de la Cour d'Espagne." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 361 
 
 greatly pleased every one concerned, with the exception 
 of the malignant Balbases, who could not forgive him- 
 self for having been the involuntary cause of the Con- 
 stabless's restoration to freedom. 
 
 But let us leave Marie in the enjoyment of her 
 hardly won liberty, and see what had become of her two 
 sisters who had remained at the Court of France. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 The Poison Trials in France — The Duchesse de Bouillon and the Com- 
 tesse de Soissons compromised — The magician Lesage accuses Madame 
 de Bouillon of attempting to get rid of her husband — Her trial — She 
 is acquitted, but exiled to Nerac — The Comtesse de Soissons and 
 la Voisin — Louvois and Madame de Montespan conspire to ruin the 
 countess — Louis XIV connives at her escape from justice — Her last 
 evening in Paris — She flies to Flanders — Letter of Louvois to the 
 President of the Chambre Ardente — Hostile reception which Madame 
 de Soissons meets with in Flanders — An extraordinary story — She 
 takes up her residence in Brussels — Marriage of her eldest son to 
 Mile, de la Cropte-Beauvais — Early life of Eugi^ne de Savoie. 
 
 T70R six years after Marie's second departure from 
 France the lives of Olympe and Marianne were 
 comparatively uneventful. In 1673, the former lost her 
 husband, who died rather suddenly in Champagne, 
 while on his way to join the army under Turenne in 
 Germany. M. de Soissons's death gave rise to sinister 
 rumours, and the countess's enemies — and she had 
 many and powerful ones — did not hesitate to ascribe 
 it to poison administered by an agent of his wife. But, 
 since the count had always been the most devoted 
 and, at the same time, the most complacent of husbands, 
 and her accusers were unable to attribute any satisfactory 
 reason for such a crime, the charge would appear to 
 have been entirely without foundation, even in view of 
 the facts which we shall presently relate. 
 
 In March 1679, the countess was requested by 
 Louis XIV to resign her post of Superintendent of the 
 
 362 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 363 
 
 Queen's Household, which was bestowed upon Madame 
 de Montespan. This has been represented by some 
 writers as a kind of disgrace ; but, as a matter of fact, it 
 had no such significance. Madame de Montespan had 
 endeavoured to prevail upon the King to appoint her to 
 the office in question some years before ; but Louis had 
 had sufficient consideration for his unfortunate consort 
 to spare her this last humiliation. When, however, 
 early in 1679, ^^^ Majesty transferred his affections to 
 Mile, de Fontanges, and his illicit connection with the 
 marchioness terminated, the former objections dis- 
 appeared, and, with the idea of tempering the wind to 
 the shorn lamb, and, at the same time, proclaiming to 
 the world that all was at an end between them, he 
 resolved to gratify her ambition. " On Wednesday 
 [21 March]," writes Bussy-Rabutin, "the Comtesse 
 de Soissons received the King's command to resign her 
 post [as Superintendent of the Queen's Household]. 
 The princess in question was at Chaillot, in a little 
 house which she has there. M.Colbert was continually 
 passing to and fro. In the evening, she spoke to the 
 King in the Queen's apartments, and he complimented 
 her highly upon the satisfaction which she had given 
 her Majesty. She replied with all the respect imagin- 
 able, and, finally, she has accepted 200,000 ecus ;^ and 
 Madame de Montespan has in this way become Super- 
 intendent of the Queen's Household, and is no longer 
 mistress.^ 
 
 Of the Duchesse de Bouillon during this period we 
 hear little. In 1675, the duke's family persuaded him 
 
 * Presumably petits icus of 3 livres, which, as Mazarin had given 
 ajOjOoo livres for this office in 1660, would represent a very handsome 
 profit. 
 
 ^ Correspondance de Bussy-Rabutin IV., 35^. 
 
364 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 to send his wife to the Couvent de Montreuil, "to give 
 her an opportunity for salutary reflections." It would 
 appear that the too pronounced encouragement given by 
 the lady to the advances of the handsome Comte de 
 Louvigny, younger son of the marshal of that name, 
 which had occasioned a good deal of scandal and some 
 piquant couplets, was the cause of this retirement. 
 However, her exile only lasted a very short time, and 
 she returned to Court with spirits unaffected by con- 
 ventual life and more amused than any one at her 
 misadventure. She resumed her former role of patroness 
 of the poets, and became an assiduous frequenter of the 
 Hotel de Vendome and the Temple, where the duke 
 (afterwards the famous marshal) and the Grand Prieur 
 de Vendome, sons of her eldest sister Laure, held high 
 revel with their intendant the Abbe de Chaulieu. The 
 two brothers, particularly the elder, seem to have 
 cherished for their charming aunt feelings a good deal 
 warmer than their relationship warranted, and though 
 happily this passion did not terminate in a tragedy as 
 that of the Chevalier de Soissons, youngest son of 
 Olympe, for his aunt Hortense,^ if any reliance is to 
 be placed in the evidence given before the Chambre 
 Ardente, of which we are now about to speak, it was 
 certainly not the fault of the duchess. 
 
 So far back as the year 1673, the penitentiaries of 
 Notre-Dame — without, of course, mentioning any names 
 — had warned the police that the majority of women who 
 had confessed to them for some time past accused them- 
 selves of poisoning some one. This warning, strange 
 to say, does not appear to have made much impression 
 upon the authorities, and even the famous case of 
 
 1 See p. 398 infra. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 365 
 
 Madame de Brinvilliers, in 1677, the prelude to the 
 grisly drama which was about to send a thrill of horror 
 through Europe, left them still unmoved. Apparently, 
 they inclined to the belief that the crimes of this fiendish 
 woman were merely such as occur from time to time 
 even in the best-regulated communities, and were not to 
 be regarded as in any way typical of the state of public 
 morality. 
 
 However, towards the close of 1678, the authorities, 
 roused at last from their lethargy by the discovery of 
 a supposed plot to poison the King and the Dauphin, 
 and led by the able and fearless Gabriel Nicolas de 
 la Reynie, Lieutenant of Police, became exceedingly 
 active; and some indiscreet words dropped by a woman 
 called Marie Bosse led to her arrest and that of another 
 woman named Vigoureux. On 10 January 1679, ^^ 
 Order in Council was issued, directing La Reynie to 
 proceed against these women and their accomplices ; 
 and, two months later, the police effected the arrest of 
 the abominable monster la Voisin, one of the greatest 
 criminals known to history. 
 
 The state of affairs which the confession of this 
 woman and her accomplices brought to light was the most 
 appalling that the imagination can possibly conceive. 
 "Human life is publicly trafficked in," wrote the Lieu- 
 tenant of Police. " Death (by poison) is almost the 
 only remedy employed in family embarrassments ; im- 
 pieties, sacrileges, abominations are common practices in 
 Paris, in the surrounding country, in the provinces." 
 
 The consternation of the authorities on discovering 
 that such frightful crimes were rampant in their midst 
 was unbounded. Louis XIV shared the general horror 
 and indignation, and gave orders that no stone should 
 be left unturned to bring the offenders to justice ; and, 
 
366 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 with the view of avoiding the cumbersome proceedings 
 of the ordinary courts, and, at the same time, of 
 ensuring greater secrecy, a special commission was 
 appointed, composed of the dite of the Councillors of 
 State, presided over by Louis Boucherat, afterwards 
 Chancellor, with La Reynie and Bazin de Bezons, of the 
 Academy, as examining commissioners. 
 
 This court was called the Chambre Ardente, not, as 
 some writers have supposed, because it had power to 
 condemn persons to the stake, though that was among 
 its prerogatives and was exercised in the case of la 
 Voisin, but because, in former days, tribunals specially 
 constituted to deal with extraordinary crimes sat in a 
 chamber hung with black and lighted by torches and 
 candles.^ 
 
 The Chambre Ardente met for the first time in the 
 hall of the Arsenal on lo April 1609, and on 15 May 
 sentenced to death Madame Philbert, wife of the fashion- 
 able flutist of that name, convicted of having made away 
 with her first husband, a wealthy wholesale tradesman 
 named Brunet, with poison procured from Marie Bosse. 
 The hope, however, aroused in the breasts of lovers of 
 justice by this rigorous sentence was not, unhappily, 
 destined to be realised, and disgraceful miscarriages of 
 justice occurred in the cases of Madame Dreux, the wife 
 of a maitre des requetes, a lady of great beauty and of 
 " infinite charm and distinction," who was convicted of 
 having poisoned at least three persons, and of having 
 offered la Voisin " 2,000 ecus, a ring, and a diamond 
 cross to make away with her husband " ; and of Madame 
 Leferon, found guilty of having poisoned her husband, 
 the President of the first Cour des Enquetes^ in order to 
 enable her to marry a worthless adventurer named 
 
 1 "Le Mercure Galant," 1679, p. 336. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 367 
 
 de Prade, for whom she had conceived a violent passion.^ 
 Soon the affair began to assume alarming proportions. 
 The operations of the sorceresses and poisoners had 
 been by no means confined to the bourgeoisie and the 
 professional classes ; the Court was equally besmirched ; 
 members of the noblest families in France were impli- 
 cated, and, among them, were the Duchesse de Bouillon 
 and her sister,, the Comtesse de Soissons. 
 
 One of the principal accomplices of la Voisin^ was a 
 man who called himself Lesage ; his real name was 
 Adam Coeuret, and he appears to have been at one time 
 a wool merchant, a calling which, however, he soon 
 abandoned for the more profitable one of a magician. 
 He had a remarkable talent for jugglery, by means of 
 which he duped not only the people who came to avail 
 themselves of his art, but even the witches with whom 
 he worked. One of his favourite tricks was to make 
 his clients write requests to the "Spirit" — as the devil 
 was called — in notes, which he then enclosed in balls of 
 wax and pretended to throw into the fire. Some days 
 later, he would give them back their notes, saying that 
 the "Spirit," who had received them through the flames, 
 had returned them. 
 
 In his examination before the commissioners on 
 28 October 1679, Lesage stated that he had met the 
 Duchesse de Bouillon at la Voisin's house, and that 
 " that lady, having told him that she was aware that he 
 could ensure the success of anything that she might 
 desire," after some conversation, he told her to write 
 down her requests, which she did, and he saw that she 
 
 1 Ravaisson, "Archives de la Bastille," VI. 
 
 2 La Voisin, when questioned about her relations with Madame de 
 Bouillon, brought no charge against her, merely stating that the duchess 
 had visited her house out of curiosity. 
 
368 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 demanded the death of the Due de Bouillon, her husband, 
 and to marry the Due de Vendome, who was with her 
 at the time she wrote the note. After this, Madame de 
 Bouillon and M. de Vendome obliged him to come to 
 the Hotel de Bouillon, where he pretended to throw a 
 second note into the fire, as he had done the first ; and 
 the lady, "wishing to engage him still further to do 
 what she demanded in regard to her husband, brought 
 a bag, containing a number of gold pieces, which she 
 tried to induce him to ^ccept." But he refused to take 
 more than four pistoles, ind, though the duchess had 
 come several times to see nim, he had always avoided 
 her, " not wishing to have any dealings with her." 
 
 This charge sounds puerile enough to us, though it 
 was not so regarded at that time, when belief in magic 
 and witchcraft was almost universal, and even such men 
 as Bossuet were firmly persuaded of the efficacy of 
 sorcery. But, in a second examination, Lesage made a 
 far graver accusation against the duchess. This was to 
 the effect that Madame de Bouillon had only had re- 
 course to his magic after other means had failed, since 
 la Vigoureux had told him that the lady had applied to 
 her for poison to get rid of her husband ; but that, as 
 the dose with which she had supplied her had failed to 
 take effect, she had advised her to consult Lesage. 
 
 The evidence against the Duchess of Bouillon was 
 considered so serious that the Chambre Ardente, which 
 had no power to arrest any one on its own authority, 
 applied for a lettre de cachet for her apprehension, which 
 was granted by the King, and, after being kept under 
 arrest at her own house for some weeks, the duchess 
 was brought to trial on 29 January 1680. Perhaps 
 fortunately for her, la Vigoureux — who would, of course, 
 have been the principal witness against her — had died 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 369 
 
 under torture some time before Lesage's examination, 
 and the knowledge of this fact no doubt accounted for 
 the haughty tone which the lady thought fit to assume 
 towards her judges. 
 
 Madame de Bouillon proceeded to the Arsenal, sup- 
 ported, on one side, by the Due de Vendome, and, on the 
 other, by the husband, against whose life she was accused 
 of conspiring, while a crowd of the nobility followed to 
 show their sympathy. She entered the court " like a 
 little queen," sat down on a chair that had been placed 
 for her, and, instead of replying to the first question, 
 asked to be allowed to enter a formal protest against the 
 authority of the Chambre, declaring that " she had only 
 attended out of deference to the King's command, and 
 not for that of the court, which she did not recognise, 
 as she declined to allow any derogation to the ducal 
 privilege.^ She refused to answer any questions until 
 this had been taken down by the clerk of the court. 
 Then she removed her glove and " disclosed a very 
 beautiful hand," and the examination began. 
 
 " Do you know la Vigoureux ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Do you know la Voisin ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Why did you want to do away with your husband ?" 
 
 " I do away with my husband ! Why, you have only 
 to ask him if he thinks so ! He gave me his hand to 
 this very door ! " 
 
 "But why did you go so often to la Voisin's house.?" 
 
 " I wanted to see the Sibyls and prophetesses she 
 promised to show me. Such a company would have 
 been well worth all my journeys." 
 
 ^ The ducal privilege consisted in being tried by all the courts united 
 in the Parliament. 
 
 2 B 
 
370 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Then, after denying that she had ever shown la Voisin 
 a bag full of money, she inquired with a mocking and 
 disdainful air : 
 
 " Well, Messieurs, is that all you have to say to me?" 
 
 " Yes, Madame," was the reply : upon which the 
 duchess rose and left the court, remarking as she did 
 so : " Really, I should never have believed that men of 
 sense could ask so many foolish questions." 
 
 Such is the amusing account given of Madame de 
 Bouillon's examination by Madame de Sevigne.^ But 
 the records of the court show that the accused was 
 subjected to a very close examination in regard to her 
 dealings with Lesage. She confirmed what that worthy 
 had stated about his interview with her at la Voisin's 
 house and his visit to the Hotel de Bouillon ; but abso- 
 lutely denied that she had asked him to assist her to get 
 rid of her husband, or that she had given him a note to 
 burn containing such demands. However, this charge 
 was of small importance in comparison with her alleged 
 dealings with the poisoner la Vigoureux, and, as no 
 further evidence was forthcoming in regard to that 
 matter, the duchess was acquitted. She did not, how- 
 ever, escape altogether, as Louis XIV, hearing that she 
 had had the temerity to boast of having baffled the 
 judges, exiled her to Nerac ; nor was she allowed to 
 return to Paris for some considerable time. 
 
 Far less fortunate than the Duchesse de Bouillon was 
 
 1 Letter of 31 January 1680. Voltaire, in his " Siecle de Louis 
 XIV," relates an amusing passage of arms between the duchess and La 
 Reynie, in which the latter got decidedly the worst of the encounter. 
 " Did you ever see the devil at la Voisin's house, since you went there to 
 meet him ?" inquired the Lieutenant of Police. "Monsieur," replied the 
 lady, " I see him here at this very moment. He is disguised as a judge, 
 and very ugly and villainous he looks." The questioner proceeded no 
 further. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 371 
 
 her elder sister Madame de Soissons. After a con- 
 fession made by la Voisin on 9 October 1679, the 
 examining commissioners, La Reynie and Bazin de 
 Bezons, drew up the following report : — 
 
 " She [la Voisin] declared to us that the Comtesse de 
 Soissons, feeling somewhat aggrieved because the King 
 had neglected her and no longer appeared to have any 
 kindness for her, was one day at her house, in company 
 with Madame de la Fert6 and Mile, du Fouilloux,-' who 
 appeared to have not long recovered from the small- 
 pox ; and the Comtesse de Soissons, without saying 
 who she was, made her [Voisin] go into her garden, 
 where the lady gave her her hand to look at, after 
 examining which, she told her that she saw there a solar 
 line, which was strongly defined, and showed that she 
 must have been loved by a great prince. Upon that, the 
 Comtesse de Soissons asked her abruptly if that would 
 not return. She replied that it might possibly return ; 
 but the lady rejoined that it was very necessary that it 
 returned, and that she absolutely declined to be made a 
 dupe of, and spoke to her on the subject of La Valli^re 
 as being the cause of the aversion which the King 
 appeared to have for her, and demanded the means of 
 getting rid of Mile, de la Valliere, 
 
 '* And when she [la Voisin] told her that that would 
 be a very difficult matter, the lady replied passionately 
 
 ^ As la Voisin never seems able to remember dates, it is often very 
 difficult to fix even approximately the time at which the events she speaks 
 of occurred. But she gives du Fouilloux the title of demoiselle, so that 
 the visit of that lady and the Comtesse de Soissons to her house must have 
 occurred previous to January 1667, when the former became the wife of 
 the Marquis d'Alluye. Moreover, the countess expresses herself in her 
 interview with la Voisin with an indignation which would appear to indi- 
 cate a comparatively recent grievance, and we shall therefore probably not 
 be far wrong in dating the incident during the early years of La Valliere'a 
 " reign," probably after the failure of the Spanish letter plot. 
 
372 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 that she would certainly find a means, and that, if she 
 were unable to avenge herself, she would carry her 
 vengeance further and would spare nothing. But, on 
 that, she [la Voisin] told her that it was necessary to 
 bide her time for the satisfaction which she desired, and 
 not to do anything inopportunely. And she was not 
 aware until after the conversation, and when the lady 
 was going away, that it was the Comtesse de Soissons to 
 whom she had spoken ; and it was Mile, du Fouilloux 
 who informed her of the fact, at the time when 
 Mesdames de la Fert6 and du Fouilloux were leaving 
 her house. She believed herself obliged to say also that 
 she was not aware if the Comtesse de Soissons per- 
 severed or not in her design, and that she did not see 
 her, except on that one occasion." 
 
 On 1 6 January 1680, la Voisin was interrogated, by 
 La Reynie and Bazin de Bezons, at Vincennes, in regard 
 to her relations with the Comtesse de Soissons, when 
 she confirmed the statements she had made in her con- 
 fession. 
 
 Asked if the Comtesse de Soissons did not tell her 
 the means she proposed to employ to avenge the wrong 
 she had suffered, she replied that the lady only declared 
 that "she would destroy both [the King and La Valliere]." 
 
 Asked if it were true that she had had constant 
 relations with Madame de Soissons, and had visited her 
 at her hotel, she replied that she had never seen the 
 countess, save on the occasion mentioned. 
 
 Questioned as to whether Madame de Soissons had 
 applied to any one else to further her designs, she 
 answered that, so far as she was aware, she had not.^ 
 
 "The examinations to which la Voisin was subjected," 
 says M. Funck-Brentano, in his admirable work on the 
 1 " Archives de la Bastille, VI : Interrogatoire de la Voisin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 373 
 
 Poison Trials, "were very numerous. They brought 
 out innumerable details on a multitude of crimes, in 
 which a very large number of persons were implicated. 
 The declarations of the terrible sorceress were submitted 
 to careful investigation by examining magistrates like 
 Nicolas de la Reynie. All her declarations were found to 
 be accurate} 
 
 That Madame de Soissons did, therefore, visit la 
 Voisin, indulge in threats against the King and La 
 Valliere, and demand "means to get rid of" the latter 
 is practically certain ; that she ever obtained the "means" 
 she sought, either from la Voisin or any one else, much 
 less actually attempted to put her criminal design into 
 execution, is highly improbable. 
 
 However that may be, the admissions of la Voisin 
 brought the countess's career at the French Court to 
 a sudden and sensational termination. She had, as 
 we have mentioned, powerful enemies. Madame de 
 Montespan, not yet herself implicated in this terrible 
 affair,^ hated her, as she had hated every one for whom 
 the King had shown any predilection. Louvois hated 
 her, too, because she was the friend of Colbert, and also, 
 if the lady herself is to be believed, because she had re- 
 fused to give her daughter in marriage to his son. The 
 two conspired together to ruin her, as, ten years before, 
 they had conspired to ruin the Due de Lauzun ; and 
 they succeeded. 
 
 But Louis XIV did not wish the countess to be pro- 
 ceeded against. This reluctance was due less probably 
 to consideration for the woman who had been the play- 
 
 ^ " Le Drame des Poisons." 
 
 2 For a full account of Madame de Montespan's connection with the 
 poisoners, see M. Funck-Brentano's " Le Drame des Poisons " and the 
 author's " Madame de Montespan " (London : Harpers ; New York : 
 Scribners, 1903). 
 
374 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 mate of his childhood and the mistress of his youth, 
 than to the fear that his own dignity might be com- 
 promised by a trial which would have involved the 
 public discussion of royal frailties which would not bear 
 the light. When, therefore, the Chambre, urged on by 
 Louvois, demanded her arrest — together with that of her 
 friend and confidante, Madame d'AUuye — we have men- 
 tioned that the Court had no power to arrest any one on 
 its own authority — the King delayed sending the neces- 
 sary warrant for three days, and, in the meanwhile, des- 
 patched her brother-in-law, the Due de Bouillon, to 
 the Hotel de Soissons to offer the countess her choice 
 between the Bastille and exile. 
 
 "On Wednesday she was playing at bassette,"^ writes 
 Madame de Sevignd ; " M. de Bouillon entered ; he 
 begged her to step into her cabinet, and told her she 
 must leave France or go to the Bastille. She did not 
 hesitate ; she made the Marquise d'Alluye leave the 
 card-table, and they did not reappear. The hour for 
 supper arrived. It was said that the countess was sup- 
 ping in town. Every one went away, persuaded that 
 something extraordinary was happening. In the mean- 
 time, a great deal of packing went on. They took 
 money and jewellery ; the lackeys and coachmen re- 
 ceived orders to put on their grey justaucorps ; eight 
 horses were harnessed to her coach. She made the 
 
 1 Madame de Soissons was a great gambler. During the campaign of 
 1678, when the Court accompanied the army to Flanders, Colbert de 
 Saint-Pouange, one of Louvois's agents, wrote from Lille to the War 
 Minister: "The day before yesterday M. de L an glee, who kept the 
 bank, lost 2,700 pistoles, of which Madame de Montespan and the 
 Comtesse de Soissons won a considerable part." The countess's exploits 
 in this direction were, however, mere bagatelles in comparison with those 
 of Madame de Montespan, who was one of the greatest gamblers who 
 ever lived, and was accustomed to win or lose hundreds of thousands of 
 livres at a single sitting. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 375 
 
 Marquise d'Alluye, — who, it is said, did not wish to go 
 — enter it with her, and two waiting-women took their 
 seats in front. She told her people not to distress 
 themselves on her account, as she was innocent ; but 
 that it had suited those scoundrelly women [la Voisin 
 and her accomplices] to mention her name. She was in 
 tears. She made her way to Madame de Carignan's 
 hotel, and left Paris at three o'clock in the morning."' 
 
 On 24 January, the day after the countess's flight, 
 Louvois wrote to Boucherat, the President of the 
 Chambre Ardente : — 
 
 " The King has sent two officers of his guard to 
 arrest Madame la Comtesse^ and Madame d'Alluye ; 
 they have orders to render an account to you of what 
 they may do, and the Chancellor has desired that one 
 adds to their instructions that, in the event of their not 
 finding these two ladies, they should inform you of it 
 and return with the ushers whom you will give them to 
 make a formal report of their search for these ladies, 
 after which the Chambre will be able to commence the 
 proceedings against them for contumacy which it may 
 judge proper. These same officers have instructions to 
 leave some of the King's guards in the houses of these 
 ladies, if you deem that necessary."^ 
 
 This letter was, of course, merely a piece of minis- 
 terial diplomacy which deceived no one, either in the 
 Chambre or at the Court ; but Louvois considered it 
 necessary, in order to conceal from the general public 
 the share which the King had taken in the escape of the 
 two ladies. 
 
 1 Letter of 30 January 1680. 
 
 2 This, as we have said elsewhere, was the official title of the Comtesse 
 de Soissons, just as the wife of Monsieur was called Madaiiie and the 
 wife of the Prince de Condc, Madame la Princesse. 
 
 « "Archives de la Bastille," VI. 
 
376 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Madame de Soissons having crossed the Flemish 
 frontier, wrote to the King, offering to return and stand 
 her trial, provided that she was not subjected to the 
 indignity of imprisonment in the Bastille or at Vin- 
 cennes before her case was adjudicated upon. The 
 condition was refused ; her trial was the very last thing 
 which Louis XIV desired. 
 
 She continued her journey towards Brussels, but the 
 news of the charges against her had preceded her, and 
 the principal inns in the towns and villages through 
 which she passed refused to receive her ; and on more 
 than one occasion she was compelled to sleep on straw 
 and suffer the insults of the populace, which reviled 
 her as sorceress and poisoner.^ " We are assured," 
 writes Madame de Sevigne, " that the gates of Namur, 
 Antwerp, and other towns have been closed against the 
 countess, the people crying out : * We want no 
 poisoners here.' Henceforth, in foreign countries, a 
 Frenchman and a poisoner will be the same thing. "^ 
 
 At Brussels, the capital of the Spanish Netherlands, 
 the municipal authorities did not dare to shut their 
 gates against a princess connected by marriage with 
 the Court of Madrid, and the Comte de Monterey took 
 her under his protection. Nevertheless, her sojourn 
 there was, at first, far from a pleasant one, and every 
 time she ventured out she was assailed by the vilest 
 insults. Madame de Sevign6 relates an extraordinary 
 story, which she had from the Due de la Rochefoucauld, 
 the son of the author of the " Maximes." 
 
 1 According to Choisy, Louvois had despatched an agent to Flanders, 
 who distributed money among the people to stir them up against the 
 countess, and she was one day forced to spend the night in a shop where 
 she had gone to buy lace, as a howling mob had assembled outside, 
 threatening to tear her to pieces. 
 
 2 Letter of 2 1 February i68o. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 377 
 
 " One day, soon after her arrival at Brussels, Madame 
 de Soissons went to church. As she was entering the 
 building, she was recognised, whereupon a number of 
 people rushed out, collected all the black cats they 
 could find, tied their tails together, and brought them 
 howling and spitting into the porch, crying out that 
 they were devils who were following the countess."^ 
 
 Madame de Soissons, however, remained at Brussels, 
 and gradually the storm which had been raised against 
 her subsided. A little court gathered about her, and as, 
 in spite of her forty-two years, she was still very attrac- 
 tive, she did not lack for admirers, prominent among 
 whom was the Prince of Parma, who, towards the close 
 of the year 1680, succeeded the Comte de Monterey 
 as Governor of the Netherlands. 
 
 Two years after her flight from France, Olympe 
 learned of the marriage of her eldest son, the young 
 Comte de Soissons ; he had espoused Mademoiselle 
 de la Cropte-Beauvais, one of the second Madame s 
 (Princess Palatine) maids-of-honour, whom Saint-Simon 
 describes as "beautiful as the most beautiful day,"'^ and 
 who had had the distinction of having repulsed the 
 advances of Louis XIV.^ 
 
 The Comtesse de Soissons and her mother-in-law, the 
 old Princesse de Carignan, were furious at this misal- 
 
 ^ Letter of 20 February 1680. 
 
 ' She was the natural daughter of an equerry of the Prince de Conde. 
 According to Saint-Simon, when her father lay on his death-bed, the 
 Prince went to visit him and entreated him to marry the mother, " repre- 
 senting the position in which, in default of this marriage, he would leave 
 so beautiful a creature as his daughter "; but Beauvais refused. 
 
 3 The Princess Palatine writes • " I had a Jille d'honneur named 
 Beauvais. She was a very honest creature. The King became enamoured 
 of her, but she remained firm. Then he turned his attention to the 
 Fontanges girl, who was also very pretty, but without any intelligence." 
 "The Fontanges girl," as all the world knows, did not long remain 
 obdurate. 
 
378 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 liance, and both promptly disinherited the poor youth. 
 Louis XIV, however, showed himself more indulgent 
 towards the marriage, and gave the count a pension of 
 20,000 livres, which, though sufficient to keep him from 
 want, was quite inadequate to enable him to support 
 his position as a Prince of the Blood. A brave soldier, 
 like his father, he might, under ordinary circumstances, 
 have hoped for advancement in his profession. But 
 Louvois, who hated him, for his mother's sake, refused 
 him promotion, and at length, in disgust, he entered the 
 service of the Emperor, and was soon afterwards killed 
 in battle against the Turks. His wife retired for a time 
 to a convent in Savoy, and afterwards returned to Paris, 
 where she died in middle life, " still beautiful as the 
 day," according to Saint- Simon, She had several 
 children, all of whom died young. 
 
 Olympe's second son, Philippe de Savoie, who is 
 described by the Princess Palatine as " a great fool, 
 ugly, awkward, and always with a wild look about him, 
 with a hawk-like nose, a large mouth, and hollow 
 cheeks," and her third son, called the Chevalier de 
 Savoie, both died at a comparatively early age — the one 
 from small-pox, the other through an accident. Of the 
 youngest, called the Chevalier de Soissons, we shall have 
 something to say in our next chapter. 
 
 The fourth of the countess's five sons, Eugene 
 Maurice, amply atoned to her for the misfortunes of his 
 elder brothers, and left behind him a name which will 
 endure for all time. It was the custom in noble families, 
 where there were several sons, for one of them to take 
 Orders, and as Eugene's physique — he was very short, 
 very slight, and a little crooked — seemed to unfit him 
 for a military career, his mother insisted on his entering 
 the Church, and he was given three abbeys, one in 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 379 
 
 France and two in Piedmont. However, the youth, 
 though he appears to have been an intelligent and 
 industrious student, soon discovered that he had no 
 inclination whatever for an ecclesiastical career, and 
 applied to Louvois for a commission in the army. His 
 request was harshly refused, and Louis XIV, when 
 appealed to, declined to interfere, and spoke of him dis- 
 dainfully as " the little abbe." 
 
 After the peace of Nimeguen, in 1678, some young 
 noblemen, the Prince de Conti, son of Anne Marie 
 Martinozzi among them, went to serve as volunteers 
 with the Austrians against the Turks, and Eugene 
 joined them. Certain letters addressed by one of their 
 number to a friend at Court, in which his Majesty was 
 referred to in far from respectful terms,-^ were brought 
 to the notice of the King, who sent a peremptory order 
 to the party to return. Eugene, however, declined to 
 obey, and sent word that he had decided to renounce 
 France and enter the service of the Emperor. " Ne 
 trouvez-vous pas que faie fait la une grande perte ? " 
 observed Louis, with a contemptuous smile, to those 
 about him, when he received the news. Little did he 
 suspect how bitterly he would live to regret his con- 
 temptuous rejection of a sword which, had it been on 
 his side, instead of against him, might have enabled 
 him to remain the arbiter of Europe to the end of his 
 life 1 But the subsequent career of Eugene de Savoie 
 is too well known to need recapitulation here. 
 
 1 One of these letters contained the following passage : " Ouand il 
 [Louis XIV] faut represcnter, c'cst un roi de theatre j quand il faut 
 combattre, c'est un roi d'echecs." 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 Madame de Soissons leaves Brussels and takes up her residence in Madrid 
 — Her relations with her sister Marie — Her intimacy with the Queen 
 — Antipathy of Carlos II to her — Correspondence between the 
 Comte de Rebenac, French Ambassador in Madrid, and Louis XIV 
 in regard to the countess — Carlos II convinced that Madame de 
 Soissons has bewitched both him and the Queen — He is warned that 
 it is intended to poison the latter — Sudden death of Marie Louise 
 — Suspicions of poisoning — Letter of Rebenac to Louis XIV — 
 Opinions of other contemporaries — Saint-Simon accuses Madame de 
 Soissons of having poisoned the Queen in a glass of milk — Considera- 
 tion of this charge — The countess is ordered to leave Madrid, and 
 goes to Portugal — She returns to Brussels — Her later years and death. 
 
 A FTER spending some time in Flanders, the Com- 
 tesse de Soissons appears to have visited Hamburg 
 and other parts of western Germany ; but eventually 
 returned to Brussels, where she remained until the 
 spring of 1686. She made great efforts to obtain per- 
 mission to return to France ; but Louvois had treated 
 her too badly to lend himself to her recall ; while 
 Madame de Maintenon was hardly more favourably 
 disposed towards her than Madame de Montespan had 
 been ; and so she remained in exile. Early in 1686, 
 she determined to leave Brussels and take up her resi- 
 dence in Madrid, and in March embarked for Spain. 
 Her reasons for this step are somewhat doubtful ; but, 
 since, during her residence in Flanders, she had estab- 
 lished friendly relations with several noble Spanish 
 families, it was the general belief that her object was to 
 
 380 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 381 
 
 arrange an advantageous marriage for Eugene, who 
 accompanied her, and for whom she obtained the rank 
 of a grandee of Spain. 
 
 The Constabless Colonna, who soon after the 
 countess's arrival regained her liberty, expressed at 
 first great pleasure at seeing her sister, and there was 
 some talk of their living together in the same house. 
 But the unpleasant side of Olympe's character soon 
 began to assert itself, and Marie, discovering that she 
 was engaged in political intrigues, and frequented the 
 society of several persons of whom she strongly dis- 
 approved, went to live in a house adjoining a convent, 
 and communicating with it by means of a private 
 entrance, which permitted her to retire thither when- 
 ever she felt disposed. 
 
 Madame de Soissons, however, was well received by 
 the Queen, with whom she had been on intimate terms 
 previous to the latter's marriage, and neglected nothing 
 to ingratiate herself with her Majesty. She succeeded, 
 for Marie Louise clung to everything which reminded 
 her of the France which she had never ceased to regret, 
 though the superstitious Carlos II, who strongly dis- 
 approved of the intimacy between his beloved consort 
 and a lady who had been the associate of sorceresses, 
 did everything possible to combat the Queen's inclina- 
 tion for the countess. 
 
 Two years passed, and then Madame de Soissons 
 found herself threatened with expulsion from Spain. 
 Under date 7 October 1688, the Comte de Rebenac, the 
 French Ambassador at Madrid, writes to Louis XIV : — 
 
 "The Comtesse de Soissons has been the cause dur- 
 ing the last fortnight of an intrigue of considerable 
 importance at this Court. The King of Spain was 
 warned against her ; he accused her of sorcery, and I 
 
382 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 learn that, some days ago, he conceived the idea that, 
 had it not been for a spell which she had cast over him, 
 he would have had children. This idea. Sire, troubled 
 him extremely, and he made a brawl which had taken 
 place between the Spaniards and Madame de Soissons's 
 servants the pretext of intimating to her, through the 
 Constabless Colonna, that it would be well for her to 
 retire to Flanders, where she would be given the en- 
 joyment of the estate of Terveuren for life. She did 
 not wish to defer to this counsel, and it was believed 
 that the taking of Belgrade, the first news of which has 
 been brought here by a gentleman of the Chevalier de 
 Savoie, will cause some change in this order. Never- 
 theless, the Marques de los Balbases was charged to 
 confirm it. Upon that, she went to find the Queen, 
 having no doubt that she would be able to persuade her 
 to espouse her cause ; but that princess counselled her, 
 on the contrary, to accommodate herself to the wish of 
 the King."^ 
 
 The countess, however, found two powerful allies in 
 the Graf von Mansfeld, the Austrian Ambassador, and 
 the Prime Minister, the Conde de Oropesa, a warm 
 friend of Austria, whom, says Rebenac, she succeeded 
 in persuading that the Queen had obtained the order 
 for her expulsion at the instance of Louis XIV, and 
 through their intercession she was permitted to remain 
 in Madrid. 
 
 From the correspondence between the Comte de 
 Rebenac and Louis XIV, it is evident that both re- 
 garded the presence of Madame de Soissons in Madrid 
 with the gravest suspicion. At the time of which we 
 are speaking, the Court of Spain was divided into .two 
 
 ^ " Archives des Affaires Etrang^res," published by Amedee Renee, 
 " Les Nieces de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS . 383 
 
 factions, the French and the Austrian ; and the young 
 Queen, who had gained a great ascendency over her 
 feeble husband, was striving her utmost to detach him 
 from the league formed on all sides against Louis XIV. 
 Her task was a difficult one ; she had against her the 
 Queen-Mother, Mansfeld, the Prime Minister, and the 
 majority of the Council ; and Louis XIV did not doubt 
 that the Comtesse de Soissons, burning with resentment 
 as she must be against France and Its King, and on 
 intimate terms with the Ambassador of the Emperor 
 and the head of the Austrian party In the Council, 
 would do all In her power to persuade Marie Louise of 
 the hopelessness of her efforts on his behalf. The 
 Comte de Rebenac received instructions to keep the 
 closest watch upon the actions of the countess, and to 
 do everything possible to checkmate her influence, and 
 here is the picture which he gives of her life in Madrid — 
 a cruel contrast Indeed to the salon of the Hotel de 
 Soissons of other days : — 
 
 " The life of the Comtesse de Soissons consists In 
 receiving at her house all persons who desire to come 
 there from four o'clock in the evening up to two or 
 three hours after midnight. She keeps a table of from 
 ten to twelve covers, of which five or six are taken 
 possession of by as many professional gormandizers 
 [goinfres], who come there every evening without fail, 
 neither play nor talk, and do nothing but stuff them- 
 selves with food, there being no nation so sober as 
 the Spanish at home nor so gluttonous ; it Is a thing 
 one experiences every day In this country. The rest of 
 the company Is formed of a score of persons of no con- 
 sideration, who conduct themselves with so little respect 
 that they enter, their hair tied behind, their bucklers 
 on their arms, and wearing their long swords and 
 
384 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 poniards. There is, Sire, everything which can convey 
 an air of familiarity and contempt for the house of a 
 woman of quality. Moreover, no great nobleman 
 appears there, or very seldom. 
 
 " Your Majesty will have the goodness to pardon 
 these details. I only give them because I believe it to 
 be my duty to him to furnish an exact account of the 
 manner in which the Comtesse de Soissons lives here. . . . 
 It is, moreover, certain that the Comtesse de Soissons's 
 intelligence, if she wishes to use it, would enable her to 
 ascertain many things which one could not discover 
 oneself. I shall observe her very closely, and will do 
 my utmost to oppose the confidence which the Queen 
 of Spain might perhaps one day repose in her again."^ 
 
 To this letter the King replied : — 
 
 " I approve the resolution that you have arrived at 
 not to hold any communication with the Comtesse de 
 Soissons. It would certainly appear that the manner in 
 which she conducts herself will not give her much 
 influence in the place where you are, and that will do 
 more to compel her to withdraw than all that you can 
 do to send her away. Endeavour, notwithstanding, to 
 keep yourself always well informed of her intrigues, 
 
 1 Rebenac to Louis XIV, 7 October 1688. In the same despatch, 
 the Ambassador refers to Marie in these terms : " As for the Constabless, 
 she is here in a little convent, which she leaves whenever she feels disposed. 
 She does not meddle in any intrigues ; she has many influential friends, 
 and, although she has not quarrelled with her sister, the Comtesse de 
 Soissons, no one was so much rejoiced as was she at the order that had 
 been given the latter to withdraw." 
 
 In subsequent despatches, the Ambassador speaks frequently to the 
 King of a " person " devoted to the interests of France, whom he often 
 consults, but whose name he does not mention. And, in one dated 
 16 January 1689, he states that he has given a portrait of the King set 
 with diamonds " to the person for whom your Majesty intended it," and 
 that it has been received "with respect and gratitude." In the opinion of 
 Lucien Perey, there can be no question that this mysterious person was th* 
 Constabless Colonna. 
 
From a contemporary print 
 
 OLYMPE MANCINI, COMTESSE DE SOISSOXS 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 385 
 
 in order to give on this subject to the Queen the 
 counsel most conformable to her interests." ^ 
 
 The resentment which Marie Louise's refusal to 
 intercede for her with Carlos II had occasioned Madame 
 de Soissons did not last long, and, on 22 October, 
 Rebenac informs Louis XIV that the " Comtesse de 
 Soissons is reconciled to the Queen, and has expressed 
 her great regret for having unjustly accused her of 
 having had any share in the events which have recently 
 taken place." 
 
 Although Carlos II had allowed himself to be pre- 
 vailed upon to withdraw his order to Madame de 
 Soissons, he remained convinced that the countess was 
 a sorceress of a peculiarly dangerous type, and that the 
 non-arrival of the long-awaited heir to his throne was 
 due to a spell which she had cast over his consort and 
 himself. All his efforts were now directed to the 
 raising of this supposed charm, and after pilgrimages to 
 various shrines and other religious exercises recom- 
 mended in such cases had proved of no avail, he had 
 recourse to the services of a Dominican monk, who 
 professed to have the power of exorcising evil spirits. 
 *' The ceremony was horrible," writes Rebenac to 
 Louis XIV, after many apologies for shocking his 
 Majesty's modesty, ^^ car. Sire, le roy et la reyne devoicnt 
 estrc deshabilles tout nuds^ On its conclusion, it appeared 
 that the physicians of the Court were called in, and 
 the unfortunate Queen had to submit to a medical 
 examination, in the presence of the monk, " in order 
 to discover if the charm had been removed." The 
 Ambassador expresses the opinion that this affair had 
 been concerted by the Prime Minister, the Conde de 
 Oropesa, and the Austrian faction, with the object of 
 
 ^ Letter of 23 October 1688. 
 2 c 
 
386 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 persuading his Majesty that the Queen had been be- 
 witched previous to her marriage, and obtaining its 
 dissolution.^ 
 
 But alas ! a far worse fate than sterility was in store 
 for poor Marie Louise. For some time past, Carlos II 
 had received repeated warnings that it was intended to 
 poison the Queen, and, if Madame de la Fayette 
 is to be believed, Marie Louise herself was convinced 
 that such would be her fate, and had written to that 
 effect to Monsieur^ who sent her an antidote. The 
 antidote, however, arrived too late. On 9 February 
 the Queen was taken suddenly ill, and three days later, 
 in spite of all the efforts of her physicians, she expired. 
 
 Her death gave rise to the same terrible suspicions as 
 had that of her mother, the ill-fated Henrietta of 
 England, nineteen years before ; but whereas the 
 latter's end is now generally believed to have been 
 due to natural causes," Marie Louise's is capable of no 
 such explanation, and the belief that she was a victim of 
 her private or, more probably, her political enemies — 
 the latter had certainly strong reasons for desiring her 
 removal — is the opinion of nearly all the best-informed 
 of her contemporaries. Let us listen, however, to the 
 account of the affair sent by Rebenac to Louis XIV : 
 
 "The courier bears to your Majesty the most sad 
 and deplorable of all news. The Queen of Spain has 
 just expired, after three days of colic and continual 
 vomiting. God alone. Sire, knows the cause of so 
 tragical an event. Your Majesty will have been made 
 aware, by several of my letters, of the sad forebodings 
 I entertained in regard to it. 
 
 1 Despatch of 23 December 1688. 
 
 2 See on this question M. Funck-Brentano's admirable study in his 
 "Drames des Poisons." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 387 
 
 " I saw the Queen some hours before her death. 
 The King, her husband, had twice refused me this 
 favour ; she asked for me herself with so much insist- 
 ence that they permitted me to enter. I found. Sire, 
 that she had all the signs of death ; she recognised 
 them and was not affrighted. She was like a saint as 
 regards God, and like a hero as regards the world. 
 She commanded me to assure you that she was, in 
 dying, as she had been throughout her life, the most 
 faithful friend and servant that your Majesty could 
 have." 
 
 According to the Ambassador, the conduct of the 
 Queen's chief physician, Francini, was highly suspicious. 
 ** Since the death," he continues, " he has avoided me, 
 and I have not seen him till the third day, although I 
 had sent several times to seek him. I know further 
 that he told one of his friends that it was true that at 
 the autopsy, and during the progress of the malady, he 
 had remarked extraordinary symptoms ; but that he 
 would lose his life if he spoke of them. 
 
 ** The public is at present persuaded that she was 
 poisoned, and has no doubt about it ; but the malignity 
 of this people is such that many persons view it with 
 approbation, because they say the Queen had no children, 
 and they regard the crime as a coup cTEtat which has their 
 approval. 
 
 " I demanded to be present at the autopsy, or at least 
 that they would permit me to send physicians and sur- 
 geons to attend it ; but I was refused. . . . When I 
 saw that the Queen was in the last extremity, I left the 
 surgeons and other persons at the doors of her apart- 
 ment, in order that they might take advantage of the 
 confusion which ordinarily prevails on occasions of this 
 kind, to enter and see if there were any sign on the 
 
388 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 countenance of the Queen ; but every precaution was 
 taken to prevent any one from entering. . . . 
 
 " People coming from Portugal encountered a number 
 of couriers on the way before even the Queen was 
 believed to be in any danger ; this circumstance would 
 indicate communications between the Conde de Oropesa 
 and Portugal. 
 
 "At the commencement of the malady there was a 
 great effort made to circulate reports that the Queen 
 had sustained a fall from horseback and had ruptured 
 a vein in the body ; and that she had partaken of a 
 prodigious quantity of oysters, lemons, and iced milk ; 
 and a number of the same people were very busy in 
 circulating these rumours. However, I have made 
 inquiries and found them false. It is not true that she 
 sustained a fall from horseback, or that she partook of 
 anything unusual. And it is true. Sire, that she died 
 in a very horrible manner." 
 
 Rebenac goes on to inform the King that he strongly 
 suspects the Prime Minister, Oropesa, and Don Eman- 
 uel de Lira, another leader of the Austrian faction, as 
 the authors of the crime, and that the Queen-Mother 
 was privy to it. "The Duquesa d'Albuquerque, lady- 
 of-honour to the Queen," he writes, " has behaved in so 
 suspicious a manner and testified such joy, at the 
 moment even of the Queen's death, that I cannot but 
 regard her with horror ; and she is the devoted creature 
 of the Queen-Mother.^ 
 
 Louville, who succeeded Rebenac as French Ambas- 
 
 ^ If we are to believe Dangeau, the most reliable, if the dullest, of all 
 contemporary choniclers, Louis XIV seems to have been firmly convinced 
 that his niece had died from the effects of posion. "The King said at 
 supper : ' The Queen of Spain has been poisoned, in an eel-pie, and the 
 Comtesse de Pernitz and the maids-of-honour, Zapada and Nina, who 
 partook of it after her, are dead of the same poison.' " 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 389 
 
 sador at Madrid two months later, is of the same 
 opinion, as are the Princess Palatine, Monsieur s second 
 wife. Mademoiselle de Montpensier, and Madame de la 
 Fayette, one of the most intimate friends of the family. 
 But neither Rebenac nor any of the writers mentioned 
 say a single word to inculpate Madame de Soissons ; 
 and it was left to Saint-Simon, who went as Ambassador 
 to Madrid thirty years later, to attribute the supposed 
 crime to the countess, and here is, in brief, what he says : 
 "The Comte de Mansfeld was the Ambassador of 
 the Emperor at Madrid, and the Comtesse de Soissons 
 was on intimate terms with him from the moment of 
 her arrival. The Queen, who longed only for France, 
 had a great desire to see the Comtesse de Soissons. 
 The King of Spain, who had heard her talked about, and 
 who, for some time past, had been the recipient of 
 numberless warnings that it was intended to poison the 
 Queen, raised every conceivable objection before con- 
 senting to it. It appears that in the end the countess 
 came occasionally after dinner to the Queen's apartments, 
 by a secret staircase, and saw her only in the King's 
 presence. These visits redoubled, and always with 
 repugnance on the part of the King. He had asked of 
 the Queen, as a favour, never to taste anything that 
 he had not eaten or drunk first, because he was well 
 aware that it was intended to poison her. The weather 
 was hot ; milk is scarce in Madrid. The Queen ex- 
 pressed a desire for some, and the countess, who had 
 gradually usurped brief tete-h-tetes with her, boasted of 
 some that was excellent, which she promised to bring her 
 in a glass. It is asserted that it was prepared at the 
 Comte de Mansfeld's house. The Comtesse de Soissons 
 brought it to the Queen, who swallowed it at a draught, 
 and died shortly afterwards." 
 
390 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 Saint-Simon adds that the countess, for whose flight 
 preparations had been made, quitted the palace the 
 moment the Queen had drunk the milk, and succeeded 
 in effecting her escape from Spain. 
 
 Now, what reliance are we to place in this accusation 
 of Saint-Simon ? We are inclined to think little or 
 none. If any real suspicion had attached to the 
 countess, we should certainly find mention of it in 
 the despatches of Rebenac or in the memoirs of the 
 chroniclers we have spoken of : all persons in a position 
 to learn all that was to be learned about the tragedy. 
 Moreover, the fact is now well established that Saint- 
 Simon never hesitated to impute all kinds of crimes to 
 those whom he disliked on the flimsiest of evidence, 
 and not infrequently, we suspect, without evidence at 
 all, and that his memoirs teem with the grossest in- 
 accuracies. 
 
 And what had the countess to gain by such a crime ? 
 It may be argued that the death of the Queen would be 
 a severe blow to French interests at Madrid, and would 
 thus avenge her disgrace. That is true ; but it is by 
 no means certain that Olympe had abandoned all hope 
 of returning to France, and in the support of Marie 
 Louise lay her best, almost her only, chance of being 
 recalled. As for the supposition that she rendered this 
 service to Austria in order to further the interests 
 of her son Eugene, that merits scant consideration. 
 Eugene's reputation was already too firmly established 
 to stand in need of any such aid. 
 
 However that may be, one part of Saint-Simon's 
 narrative is entirely false. Madame de Soissons did 
 not, as he avers, fly from Spain before even the Queen's 
 death. She remained in Madrid until the following 
 May, when she received orders to depart within a week, 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 391 
 
 and went to Portugal, where she remained for a year. 
 That such an order implied a belief on the part of 
 Carlos II that the countess had been in some way con- 
 cerned in his wife's death is quite conceivable, though, 
 if such were the case, it is strange that no objection 
 should subsequently have been raised to her return to 
 Flanders ; but it is more likely to have proceeded from 
 his dread of her powers as a sorceress. 
 
 From Portugal Olympe seems to have gone to 
 Germany ; but, two years later, we find her again in 
 Brussels, where she resumed the life which she had 
 lived during her former residence in that city, visiting 
 and receiving all the most notable residents and dis- 
 tinguished foreigners, like the Elector of Bavaria, whose 
 intimacy with her is in itself a repudiation of Saint- 
 Simon's accusation. Of her later years, however, we 
 know very little. Saint-Simon declares that all the 
 French of distinction who visited the city were strictly 
 forbidden to visit her ; but, if such were the case, it is 
 somewhat singular to find the Marechal de Villeroi call- 
 ing upon her and presenting his son, and the sister 
 of Madame de Coulanges inviting her to supper.^ The 
 same veracious chronicler further declares that her 
 famous son Eugene only visited her on one occasion, 
 and that she died " in a species of opprobrium." But 
 let us listen to a Brussels journal of the time, Les 
 Relations virttables: — 
 
 "Brussels, lo July 1708. 
 
 " At noon of the same day (6 July), the Prince 
 Eugene de Savoie, accompanied by Major - General 
 Cadogan and travelling post, passed by this town on his 
 way to the camp of Assche, where he held a council of 
 
 ^ " Lettres de Madame de Coulanges." 
 
392 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 war with the Prince and the Duke of Marlborough ; 
 and the yth, about five o'clock in the evening, he came 
 to this town and alighted at the house of her Highness 
 the Comtesse de Soissons, his mother, where he received 
 the compliments of the Ministers and the nobles, and 
 left again the following morning for the army." 
 
 Three months later, the same journal announces the 
 death of the countess. 
 
 "Brussels, 7 October 1708. 
 
 "Tuesday morning, the 9th of this month, her 
 Highness the Comtesse-dowager de Soissons died in 
 this town, after an illness of some weeks : her good 
 qualities, her virtues, and especially her charity towards 
 the poor, render her worthy of praise and cause her to 
 be regretted by all the world." ^ 
 
 Of the seven nieces of Mazarin, Olympe was the 
 one who most nearly resembled him. She resembled 
 him in her ambition, in her ostentation, in her un- 
 scrupulousness, and in her love of intrigue ; but she 
 had none of his discretion, none of his foresight, and 
 she was vindictive, which the Cardinal certainly was 
 not. Hence she failed, and spent the last twenty-eight 
 years of her life in well-merited exile. 
 
 ^ Cited by Amedee Renee, " Les Nieces de Mazarin." 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 The Duchesse de Mazarin leaves Savoy and takes up her residence In 
 England— Her reception by Charles II — He makes her a pension, 
 and gives her apartments in St. James's Palace — His answer to 
 her husband's representations — Saint-Evremond's account of her life 
 in England — His devotion to her — His description of her charms — 
 She frequents the society of wits and men of letters— Fatal duel 
 between her nephew, the Chevalier de Soissons, and her lover, the 
 Baron de Banier — Her despair — She resolves to enter a convent in 
 Madrid, but is dissuaded by Saint- Evremond — Her passion for 
 bassette — Remonstrances of Saint-Evremond — Visit of the Duchesse 
 de Bouillon to England — The Revolution of 1688 occurs during her 
 visit — She is sent back to France in William of Orange's yacht — 
 Hortense's pension reduced by the new King — Her last years — She 
 dies at Chelsea in July 1 699 — Saint-Evremond's eulogy of her — -M. de 
 Mazarin's treatment of her remains — Her children— Visit of the 
 Duchesse de Bouillon to Rome — Her quarrel with the Duchess of 
 Hanover — Saint-Simon's opinion of her — Her sons. 
 
 TN recounting the adventures of her three sisters, we 
 have somewhat neglected Hortense, whom we last 
 saw, in February 1674, making a diplomatic pilgrimage 
 to the shrine of Saint-Francois de Sales, to avoid the 
 compromising visit of her sister Marie. After the 
 departure of the Constabless for Flanders, Charles 
 Emmanuel would appear to have sought consolation 
 for his loss in frequent visits to Chambery, which 
 aroused the jealousy and resentment of the Duchess of 
 Savoy, so complacent where the elder sister had been 
 concerned. The result was that soon after the Duke's 
 death, in the summer of 1675, Madame de Mazarin 
 
 393 
 
394 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 received an intimation from his widow that she must 
 look elsewhere for an asylum. Hortense, accordingly, 
 quitted Chambery, travelled through Switzerland, Ger- 
 many, and Holland " on horseback, and wearing a 
 plumed hat and a peruke," according to her former 
 ally the Marquis de Courcelles, and reached Amsterdam, 
 where she embarked for England. 
 
 It has been pretended that this journey had apolitical 
 end. Louise de Keroualles, Duchess of Portsmouth, 
 was at this time in possession of the lion's share of 
 Charles II's heart, and using all her influence to keep 
 that estimable monarch in the path marked out for him 
 by his paymaster at Versailles ; and the leaders of the 
 country-party are supposed to have invited the woman 
 whom rumour credited with being the most beautiful of 
 her time to England, in order to oppose her to the 
 reigning siren. It would, however, appear more prob- 
 able that the fact that the Duchess of York was her 
 cousin,^ and that she was, in consequence, sure of a 
 welcome at Whitehall, had been Hortense's principal 
 reason for choosing England. 
 
 However that may be, Charles II received the duchess 
 with open arms — in the literal as well as the figurative 
 sense of the expression — installed her at once as one of 
 his subordinate sultanas, and gave her a pension of 
 ^4000, while Waller hastened to chant her praises : 
 
 " When through the world fair Mazarine had run, 
 Bright as her fellow-traveller, the sun ; 
 Hither at length the Roman eagle flies, 
 As the last triumph of her conquering eyes." 
 
 Soon the star of Louise de Keroualles began to pale 
 before the " conquering eyes " of the beautiful exile, 
 
 1 Marie Beatrix d'Este, daughter of the Duke of Modena and Laure 
 Martinozzi. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 395 
 
 and the joy of her enemies, private and political, knew 
 no bounds, when, on a sudden, the capricious Hortense 
 dashed all their hopes by transferring her affections to 
 the Prince de Monaco, one of her friends of Savoy. 
 The King, in high dudgeon, stopped the pension and 
 treated the lady with marked coldness ; but his anger 
 did not last long, and, after a few weeks, he not only 
 restored the pension, but gave her apartments in St. 
 James's Palace. The Due de Mazarin, highly indignant 
 at his Majesty's generosity, and evidently under the 
 impression that the pension was in the form of a loan 
 for which he himself might be made responsible, 
 despatched an emissary to England to represent to the 
 King that his wife's receipts were valueless, to which 
 Charles replied, laughing, that it was a matter which 
 troubled him not at all, since he never took any,^ He 
 remained the duchess's friend, and perhaps an inter- 
 mittent lover, to the end of his life ; and John Evelyn 
 relates that he saw him " toying with her " at White- 
 hall, only a week before his death.^ 
 
 In her apartments at St. James's, Hortense led a very 
 agreeable existence, and " found herself surrounded by 
 all the noblest and most witty persons whom England 
 possessed." One of the habituds of this little Court, 
 Saint-Evremond, has left us the following picture of it : 
 
 1 *' CEuvres de Saint-Evremond," vol. V. 
 
 2 "Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn," vol. II, 210 : "I 
 can never forget the expressible luxury and profaneness, gaming, and all 
 dissoluteness, and, as it were, total forgetfulness of God, which this day 
 se'nnight I was witness of: the King sitting and toying with his concu- 
 bines, Portsmouth, Cleveland, Mazarin^ etc., a French boy singing love 
 songs, in that glorious gallery, while about twenty of the great courtiers 
 and other dissolute persons were at Basset, round a large table, a bank of 
 at least two hundred in gold before them ; upon which two gentlemen who 
 were with me made reflections with astonishment. Six days after, all was 
 in the dust." 
 
396 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 *' Freedom and discretion are equally to be found there. 
 Every one is made more at home than in his own house, 
 and treated with more respect than at Court. It is true 
 that there are frequent disputes there, but they are those 
 of knowledge, not of anger. There is play there, but 
 it is inconsiderable and only practised for the sake of 
 amusement. You discover in no countenance the fear 
 of losing, nor concern for what is lost. Play is followed 
 by the most excellent repasts in the world. There you 
 will find whatever delicacy is brought from France and 
 whatever is curious from the Indies. Even the com- 
 monest meals have the rarest relish imparted to them. 
 There is neither a plenty which gives a notion of ex- 
 travagance, nor a frugality that discovers penury or 
 meanness." 
 
 Saint-Evremond, banished from the Court of France, 
 had been living some fourteen years in England when 
 Madame de Mazarin came to reside there. His 
 admiration for the beautiful duchess was boundless,^ 
 though it would appear to have been of the platonic 
 order, such as Chateaubriand cherished for Madame 
 Recamier. He visited her every day, became her poet, 
 her advocate, and her secretary, and remained to the 
 end of her life her most devout worshipper. It is in 
 his writings that we must seek for details of Madame 
 de Mazarin's life in England ; but his devotion rendered 
 
 1 Saint-Evremond has left a description of the duchess's charms, 
 which sounds almost fabulous : 
 
 " She is one of those Roman beauties who in no way resemble your 
 dolls of France . . . the colour of her eyes has no name; it is neither 
 blue, nor grey, nor altogether black, but a combination of all the three ; 
 they have the sweetness of blue, the gaiety of grey, and, above all, the 
 fire of the black . . ■. there are none in the world so sweet . . . there 
 are none in the world so serious and so grave when her thoughts are 
 occupied with any serious subject . . . they are large, well-set, full of fire 
 and intelligence ... all the movements of her mouth are full of charm, 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 397 
 
 him so blind to her failings that it is as well to accept 
 some of his statements concerning her with considerable 
 reserve.^ 
 
 Among Hortense's other friends were Charles, Lord 
 Buckhurst, afterwards Earl of Dorset, poet, philan- 
 thropist, and wit, the most malicious of writers, and the 
 most kind-hearted of men, of whom Rochester cleverly 
 
 said * ' • 
 
 For pointed satire I would Buckhurst chuse, 
 
 The best good man with the worst natured muse. 
 
 Dr. Vossius, canon of Windsor ; the Protestant refugee, 
 Justel ; Saint-Real, whom she had first met in Savoy 
 and in collaboration with whom she wrote her memoirs, 
 and the poet Waller. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the duchess had begun to 
 form a decided taste for intellectual pleasures ; but this 
 did not prevent her from indulging in numerous gallan- 
 tries, one of which had a most tragic termination. Some 
 years after her arrival in England, she was visited by her 
 nephew, the Chevalier de Soissons, Olympe's youngest 
 son. The chevalier " breathed the contagious air of 
 the house," and conceived for his aunt, who, though 
 
 and the strangest grimaces become her wonderfully, when she imitates 
 those who make them. Her smiles would soften the hardest heart and 
 ease the most profound depression of mind ; they almost entirely change 
 her expression, which is naturally haughty, and spread over it a certain 
 tincture of sweetness and kindness, which reassures those hearts whom her 
 charms have alarmed. Her nose, which without doubt is incomparably 
 well-turned and perfectly proportioned, gives a noble and lofty air to her 
 whole physiognomy. The tone of her voice is so harmonious and agree- 
 able that none can hear her speak without being sensibly moved. Her 
 complexion is so delicately clear that I cannot believe that anyone who 
 examined it closely can deny it to be whiter than the driven snow. Her 
 hair is of a glossy black, with nothing harsh about it. To see how 
 naturally it curls as soon as it is let loose, one would say it rejoiced to 
 shade so lovely a head ; she has the finest turned countenance that a 
 painter ever imagined." 
 
 ^ As, for example, when he writes that " with the beauty of ancient 
 Greece, Madame de Mazarin combined the virtue of ancient Rome," 
 
398 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 approaching her fortieth year and already a grandmother, 
 was still almost as beautiful as ever, a most violent 
 passion. Hortense, however, repulsed him with horror, 
 her heart being fully occupied by a fascinating Swedish 
 nobleman, the Baron de Banier, son of the general of 
 that name who had distinguished himself under 
 Gustavus Adolphus. Transported with jealousy, the 
 Chevalier challenged the baron to a duel, and wounded 
 him so severely that he died a few days later. 
 
 This affair caused a terrible scandal, and M. de Sois- 
 sons was arrested and had to stand his trial for man- 
 slaughter.^ Poor Hortense was in despair ; she denied 
 herself to nearly all her friends, draped her rooms in 
 black, and spoke of withdrawing to Spain and join- 
 ing Marie in her convent. Saint-Evremond sought to 
 dissuade her. "When the ugly and the imbecile," 
 wrote he to her, " throw themselves into convents, it is 
 a divine inspiration which causes them to quit a world 
 where they only appear to disgrace the authors of their 
 being. On your part, Madame, it is a veritable tempta- 
 tion of the devil. 
 
 "... Perhaps you hope to find consolation in con- 
 versing with the Constabless ; but, if I am not mistaken, 
 that consolation will soon come to an end. After 
 having talked for three or four days about France and 
 Italy; after having spoken of the passion of the King 
 (i.e. Louis XlV's passion for Marie), and the timidity of 
 your uncle (Mazarin), of that which you intended to be 
 and that which you have become ; after having exhausted 
 the recollections of your stay in the Constabless's house, 
 of your departure from Rome, and of the ill success of 
 your journeys, you will find yourself shut up in a con- 
 
 1 " I could not have believed," wrote Madame de Sevigne, " that the 
 eyes of a grandmother could work such havoc." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 399 
 
 vent. There you will experience all the hardships of the 
 nuns, and will not find that Spouse which consoles them. 
 All spouses are odious to you, whether in a convent or 
 in the world. ..." 
 
 Hortense's desire for a conventual life did not last 
 long, and was replaced by a violent passion for play, and 
 in particular for the fascinating game of bassette. A 
 certain professional gamester named Morin, compelled 
 to fly from France, established himself in London, and 
 succeeded in insinuating himself into the duchess's 
 apartments at St. James's, where the game quickly became 
 the rage. Having no longer any thought in her pretty 
 head but bassette, Hortense neglected the pleasures of 
 the mind and the wits and men of letters who had 
 formerly found so warm a welcome there, to the great 
 sorrow of Saint-Evremond, who took upon himself to 
 remonstrate with her in the following verses : — 
 
 "Qui sert a ces messieurs leur illustre science? 
 A peine leur fait-on la simple reverence 
 Et les pauvres savants, interdits et confus, 
 Regardent Mazarin, qui ne les connait plus. 
 
 Hortense joue a la bassette, 
 Aussi longtemps que veut Morin, 
 Vous veillez jusqu'au lendemain ; 
 Plus de I'opera, plus de musique 
 De morale, de politique. . 
 
 Beaux yeux, quel est votre destin ! 
 Perirez-vous, beaux yeux, a regarder Morin ? " 
 
 In July 1687, the Duchesse de Bouillon came to 
 England on a visit to her sister. Marianne had fallen 
 into fresh disgrace with the King, for what cause is un- 
 certain, and Paris and the Court had been interdicted 
 her. The duchess had always been fond of play, but 
 she was fonder still of intellectual pleasures, and with 
 
400 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 her arrival Hortense's apartments at St. James's became 
 
 once more the rendezvous of wits and men of letters. 
 
 Madame de Bouillon's visit was made the occasion of 
 
 a kind of joust, between Marianne's favourite poet, La 
 
 Fontaine, and the old and witty cavalier of Madame de 
 
 Mazarin ; but each was magnanimous enough to chant 
 
 the praises of his rival's idol as well as those of his own ; 
 
 and it was now that La Fontaine wrote those charming 
 
 verses, the first lines of which we have already had 
 
 occasion to quote : 
 
 " Hortense eut du ciel en partage 
 La grace, la beaute, I'esprit, ce n'est pas tout : 
 Les qualites du coeur ; ce n'est pas tout encore : 
 Pour mille autres appas le monde entier I'adore 
 Depuis I'un jusqu'a I'autre bout. 
 L'Angleterre en ce point le dispute a la France, 
 Votre heroine rend nos deux peuples rivaux." 
 
 In praising the esprit of Hortense, La Fontaine was 
 not, as some may suppose, merely availing himself of 
 the licence enjoyed by poets of all ages of attributing 
 all manner of moral as well as physical perfections to 
 the ladies in whose honour they tuned their lyres. 
 The duchess, though in her youth frivolous and giddy, 
 was never an insipid beauty. She had all the quick 
 intelligence of her family, and, though her life with 
 M. de Mazarin was hardly calculated to develop her 
 faculties, the society she met at Rome, that of Saint- 
 Real in Savoy, and later the friends whom she drew 
 around her in London, all exercised a beneficial influence 
 upon her mind. Bayle, who, though he never himself 
 was under her spell, was well acquainted with several of 
 those who were, declared that " there were surprising 
 charms in her mind and manners, that she loved study, 
 and took pleasure in the conversation of learned men ;" ^ 
 
 1 Cited by Amedee Renee, " Les Nieces de Mazarin." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 401 
 
 The Revolution of 1688 surprised the two sisters in 
 England, and Madame de Bouillon found herself the 
 prisoner of William of Orange. It was at first believed 
 that he would not allow her to depart, but the austere 
 Dutchman treated her with the greatest courtesy, and 
 gave orders for her to be conveyed to France in his own 
 yacht. Hortense, as the relative of James II's queen, 
 naturally found herself regarded with suspicion by the 
 triumphant party, which demanded her expulsion. 
 However, her friends were sufficiently influential to 
 interest the new king in her favour, and not only to 
 obtain for her permission to remain in England, but 
 also a new pension ; for the one which she had received 
 from Charles II, and which had been continued by his 
 brother, had, of course, ceased with the fallen dynasty. 
 However, William III, being neither a lover nor a 
 relative by marriage, did not feel himself justified in 
 allowing the lady more than half the sum which she had 
 hitherto been receiving, and although Hortense suc- 
 ceeded in continuing to the end the appearance of a 
 princely existence, it was only by the aid of confiding 
 tradesmen. At length, however, some of her creditors 
 became so pressing that she was forced to appeal for 
 assistance to M. de Mazarin, who, while piously dis- 
 sipating her millions, left her unprovided for. The 
 duke declined to assist her, and advised her to become 
 bankrupt, a step which, said he, she might quite legiti- 
 mately take, since her creditors were all heretics. He, 
 however, magnanimously invited her to return to the 
 conjugal domicile where she had passed so many un- 
 happy days ; but Hortense invariably replied with the 
 old battle-cry of the Fronde : Point de Mazarin I Point 
 de Mazarin I 
 
 During the last years of her life, she seems to have 
 2 D 
 
402 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 become rather too much addicted to the pleasures of 
 the table, particularly in the matter of wine ; and the 
 rhyming epistles which Saint-Evremond addressed to 
 her contain certain counsels of temperance which are for 
 us distinctly unpleasing revelations. 
 
 " Beaute des models cherie, 
 Et de moi plus que ma vie ! 
 Moins d'eaux fortes, de vins blancs 
 Vous irez jusqu'a cent ans. 
 
 Mais que le ciel vous envoie 
 Double rate et double foie, 
 L'eau de Madame Huet 
 Vous les sechera tout net 
 Centre eau d'anis, eau d'absinthe 
 Quon bolt en tasse de pitite 
 Vos poumons ne tiendront pas 
 
 Et votre coeur doux et tendre, 
 Qu'ont fait les dieux pour se rend re 
 Au service des amants, 
 Perira par vos vins blancs." 
 
 These excesses no doubt hastened the duchesses end, 
 and it would indeed have needed a constitution of iron 
 to have long withstood " absinthe en tasse de pinte^'' and, 
 in the spring of 1699, she fell seriously ill. Hoping 
 that the air and repose of the country might afford her 
 relief, she removed to a house which she had at Chelsea 
 — then, of course, only a village — where she usually 
 spent the summer, but she grew rapidly worse, and we 
 hear of her as " living only on brandy."^ Her son, the 
 Due de la Meilleraye, and the Duchesse de Bouillon, 
 who had been summoned at the beginning of her illness, 
 arrived just before the end, which took place on 2 July 
 1699, at the age of fifty-three. 
 
 1 Letter of the Abbe Viguier to Monsieur d'Aubigny, cited by Amedee 
 Renee. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 403 
 
 The inconsolable Saint-Evremond wrote to a friend : 
 "She had been the most beautiful woman in the world, 
 and her beauty preserved its splendour up to the last 
 moment of her life. She had been the greatest heiress 
 in Europe, and magnificent, though poor, she had lived 
 more honourably than the most opulent could do. Elk 
 est mort serieusement, avec un indifference chretien pour la vie.'' 
 
 The best, we think, that can be said for poor Hor- 
 tense, is that she was the victim of circumstance. Married 
 very young to a half-lunatic husband, and surrounded by 
 all the temptations of a dissolute society, she would have 
 needed more than the average share of moral stamina to 
 have lived a life free from reproach, whereas she was by 
 nature frivolous and self-willed, greedy for pleasure, and 
 vain of admiration. She possessed, however, in a very 
 marked degree the art of endearing herself to those with 
 whom she came in contact, and in her friendships, as 
 distinguished from her love-affairs, she appears to have 
 been singularly faithful, which perhaps accounts for the 
 extremely lenient judgment passed upon her by Madame 
 de Sevignc and others of her contemporaries. 
 
 In deatn, Hortense fell into the hands of the husband 
 whose pursuit she had so successfully evaded during 
 life. **M. de Mazarin," wrote Saint-Simon, "so long 
 separated from her, caused her body to be brought back, 
 and marched it about with him from place to place. 
 On one occasion, he deposited it at Notre-Dame-de- 
 Liesse, where the worthy inhabitants prayed to it as 
 to a saint and touched it with their chaplets." 
 
 Madame de Mazarin had four children ; a son Paul 
 Jules, Due de Mazarin et de la Meilleraye (1687- 
 1731), and three daughters, Marie Charlotte (1662- 
 1729), married to the Marquis de Richelieu, who had 
 carried her off; Marie Anne (i 663-1 720), who took 
 
404 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 the veil and became Abbess of Lys, where her aunt 
 Marie had once been imprisoned, and Marie Olympe, 
 born in 1665, who married the Marquis de Belle- 
 fonds. 
 
 Paul Jules had a son, Gui Paul Jules, Due de 
 Mazarin et de la Meilleraye, on whose death, in 1738, 
 the male branch of the family became extinct, and a 
 daughter, Armande Felicite, who married Louis de 
 Mailly, Marquis de Nesle, and became the mother of 
 the four celebrated sisters, the Comtesse de Mailly, the 
 Comtesse de Vintimille, the Duchesse de Lauraguais, and 
 the Marquise de la Tournelle (better known under the 
 title of Duchesse de Chateauroux), who were succes- 
 sively the favourites of Louis XV. 
 
 After her departure from England, Madame de 
 Bouillon, to whom Paris and the Court were still for- 
 bidden ground, took up her residence at the beautiful 
 Chateau de Navarre, two leagues from Evreux, which 
 her husband had constructed on the site of an old 
 pleasure-house of Queen Jeanne of Navarre.^ She 
 did not, however, remain there long, as having had for 
 some time a great desire to visit Italy, she set out from 
 Rome to join her brother, the Due de Nevers. Here, 
 they appear to have led a very festive kind of exist- 
 ence, keeping open house and giving the most 
 sumptuous entertainments. One of their favourite 
 diversions was to parade the streets of the city, on 
 moonlight nights, " in an open chariot, having with 
 them the Signora Faustina, one of the most beautiful 
 voices in Rome, and the instruments necessary to ac- 
 company her." On one occasion, they made her sing 
 
 ^ It was to this chateau, which had been presented to her by 
 Napoleon, that the Empress Josephine retired after her divorce in 18 10 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 405 
 
 under the windows of the Spanish Ambassador, " who 
 the moment Faustina had ceased, did not fail to respond 
 from a balcony by the Signora Georgina, his mistress, 
 whom he had carried off from the Duke of Mantua, 
 who, having a voice not less beautiful than that of 
 Faustina, had also partisans." This kind of competi- 
 tion, the chronicler adds, continued for several nights 
 and attracted a numerous company, " who formed them- 
 selves into two rival factions, and raised shouts of * Viva 
 Francia ! Viva Esparto ! ' which could be heard in the 
 most remote quarters of the city."^ 
 
 The latter part of Madame de Bouillon's life was un- 
 eventful, the only incident out of the common which is 
 recorded of her being a violent dispute with the Duchess 
 of Hanover over a question of precedence. The sequel 
 to the quarrel was that, a few days later, when the 
 German princess was on her way to the play, she was 
 met by Madame de Bouillon and several of her relatives, 
 at the head of a small army of retainers, who fell upon 
 the unfortunate foreigners and, having put them to 
 flight, cut the traces of the horses and nearly demolished 
 the coach. 
 
 She died in 17 14, preserving, according to Saint- 
 Simon, her beauty and charm to the last. " She was 
 the Queen of Paris and of all places to which she was 
 exiled ; husband, children, the whole Bouillon family, 
 the Prince de Conti, the Due de Bourbon, who did not 
 budge, while at Paris, from her house, all were more 
 lowly than the grass before her. She only very rarely 
 visited any one . . . and preserved an air of superiority 
 over every one, which she knew how to apportion and to 
 season with much skill according to the rank of those 
 with whom she came in contact. Her house was open 
 
 ^ " Memoires de Coulanges." 
 
4o6 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 from the morning . . . morning and evening she kept 
 a splendid table ; high play went on there, and of all 
 kinds at the same time. Never did woman occupy her- 
 self less with her toilette ; never had beautiful and 
 singular features like hers less need of the resources of 
 art. She was intelligent, spoke well, argued freely, and 
 always went to the heart of anything. Intelligence and 
 beauty sustained her, and the world accustomed itself to 
 be governed by her." ^ 
 
 Madame de Bouillon had four sons, who all embraced 
 the profession of arms, and the eldest, the Prince de 
 Turenne, would have been celebrated, had not the 
 memory of his achievements been unfortunately merged 
 in that of the illustrious captain whose name he bore. 
 In 1679, he accompanied the Prince de Conti and 
 Eugene de Savoie to Hungary, and distinguished him- 
 self at the battles of Grau and Neuhausel. Whether he 
 was actually the author of the compromising letter we 
 have spoken of elsewhere is uncertain ; but, any way, he 
 had no sooner returned to France than he received a 
 lettre de cachet ordering him to repass the frontier. He 
 went to Venice and took service, as a volunteer, under 
 the Republic, then disputing with the Turks possession 
 of the Morea and Greece. His military talents, and 
 still more his reckless courage, so delighted the Venetians 
 that, on his return, the Republic presented him with a 
 sword encrusted with diamonds, charged their Am- 
 bassador in Paris to compliment his family, and offered 
 him the rank of lieutenant-general. But the young 
 prince, unlike his cousin Eugene, had no wish to re- 
 nounce his country and preferred to remain a volunteer. 
 Soon afterwards, he was permitted to return to France, 
 but did not long survive his recall. 
 
 1 " Memoircs de Saint-Simon." 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 407 
 
 The duchess's second son, the Due d'Albret, was 
 Grand Chamberlain to the King and Governor of 
 Auvergne ; a third was a Knight of Malta ; the youngest, 
 a colonel-general of light cavalry, married the daughter 
 of a wealthy financier, who was called by Madame de 
 Bouillon, " her little ingot of gold." The family 
 became extinct on the death of Godefroy Charles Henri 
 de la Tour d'Auvergne, in 1791. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Death of the Constable Colonna — On his death-bed and in his will he 
 asks pardon of" his wife and recommends her to the care of their sons — 
 Visit of Don Carlo Colonna to Madrid — Meeting between Marie and 
 the Due de Nevers at Toulouse — The Constabless goes to Rome, but 
 decides to return to Spain — On her way from Genoa to Marseilles, 
 she is captured by a corsair — But is released by the Governor of 
 Finale — Consideration which she enjoys at Madrid — Her intimacy 
 with the new Queen, Maria Anna of Neuburg — She follows her to 
 Toledo, on her banishmeut thither in January 1 702 — Her interview 
 with Philip V — She leaves Spain and visits various towns in the south 
 of France — Receives permission to come to Paris, and goes to live at 
 Passy — She declines Louis XIV's invitation to Court — Departure for 
 Rome — Her last years — She dies at Pisa, in May 1 7 1 5 — Her epitaph. 
 
 "JV/TARIE survived all her sisters, though, like theirs, 
 her later years were comparatively uneventful. 
 On 15 April 1689, the Constable Colonna died at 
 Rome. Since 1684, when he had had a serious illness, 
 he had lived for the most part in retirement, and latterly 
 had become very devout. Five priests assisted him in 
 his last hours, and afterwards drew up and signed a 
 Relatione of his repentance, evidently intended to cause 
 people to forget the decidedly unedifying life which the 
 prince had lived. On his death-bed, he expressed the 
 tenderest sentiments towards his wife, and his regret 
 for the harshness with which he had treated her, and 
 summoning his eldest son, the Principe di Palliano, re- 
 commended to his care and that of his brothers their 
 " excellent mother." ^ In a codicil to his will, he 
 " demanded pardon of his wife, and, for fear that appear- 
 
 ^ Lucien Percy, " Marie Mancini Colonna." 
 
 400 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 409 
 
 ances might leave to his children some resentment 
 against their mother, he took the blame upon himself, 
 and did not inspire them with anything for her, save 
 respect, gratitude, and esteem." ^ 
 
 Marie received the news of her husband's death with 
 the most profound grief Always generous, she forgot 
 her wrongs and reproached herself bitterly with having 
 doubted his good faith when, three years before, he had 
 begged her, for the last time, to return to him. She 
 shut herself up in her house and refused to receive any 
 one, save her sister-in-law, the Marquesa de los Balbases, 
 until her youngest and favourite son, Don Carlo 
 Colonna, who had taken Orders, arrived in Madrid, to 
 acquaint her with particulars of his father's death and to 
 bring her the Constable's betrothal ring, which he had 
 bequeathed to her. 
 
 Don Carlo endeavoured to persuade his mother to 
 return with him to Rome and make her home there ; 
 and he and his brothers, shortly afterwards, gave her a 
 pension of 12,000 crowns, besides offering to place 
 apartments in the Casa Colonna and in whichever of the 
 numerous country-seats of the family she might prefer 
 at her disposal. However, she elected to remain for 
 the present in Madrid, and it was not until the end of 
 the year 1691 that she set out for Rome. She travelled 
 by way of Bayonne and Toulouse, Louis XIV having 
 granted her a passport, notwithstanding the fact that 
 France and Spain had been at war since the summer of 
 1689 ; and at the latter town was met by her brother 
 the Due de Nevers, whom she had not seen for eighteen 
 years. The object of their meeting seems to have been 
 to discuss the project of a marriage between Don Marco 
 Colonna, Marie's second son, and the duke's eldest 
 
 1 '> Euvres de Saint- Evremond." 
 
4IO FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 daughter/ who was then about fifteen years of age ; but 
 the Duchesse de Nevers and her relatives the Morte- 
 marts were opposed to the young girl leaving France, and 
 nothing came of their pourparlers. The Constabless then 
 continued her journey to Rome, where, however, she only 
 remained until May 1692, when she decided to return 
 to Madrid. Nor is this decision a matter of surprise. 
 Her long residence in the Spanish capital had accustomed 
 her to the ways of the country, and enabled her to speak 
 the language fluently, while she had many influential 
 friends and was in high favour at Court. On the other 
 hand, she had always entertained a strong distaste for 
 the customs of her native land, and found that during 
 her absence of nearly twenty years Roman society 
 seemed to have forgotten her, and that there was little 
 chance of her being able to resume the role which she 
 had once played in it. 
 
 On her return journey, she passed some months at 
 Genoa, and then embarked on a little felucca bound for 
 Marseilles. This proved an unfortunate step, as she 
 had not been many hours at sea when the felucca was 
 attacked and captured by a corsair of Finale, which 
 carried off both the vessel and its distinguished pas- 
 senger into that port. The governor of the city, how- 
 ever, having learned of the Constabless's plight, sent 
 soldiers to liberate her and to arrest the captain of the 
 corsair, whom he threw into prison. Matters would no 
 
 1 The Due de Nevers, who died in May 1 707, had four sons and two 
 daughters : I. Eloi, who died young ; 2. Gabriel, Due de Donzi, died in 
 1683; 3 . Philippe Jules F rangois, Prince de Vergagne, Due de Nevers, who 
 attained the age of ninety-three, and was the father of the amiable and 
 accomplished Due de Nivernais, whom Lord Chesterfield holds up to his 
 son as a model for him to form himself upon ; 4. Jacques Hippolyte, Marquis 
 de Mancini, who inherited his father's property in Italy ; 5. Diane Gabrielle 
 Victoire, who married the Prince de Chimay ; 6. Adelaide Philippe, who 
 became the wife of Louis Antoine, Due d'Estrees. 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 411 
 
 doubt have gone hardly with the audacious pirate, had 
 not Marie, probably thinking, as one of her biographers 
 suggests, that the poor man had been sufficiently 
 punished by being compelled to surrender so beautiful 
 a prize as herself, obtained his pardon from the governor, 
 after which she resumed her interrupted voyage and 
 reached Marseilles without further adventures.^ 
 
 On her -return to Madrid, Marie seems to have 
 occupied a very enviable position, her house being the 
 rendezvous of the foreign Ambassadors and all the most 
 notable persons of the Court ; while, notwithstanding 
 her pronounced French sympathies, she was on terms of 
 the closest intimacy with the new Queen, Maria Anna of 
 Neuburg. When, on the death of Carlos II, Louis 
 XIV's grandson, the Due d'Anjou, became King of Spain, 
 under the title of Philip V, Maria Anna was exiled to 
 Toledo (January 1702). The Constabless, however, 
 remained faithful to her royal friend, accompanied her in 
 her exile, and did everything possible to bring about a 
 reconciliation between her and the new king. Chiefly, it 
 would appear, through her efforts, Philip made a journey 
 to Toledo and had an interview with the Queen- 
 Dowager. The Constabless was present on this occa- 
 sion, and was very graciously received by his Majesty, 
 who conversed with her for some time ; while she, on 
 her part, was no doubt charmea by the strong re- 
 semblance which he bore to his grandfather. However, 
 the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession 
 precluded any hope of Maria Anna being allowed to 
 return to Madrid, and, in the autumn of that year, the 
 Constabless received a friendly hint from the Marquis de 
 Louville, the French Ambassador at Madrid, that, by 
 her advocacy of the Queen-Dowager's cause, she had 
 
 ^ Lucien Percy, " Marie Mancini Colunna." 
 
412 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 somewhat compromised herself with the new Court, and 
 that it would be advisable for her to retire to Barcelona. 
 
 At the end of January 1703, the Constabless, finding 
 that Madrid was likely to remain prohibited ground to 
 her for some time to come, decided to visit France, to 
 which Louis XIV had accorded her permission to return 
 whenever she pleased. After spending some time at 
 Lyons, a town endeared to her by the souvenirs of the 
 happy past, she passed on to Avignon, where we hear 
 of her driving about " in a coach and six accompanied 
 by two equerries." While at Avignon, she narrowly 
 escaped being made the victim of an impudent impostor, 
 a young man named Morandi, who pretended to be a con- 
 nection of the Mazarin family, and whose fraud was only 
 discovered on the eve of his receiving a considerable sum 
 of money from the Constabless and other members of 
 the family, whom she had asked to assist him. 
 
 This incident seems to have disgusted Marie with 
 Avignon, which she shortly afterwards quitted, and after 
 spending some time at Marseilles and other towns in 
 the south of France, she determined to visit Paris. 
 Nothing had been said about Paris in the permission 
 which she had received to enter France ; but, when she 
 wrote to the Minister Barbezieux, leave was imme- 
 diately accorded her. She arrived at the beginning of 
 September 1703, but did not reside in the city itself, 
 preferring to take up her quarters in a house at Passy, 
 which belonged to the Due de Nevers. She was accom- 
 panied by two waiting-women, two equerries, and about 
 a dozen men-servants. 
 
 Saint-Simon, with his customary inaccuracy where 
 the Mancini are concerned, states that Marie only re- 
 ceived permission to reside at Passy, "on condition that 
 she should not set foot in Paris, much less in the 
 
FIVE FAIR SISTERS 413 
 
 Court." But, as a matter of fact, Louis XIV sent the 
 Due d'Harcourt to pay her " a thousand compliments," 
 and to invite her to Versailles. The invitation, how- 
 ever, was courteously declined, for what reason is un- 
 certain, though, as the Marquise d'Huxelles, who saw 
 her at this time, states that she was ^^ fort detruite de sa 
 personnel'' it is not improbable that feminine pride ren- 
 dered her reluctant to reveal to the lover of her youth 
 the ravages which time had wrought. She, however, 
 visited Paris, which had been Improved out of all know- 
 ledge since she had last seen it in 1 661, and wrote to her 
 son Don Carlo that the changes seemed to her incredible.^ 
 
 The Constabless remained at Passy until the middle 
 of October, when she left for the South, and, after 
 spending some weeks at Lyons and Nevers, at the 
 beginning of January 1704, quitted France, for the 
 last time, and returned to Rome. 
 
 Until recently, nothing was known of Marie's last 
 years, and even the place and date of her death were 
 matters of conjecture. Thanks, however, to the in- 
 defatigable researches of Lucien Percy, it now appears 
 that they were passed entirely in Italy, where she 
 divided her time between Rome, Florence, and Venice, 
 and devoted herself with much solicitude to all that 
 concerned the welfare of the Colonna family. Of 
 her three sons, Fllippo succeeded his father as Grand 
 Constable of Naples ; Don Carlo, a great favourite at 
 the Vatican, was made a cardinal In May 1706 ; while 
 Marco Antonio married Diana Paleotto di Bologna, a 
 daughter of Lorenzo Colonna's former mistress. 
 
 The death of the Constabless's sister Marianne, fol- 
 lowed closely by that of her eldest son, the Constable, 
 who died in her arms in November 17 14, affected 
 
 ^ Lucien Perey, "Marie Manciui Colonna." 
 
414 FIVE FAIR SISTERS 
 
 her deeply, and she became convinced that her own 
 end was at hand. Though she had had little religion 
 in her youth, in her old age she had become very 
 devout, and, in May 17 15, went to Pisa to consult 
 a certain Spanish monk Padre Ascanio Salvatore, whom 
 she had taken for her confessor during her visits to 
 that city, about certain changes in her will, which the 
 death of her eldest son had rendered necessary. One 
 day, while visiting him, at the Priory of the Holy 
 Sepulchre, she was seized with an attack of apoplexy, 
 and died early on the following morning, without re- 
 covering consciousness, on the humble pallet of her 
 confessor, to which she had been carried. 
 
 In her will, the Constabless had left directions that 
 she was to be buried in the place where she died, and 
 she was accordingly interred in the Church of the Holy 
 Sepulchre at Pisa, where the simple inscription 
 
 "MARIE MANCINI COLONNA 
 
 ASHES AND DUST." 
 
 marks the spot where she lies. 
 
 " Marie Mancini," says Saint-Simon, " was the best 
 of the Mancini and the most foolish " ; and with this 
 dictum few who have read these pages will be inclined 
 to disagree. She had many noble qualities ; she was 
 high-minded, generous, sincere, and affectionate ; but she 
 was headstrong and impetuous, and subordinated every- 
 thing to her desires and her passions, though how far the 
 escapades of her middle life were due to her natural im- 
 pulses and how far to the effects of the illness from which 
 she had suffered at Loretto in 1661 is difficult to say. 
 However that may be, there can be no question that her 
 influence over Louis XIV was, as we have said elsewhere, 
 in its early phases at least, a most salutary one, and that 
 is perhaps her best claim to be remembered. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Aiguillon, Duchesse d', 49 
 
 Alen9on, Mile, d', 199 
 
 Alluye, Madame d', lOi, 141, 371 and 
 note, 372, 374, 375 
 
 Altieri, Cardinal, 303, 307, 308, 309, 
 310, 320, 342 
 
 Angelelli, Marchese de, 221, 235, 237 
 
 Anjou, Philippe, Due d'. See Orleans, 
 Philippe, Due d' 
 
 Anne of Austria, Queen of France, her 
 reception of Mazarin's nieces, 4-6 ; 
 her relations with Mazarin con- 
 sidered, 6-14; rebuffs the Marquis 
 de Jarze, 18, 19 ; lilielled by the 
 Frondeurs, 21 note ; her corre- 
 spondence with Mazarin during his 
 exile at Briihl, 25-28 ; her tender 
 letter to him, 33 ; accompanies 
 Louis XIV to Lyons, 85-95 ! alarmed 
 at Louis XIV's passion for Marie 
 Mancini, 101-103 ; endeavours to 
 dissuade the King from marrying 
 Marie, III, 112; her touching in- 
 terview with her son, 116, 117; 
 accused by him of embittering the 
 Cardinal against his niece, 127 ; 
 Mazarin's letter to her from Cadillac, 
 129, 130; and from Saint-Jean-de- 
 Luz, 1 39-141 ; her interview with 
 Marie Mancini and her sisters at 
 Saint-Jean-d'Angely, 143-145 ; Ma- 
 zarin's diplomatic letter to her, 15S, 
 159 ; her aversion to Marie Mancini, 
 180, 181 ; her interview with Philip 
 IV of Spain, 197, 198 ; Mazarin's 
 treatment of her during his last 
 illness, 223, 224 ; opposed to Marie 
 Mancini remaining in P'rance, 234 ; 
 also mentioned, 63, 65, 68, 104, 107, 
 109, no, 113, 118, 128, 130, 141, 
 142, 146, 159, 187, 199, 204, 210, 
 217, 235 
 
 Astorga, Marques d' (Viceroy of 
 
 Naples), 287 note, 298 
 Aulnoy, Madame d' (cited), 350-352, 
 
 359. 360 
 
 B 
 
 Banier, Baron de (lover of Madame 
 
 de Mazarin), 39S 
 Barberini, Cardinal, 16 
 Barine, Arvede (cited), 72, 112, 201 
 Bartet (confidential agent of Mazarin), 
 
 I75> 176, 179, 226 
 Beaufort, Due de, 4 note, 18, 22, 24 
 Beauvais, Madame de, 19, 66, 216, 217 
 Beauvau, Marquis de (cited), 206, 207 
 Belbeuf, Jacques (lover of Madame de 
 
 Mazarin), 283, 284 
 Benedetti, Abbe (cited), 236, 237 
 Benedetti, Elphideo, 12 
 Blouin {valet de chambre to Louis 
 
 XIV), 129, 177 
 Bologna, Don Maurizio, 328, 329 
 Borgomainero, Marchese di, 331 and 
 
 note, 336, 337 
 Bouillon, Due de (husband of Mari- 
 anne Mancini), 253, 254, 255, 258, 
 363. 364, 367-370, 405 
 Bouillon, Duchesse de (Marianne 
 Mancini), brought to France, 52 ; 
 Mazarin's practical joke at her ex- 
 pense, 53 ; sent with her sisters, 
 Marie and Hortense, to La Rochelle, 
 118 ; accompanies them to meet the 
 Court at Saint-Jean-d'Angely, 142- 
 145 ; her letters to the Cardinal, 
 140 note, 148, 174, 189; Mazarin's 
 bequest to her, 232 ; married to the 
 Due de Bouillon, 253, 254 ; her 
 patronage of La Fontaine, 255-258 ; 
 her intrigues against Racine's 
 " Phedre," 259, 260 ; sent to a con- 
 vent, 364 ; compromised in the 
 Poison Trials, 367, 368 ; her trial 
 
 415 
 
4i6 
 
 INDEX 
 
 before the Chambre Ardente, 369, 
 370 ; exiled to Nerac, 370 ; visits 
 the Duchesse de Mazarin in England, 
 399, 400 ; returns to France, 401 ; 
 visits her brother in Rome, 404, 405 ; 
 her quarrel with the Duchess of 
 Hanover, 405 ; her death, 405 ; 
 Saint-Simon's eulogy of her, 405, 
 406 ; her children, 406, 407 ; also 
 mentioned, 260, 267, 271, 302, 315 
 Brienne, Madame de, 8, 9 
 Brinvilliers, Marquise de, 365 
 
 Candale, Due de, 16, 17 and note, 40 
 Capitor (jester of Don Juan of Austria), 
 
 103 
 Carignan, Princesse de, 29, 60, 61, 62 
 Carignan, Prince Thomas de, 32, 60 
 Chantelauze, M. (cited), lio, 201, 329, 
 
 346 note 
 Charles II of England, 225-227, 329, 
 
 345. 346, 394, 395 and note, 401 
 Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, 178, 
 
 205-209, 216, 272 
 Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy, 
 
 84 and note, 88 and note, 91, 92 and 
 
 note, 93, 225, 322, 323, 324-336, 
 
 340, 341 
 Charles of Lorraine, Prince, 178, 183, 
 
 190, 191, 200-202, 205, 2q6, 209, 
 
 210, 212, 216, 233, 234 
 Cheruel, M. (cited), 11, 12, no 
 Chigi, Cardinal, 286 
 Chigi, Don Augustin (lover of Madame 
 
 de Mazarin), 284 
 Choisy, Abbe de, 200; (cited), 158 note, 
 
 376 note 
 Christina, Queen of Sweden, 63, 71 
 Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy, 
 
 83, 84, 88-95 
 Clement X, Pope, 303, 307, 309, 310, 
 
 326 
 Colbert, 77, 121, 125, 129, 157, 162, 
 
 177 note, 205, 21S, 224, 231, 26S, 
 
 318, 319, 347, 348, 355, 359, 360, 
 
 373. 381, 382 
 Colbert de Terron (Governor of La 
 
 Rochelle), 121, 165, 177 
 Colbert, Madame, 187 
 Colonna, Carlo, 277, 409, 410, 413 
 Colonna, Lorenzo Onofrio, Constable 
 
 (husband of Marie Mancini), 178, 
 
 182, 183, 216, 223, 234, 235, 236, 
 
 237-242, 274-280, 282, 284, 296- 
 
 297, 298, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, 
 
 310, 321, 322, 323, 326, 328, 331, 
 
 332, 33S> 336, 337, 338, 341, 342, 
 
 343, 348-350. 352, 353, 354, 357, 
 353, 359. 40S, 409 
 Colonna, Constabless (Marie Mancini), 
 her childhood, 35-37 ; brought to 
 France, 37, 38 ; sent to the Couvent 
 de la Visitation, 44 ; her remark- 
 able intelligence, 45 ; her letters to 
 Mazarin, 46-48 ; her hand refused 
 by the Marquis de la Meilleraye, 49, 
 50 ; harshly treated by her mother, 
 53, 54 ; becomes one of the most 
 cultured women of her time, 55, 56 ; 
 beginning of her friendship with 
 Louis XIV, 56 ; her personal appear- 
 ance, 69 ; her increasing intimacy 
 with the King, 69, 70; her bene- 
 ficial influence over his mind, 70-71 ; 
 her grief during his illness at Calais, 
 78 ; Louis XIV's attentions to her at 
 Fontainebleau, 79-81 ; accompanies 
 the Court to Lyons, 85-88 ; dis- 
 suades the King from marrying 
 Princess Margherita of Savoy, 91 
 and note ; resolved to become Queen 
 of France, 96, 98 ; constantly in the 
 King's company, 96, 97 ; growing 
 passion of Louis XIV for her, 100- 
 104 ; secures the dismissal of Don 
 Juan of Austria's jester, 104 ; her 
 influence over the King alarms 
 Mazarin and Anne of Austria, 107- 
 109 ; Louis XIV determined to 
 marry her, 109 ; ordered to leave 
 the Court, 112; her interview with 
 the King, 114; presented by him 
 with the pearls of Queen Henrietta 
 Maria, 115, 116; her departure for 
 La Rochelle, 117, 118; falls ill at 
 Notre- Dame -de-Clery, 119, 120; 
 receives "very long and very tender 
 letters" from the King, 120, 121; 
 arrives at La Rochelle, 124 ; her in- 
 terview with Louis XIV at Saint- 
 Jean-d'Angely, 142-145 ; pretends 
 to submit to the Cardinal's wishes, 
 146, 147 ; breaks off' her corre- 
 spondence with Louis XIV, 162- 
 i66 ; declines to reply to the King's 
 letters, 168-171 ; writes to Mazarin, 
 171, 172; goes to Brouage, 172, 
 173 ; in despair at the resumption of 
 the King's relations with the Com- 
 tesse de Soissons, 180-182 ; refuses 
 the hand of the Constable Colonna, 
 182, 183 ; returns to Paris, 184-1S7 ; 
 receives a letter from the King, 187, 
 188 ; attentions paid to her by Prince 
 Charles of Lorraine, 190, 191 ; 
 anxious to marry the prince, 200- 
 
INDEX 
 
 417 
 
 203 ; Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, 
 proposes for her hand, 205-209 ; 
 her icy reception by Louis XIV at 
 Fontainebleau, 211-215 ; pressed by 
 Mazarin to marry the Constable 
 Colonna, 216 ; witnesses the entry 
 of Maria Theresa into Paris, 217- 
 222 ; promises to marry the Con- 
 stable Colonna, 223 ; her remark on 
 learning of Mazarin's death, 230 ; her 
 painful interview with Louis XIV, 
 233, 234 ; refuses to break with the 
 Constable Colonna, 234 ; her mar- 
 riage, by procuration, with the Con- 
 stable, 235 ; her journey to Italy, 
 235-237 ; her meeting with her 
 husband, 238 ; her dangerous illness 
 at Loretto, 240, 241 ; arrives in 
 Rome, 241, 242; her early married 
 life, 274-277 ; separation di letto 
 between her and her husband, 277- 
 279 ; goes to Milan to meet her 
 sister Hortense, 280 ; assists Hor- 
 tense to escape from the Convent of 
 Campo-Marzo, 282 ; estrangement 
 between her and the Constable, 2S6, 
 287 ; believes that her husband in- 
 tends to poison her, 288-290 ; 
 promised an asylum in France by 
 Louis XIV, 290, 291 ; her flight to 
 France, 293-301 ; sends a message 
 to Louis XIV, 304 ; forbidden by 
 the Queen to come to Paris, 305 ; 
 her interview with her brother at 
 Grenoble, 306 ; her journey to Fon- 
 tainebleau, 312, 313 ; enters the 
 Abbey of Lys, 314, 315 ; her im- 
 prudent letter to Colbert, 318; sent 
 to the Abbey of Avenay, 324 ; goes 
 to Turin, 324 ; her life there, 324- 
 333 ; her relations with Charles 
 Emmanuel II considered, 334 ; 
 quarrels with the Duke, 334, 335 ; 
 refused an asylum in France, 335 ; 
 sets out for Flanders, 336-338 ; im- 
 prisoned at Antwerp, 339, 340 ; goes 
 to Madrid, 341, 342 ; enters a con- 
 vent, 343 ; escapes, but is brought 
 back, 344 ; writes to Charles II of 
 England, 345 ; publication of her 
 apocryphal and her genuine memoirs, 
 346 ; second attempt at escape, 347, 
 348 ; visited by her husband, 348, 
 349 ; takes refuge at the French 
 Embassy, 353, 354 ; goes to reside 
 in her husband's palace, 355 ; im- 
 prisoned in the Alcazar of Segovia, 
 356, 357 ; promises to become a nun 
 and enters the Convent of the Con- 
 
 2 £ 
 
 ception, 357, 358 ; refuses to carry 
 out her promise, 359, 360 ; set at 
 liberty, 360, 361 ; coldness between 
 her and the Comtesse de Soissons, 
 381 ; her grief on learning of her 
 husband's death, 409 ; visits Rome, 
 410; returns to Madrid, 411; ac- 
 companies Maria Anne of Neuburg 
 to Toledo, 411 ; visits France, 412; 
 declines Louis XIV's invitation to 
 Court, 413 ; her last years and death, 
 
 413, 414 
 Colonna, Ferdinando, 341, 342, 343, 
 
 345> 348, 356 
 Colonna, Filippo, 276, 277, 354, 355, 
 
 413, 414 
 Colonna, Marco Antonio, 277, 343, 
 
 413 
 
 Conde, Prince de, 19, 20, 23, 30, 32, 
 
 145, 377 note 
 Conti, Prince de, 20, 38-42, 197 
 Conti, Princesse de (Anne Marie Mar- 
 
 tinozzi), 3-6, 3S-42, 143, 197 
 Cosnac, Daniel de (cited), 17, 58, 59 
 Couberville, "Chevalier" de (lover of 
 
 Madame de Mazarin), 272, 280-283 
 Coulanges, Marquise de, 391 
 Courtenay, Prince de, 227 
 Crequi, Due de, 197,314, 315 and note, 
 
 317 
 Crequi, Duchesse de, 187 
 
 D 
 
 Deshoulieres, Madame, 254, 258 
 Du Fouilloux, M., 141, 142, 145 
 Du Fouilloux, Mile. See AUuye, 
 
 Madame 
 Du Saussois (physician), 77 
 
 E 
 
 Fpernon, Due d', 87 
 
 Epernon, Duchesse d', 67 
 
 Estrees, Cardinal d' (French Ambassa- 
 dor in Rome), 29S, 299 and note, 
 317, 322 
 
 Estrees, Due d', 2S9 
 
 Evelyn, John (cited), 395 and note 
 
 Fontanges, Mile, (mistress of Louis 
 XIV), 235 note, 243, 377 note 
 
 Fouquet, Nicolas, 224 
 
 Francesco I, Duke of Modena, 51 
 
 Francesco II, Duke of Modena, 51, 
 314 note 
 
4i8 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Gazette de France (cited), 6i, 221 
 Gazette de Leyden (cited), 287 note 
 Gomont, M. de, 325, 327 
 Gramont, Chevalier de, 219 note, 248, 
 
 249 
 Grignan, Comte de, 300, 301 
 Grignan, Comtesse de, 258 and note, 
 
 302 
 Grillo, Marchese del (lover of Madame 
 
 de Mazarin), 284 
 Gusman, Don Domenico, 284 
 
 H 
 
 Haro, Don Luis de (Prime Minister of 
 Spain), 108, 136, 198 
 
 Henrietta Anne of England. See Or- 
 leans, Henrietta Anne, Duchesse d' 
 
 Henrietta Maria, Queen of England, 
 115, 186, 217, 293 
 
 Hocquincourt, Marechal, 21, 29, 30 
 
 Hopital, Marechal de 1', 186 
 
 Hopital, Marechale de 1', 74 
 
 Huxelles, Marquise d' (cited), 413 
 
 Innocent X, Pope, 13, 14 
 Innocent XI, Pope, 358, 360 
 
 Jarze, Marquis de, 18-20 
 Juan of Austria, Don, 103, 104, 347, 
 348, 350 
 
 K 
 
 Keroualles, Louise de, 394, 395 note , 
 
 La Fayette, Madame de la (cited), 109 
 
 214, 389 
 Lafesnestre, M. Georges (cited), 256 
 La Fontaine, 148, 255-258, 400 
 La Gilbertiere, 312, 313, 314, 315, 317, 
 
 319 and note 
 La Grayide Mademoiselle. See Mont- 
 
 pensier. Mile, de 
 Lamoignon, Mere Elisabeth de, 44 
 La Motte d'Argencourt, Mile, de, 65, 
 
 66 
 La Motte-Houdancourt, Mile, de, 75, 
 
 loi note, 102 
 La Rochefoucauld, Due de, 55 
 La Valliere, Louise de, 42, 235 note, 
 
 242, 245, 371 ^ 
 Le Camus, Abbe, 105 
 Le Fare, Marquis de (cited), 244, 250 
 Lesage (magician), 367, 368, 370 
 
 Lionne, Hugues de, 106, 107, 237 note 
 Livet, M. Charles (cited), iio 
 Loiseleur, M. Jules (cited), 11-14 
 Loret, Jean, 148 ; (cited), 185 
 Lorraine, Chevalier de, 284, 287 note, 
 
 290-292, 307 
 Los Balbases, Marques de, 238, 280, 
 
 353. 356, 359, 360, 382 
 Los Balbases, Marquesa de, 409 
 Louis XIV, goes to meet Mazarin on 
 his return from his second exile, 33 ; 
 beginning of the friendship between 
 him and Marie Mancini, 56; "dan- 
 cing with grace and majesty," 57 ; 
 his intimacy with Olympe Mancini, 
 62-64; his Q3,r\y galanteries, 65, 66; 
 growing attachment between him and 
 Marie Mancini, 68-70; her beneficial 
 influence over him, 71, 72 ; has a 
 passing fancy for Mile, de la Motte- 
 Houdancourt, 75, 76 ; falls danger- 
 ously ill at Calais, 76-78 ; his atten- 
 tions to Marie Mancini at Fontaine- 
 bleau, 79-81 ; Mazarin's matrimonial 
 projects for him, 82-84 ; his journey 
 to Lyons to meet the Princess Mar- 
 gherita of Savoy, 82-99 ! his passion 
 for Marie Mancini increasing, lOl, 
 102 ; dismisses Don Juan's jester from 
 Court, 104 ; scandalizes the Spanish 
 envoy, 107 ; openly braves the Queen, 
 107, 108 ; demands Mazarin's per- 
 mission to marry Marie Mancini, 
 109 ; flies into a violent passion with 
 Anne of Austria, 113; refused by 
 the Cardinal his niece's hand, 113; 
 attempts to console Marie Mancini, 
 114; touching interview with his 
 mother, 116, 117; Mazarin's letters 
 to him relative to his passion for 
 Marie, 122, 126-129, 130-138, 143- 
 145, 150-157 ; declines to accept 
 Marie's refusal to write to him, 167, 
 168 ; has no heart for the gaieties of 
 the Court, 175; resumes his relations 
 with the Comtesse de Soissons, 179 ; 
 his marriage with the Infanta Maria 
 Theresa, 192-200 ; his entry with 
 the Queen into Paris, 217-221 ; his 
 letter to Madame de Venel, 239 ; 
 and to the Constable Colonna, 241, 
 242 ; takes no pleasure in the society 
 of the Queen, 243, 244 ; abandons 
 the Comtesse de Soissons for Louise 
 de la Valliere, 244, 245 ; exiles the 
 Comtesse de Soissons, 252 ; under 
 financial obligations to the Due de 
 Mazarin, 263 and note ; finds himself 
 in an embarrassing position in regard 
 
INDEX 
 
 419 
 
 to the Constabless Colonna, 310; 
 annoyed at her imprudent letter to 
 Colbert, 318 ; his letter to her, 319, 
 320 ; sends her a thousand pistoles, 
 325 ; orders the Prince de Carignan 
 to send her away from his house, 332 ; 
 ignores her request to be allowed to 
 return to France, 335 ; banishes the 
 Duchesse de Bouillon, 370; connives 
 at the escape of Madame de Soissons 
 from justice, 374, 375 ; his corre- 
 spondence with the ComtedeRebenac, 
 French Ambassador in Madrid, 383- 
 388 ; gives the Constabless Colonna 
 permission to return to France, 409 ; 
 invites her to Court, 412, 413. See 
 also Anne of Austria ; Colonna, 
 Constabless ; Mazarin, Cardinal 
 Louvois, 267, 373, 375 
 
 M 
 
 Madame. See Orleans, Henrietta Anne, 
 
 Duchess d' 
 Maintenon, Madame de, 216, 217, 336, 
 
 3S0; (cited), 217-220 
 Mancini, Alphonse, 52, 73 
 Mancini, Hortense. See Mazarin, 
 
 Duchesse de 
 Mancini, Laure. 6'f(rI\Iercceur,Duchesse 
 
 de 
 Mancini, Lorenzo, 2, 55, 56 
 Mancini, Marianne. See Bouillon, 
 
 Duchesse de 
 Mancini, Marie, See Colonna, Con- 
 stabless 
 Mancini, Olympe. See Soissons, Com- 
 
 tesse de 
 Mancini, Paul, 3, 6, 28, 30, 31 
 Mancini, Philippe. ^^^Nevers, Ducoe 
 Mancini, Signora, 2, 3, 35-38, 53, 54, 
 
 56, 57 
 Mansfeld, Graf von (Austrian Ambas- 
 sador in Madrid), 382, 383, 3S5, 3S9 
 Maria Anne of Neuburg, Queen of 
 
 Spain, 411, 412 
 Marie Beatrice of Modena, Queen of 
 
 England, 51, 394, 401 
 Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of 
 
 France 
 Marie de' Medici, Queen of France, 19 
 Marie Louise d'Orleans, Queen of 
 
 Spain, 381, 382, 383, 385, 3S6, 387, 
 
 388, 389, 390, 391 
 Margherita of Savoy, Princess, 84, 85, 
 
 86, 88-95 
 Marsan, Comte de, 284, 290 
 Martinozzi, Laure. See Modena, 
 
 Duchess of Modena 
 
 Martinozzi, Anne Marie. See Conti, 
 
 Princess de 
 Martinozzi, Signora, 2, 3, 51, 282 
 Mazarin, Cardinal, his misplaced kind- 
 ness to his brother Michele, 1,2; 
 summons the first detachment of his 
 nieces and nephews to France, 3, 4; 
 his coolness towards them, 4, 5 '■> his 
 relations with Anne of Austria con- 
 sidered, 6-14 ; sends his nieces to 
 Val-de-Grace, 15; his plans for their 
 establishment in life, 16, 17 ; affiances 
 Laure Mancini to the Due de Mer- 
 coeur, 17, 18; goes into exile, 20; 
 burned in effigy, 20 note ; his sojourn 
 at Briihl, 22-24 ; his correspondence 
 with Anne of Austria, 25, 26 ; returns 
 to France, 26-28 ; his grief at the 
 death of his nephew Paul Mancini, 
 30, 31 ; shamefully libelled, 31, 32; 
 goes into exile for the second time, 
 32 ; returns in triumph to Paris, 33, 
 34 ; summons a second detachment of 
 his relations to France, 35, 36 ; mar- 
 ries Anne Marie Martinozzi to the 
 Prince de Conti, 38-41 ; marries 
 Laure Martinozzi to Francesco d' 
 Este of Modena, 50, 51 ; summons 
 Alphonse and Marianne Mancini to 
 P'rance, 52 ; present at the Duchesse 
 de Merccear's death, 59 ; marries 
 Olympe Mancini to the Comte de 
 Soissons, 60, 61 ; his dislike of 
 Philippe Mancini, 73, 74 ; does not 
 interfere with the intimacy between 
 the King and Marie Mancini, 80; his 
 matrimonial projects for Louis XIV, 
 82-85 ; regards Marie Mancini as a 
 useful factor in his plans, 85, 86 ; 
 announces to Anne of Austria the 
 arrival of the Spanish envoy, Pi- 
 mentel, 90 ; regards Pimentel's mis- 
 sion with suspicion, 91 ; refuses 
 Hortense Mancini's hand to the Duke 
 of Savoy, 92 ; his interview with the 
 Duchess of Savoy, 93 ; fears for the 
 virtue of Marie Mancini, 97, 98 ; 
 alarmed at her growing influence over 
 the King, 102, 107 ; his conduct in 
 the matter considered, 109-111 ; re- 
 solves to send Marie to La Rochelle, 
 112; refuses Louis XIV's demand for 
 her hand, 1 14; sets out for the Py- 
 renees, 118; his letters to Louis XIV 
 and Anne of Austria relative to Marie 
 Mancini, 122, 126, 127, 128, 129-141, 
 150-157, 158-161 ; learns that Marie 
 has resolved to renounce the King, 
 162-170; sends his agent Bartet to 
 
420 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Bordeaux, 175; discovers the treachery 
 of the Governor of La Rochelle, 176, 
 177 ; determines to find a husband 
 for Marie, 177, 17S; sends the Bishop 
 of Frejus to Brouage, 182 ; sends his 
 nieces back to Paris, 184-1S7; greatly 
 alarmed at Louis XIV's visit to 
 Brouage and La Rochelle, 203-205 ; 
 intrigues to awaken the jealousy of 
 the King, 209-214; urges Marie to 
 wed the Constable Colonna, 216; 
 magnificence of his household, 218, 
 219 ; his last illness, 223, 224 ; his 
 death, 229, 230 ; his fortune, 230, 
 231 ; his will, 231, 232. See also 
 Anne of Austria; Bouillon, Duchesse 
 de ; Colonna, Constabless ; Louis 
 XIV ; Mazarin, Duchesse de ; Sois- 
 sons, Comtesse de 
 
 Mazarin, Due de, 49, 50, 64, 227, 228, 
 229, 261-71, 272, 273, 282, 284, 285, 
 305» 330. 395, 401, 403 
 
 Mazarin, Duchesse de (Hortense Man- 
 cini), brought to France, 37 ; sent to 
 the Convent de la Visitation, 44 ; her 
 letters to Mazarin, 45-48 ; passion 
 which she arouses in the Marquis 
 de la Meilleraye, 49, 50 ; accom- 
 panies the Court to Lyons, 85 ; 
 Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy, 
 a suitor for her hand, 92 ; " taking 
 the same road as Marie," 140; ac- 
 companies her sister to Saint-Jean- 
 d'Angely, 142-145 ; goes to Brouage, 
 170 ; returns to Paris, 184, 185 ; her 
 suitors, 225-228 ; her marriage, 228, 
 229 ; inherits the bulk of the Car- 
 dinal's fortune, 232 ; her unhappy 
 married life, 261-271 ; flies to Italy, 
 271-273 ; her liaison with the " Che- 
 valier " de Couberville, 280-282 ; 
 escape from the Convent of Campo- 
 Marzo, 282 ; her lovers, 283, 284 ; 
 returns to France, 284 ; attempt of 
 her husband to have her arrested, 
 284, 285 ; returns to Rome, 285 ; 
 shares her sister Marie's flight to 
 France, 292-301 ; goes to Savoy, 
 305 ; rejoins her sister at Grenoble, 
 305 ; goes to reside at Chambery, 
 311 ; her life there, 329, 330; her 
 diplomatic conduct in regard to 
 Marie, 330 ; leaves Savoy and takes 
 up her residence in England, 393-394; 
 her relations with Charles II, 394, 
 395 and note ; Saint - Evremond's 
 description of her charms, 396 note ; 
 her life in England, 396-399 ; visited 
 by the Duchesse de Bouillon, 399, 
 
 400 ; her last years and death, 400- 
 403 ; fate of her remains, 403 ; her 
 children, 403, 404 
 
 Medina Coeli, Duque de, 354, 355, 356 
 
 Medina de Rio Seco, Duque de, 341, 
 342, 344 
 
 Mercoeur, Due de, 18, 23 and note, 
 24, 59 
 
 Mercoeur (Laure Mancini), Duchesse 
 de, brought to France, 3 ; her per- 
 sonal appearance, 3 ; her reception 
 at Court, 4-6 ; sent to Val-de-Grace, 
 15 ; Mazarin's plans for her establish- 
 ment in life, 16, 17 ; betrothed to the 
 Due de Mercoeur, 18 ; her marriage 
 opposed by Conde, 18 ; accompanies 
 Mazarin to Brlihl, 21, 22 ; married 
 to the Due de Mercoeur, 23 and note ; 
 returns to Paris, 23, 24; takes charge 
 of her sister Hortense, 54 ; her death, 
 57, 59 ; her children, 59 
 
 Modena, Duchess of (Laure Martinozzi), 
 35-38, 50-52 
 
 Monaco, Prince de, 395 
 
 Morena (femtne de chambre to Marie 
 Mancini), 289, 293, 294, 312, 320, 
 327, 337 
 
 Monsieur. See Orleans, Philippe, Due d' 
 
 Monterey, Comte de (Governor of 
 Flanders), 338, 339, 340 
 
 Montespan, Marquise de, 235 note, 
 243. 285, 306, 310, 315, 321, 363, 
 380 
 
 Montpensier, Mile, de, 30, 67, 85, 87, 
 88, 97, 98, 103, 104 ; (cited), 67, 68, 
 79, 87, 88-90, 91, 94, 99, 104, 197, 
 200, 389 
 
 Motteville, Marquise de, 64, 96 note, 
 no; (cited), i, 3, 57, 63, 66, 70, 92 
 note, 109, 116, 196, 229 
 
 N 
 
 Navailles, Due de, 219, 249, 250 
 Navailles, Duchesse de, 249, 250 
 Nevers, Due de, 37, 38, 43, 104, 105, 
 106, 204, 230, 231, 271, 272, '?8r, 
 284, 306, 307, 321, 322, 404, 405, 
 409, 410 and note 
 Nevers, Duchesse de, 284, 321, 410 
 Noailles, Due de, 52 
 Noailles, Duchesse de, 52 
 
 O 
 
 Ondedei, Bishop of Frejus, 162, 182, 
 183, 227, 228 and note, 254 
 
 Orleans, Gaston, Due d', 20, 26, 27 
 and note, 206 
 
INDEX 
 
 421 
 
 Orleans, Charlotte Elizabeth, Duchesse 
 
 d' (cited), 10 note, 377 note, 389 
 Orleans, Henrietta Anne, Duchesse d', 
 
 217, 226, 245, 250-252, 259, 386 
 Orleans, Philippe, Due d', 6, 78, 97, 
 
 103, 104, no, 199, 219, 226, 245, 
 
 290, 350 
 Oropesa, Conde de (Prime Minister of 
 
 Spain), 382, 388 
 Ossuna, Duque d' (Governor of the 
 
 Milanese), 338 
 
 Palatine, Princess (Anne de Gonzague), 
 
 86 
 Palatine, Princess. See Orleans, Char- 
 lotte Elizabeth, Duchesse d' 
 Paleotto, Marchesa, 279, 280, 328, 413 
 Parma, Duke of, 95 
 Pedro II, King of Portugal, 225 
 Pelletier {valet de chambre to Madame 
 
 de Mazarin), 292-297, 304, 311 
 Percy, Lucien, 413; (cited), 85, no, 
 
 159, 172, 213, 221, 27s, 276, 333, 
 
 346 note 
 Perkins, Mr. J. B. (cited), 9, no, in 
 Perrault, 264 
 Philip IV, King of Spain, 85, 95, 192, 
 
 197-199 
 Philip V, King of Spain, 41 1 
 Pimentel (Spanish envoy to France), 
 
 90 and note, 91 note, 93, 103, 106, 
 
 133 
 Pomponne, Marquis de, 299 note, 300 
 Pradon (poet), 148, 259, 260 
 
 R 
 
 Racine, 258-260 
 
 Rebenac, Comte de (French Ambassa- 
 dor in Madrid), 381, 382, 3S3, 384 
 and note 
 Renee, M. Amedee (cited), no, 257, 
 
 258. 
 Retz, Cardinal de (cited), 24 
 Richelieu, Cardinal de, 4 note, 6, 7 
 Rohan, Chevalier de (lover of Mada...e 
 de Mazarin), 262 note, 271 note, 272, 
 273 
 
 Saint-Evremond, 55, 395, 396, 398, 
 403 ; (cited), 265, 266 and note, 
 396 and note, 399, 402 
 
 Saint-Real, 397, 400 
 
 Saint-Simon, Due de (cited), 230, 377 
 and note, 389, 390, 414 
 
 San Tommasso, Marchese di (Prime 
 Minister of Savoy), 331, 335 
 
 Sarrazin (poet), 39 and note, 40, 41 
 and note 
 
 Savoie, Eugene de, 378, 379, 381, 392, 
 
 ,393 
 
 Savoie, Philippe de, 378 
 Scudery, Mile, (cited), 315 note 
 Sevigne, Madame de, 300 ; (cited), 
 
 303. 312, 374, 376, 398 note 
 Soissons, Chevalier de, 378, 397, 398 
 Soissons, Comte de, 60-62, 24.7, 362 
 Soissons (Olympe Mancini), Comtesse 
 de, brought to France, 3 ; her per- 
 sonal appearance, 3 ; her reception 
 at Court, 4-6; sent to Val-de-Grace, 
 15 ; accompanies Mazarin to Brtihl, 
 21, 22 ; returns to Paris, 23, 24 ; 
 marries the Comte de Soissons, 60- 
 62; her intimacy with Louis XIV, 
 62-64 > her strange behaviour to la 
 Grande Mademoiselle, 67, 68 ; flaunts 
 her intimacy with the King, 74, 75 ; 
 her indifference during Louis XIV's 
 illness at Calais, 78, 79 ; the King 
 ceases to visit her, 81 ; accompanies 
 the Court to Lyons, 85 ; in disgrace 
 with Louis XIV, 87 ; endeavours to 
 do her sister Marie an ill turn, 143 ; 
 misrepresents the latter's conduct to 
 Mazarin, 147 ; advised by the Car- 
 dinal to behave " with more prudence 
 and moderation," 148 ; endeavours 
 to recover her influence over Louis 
 XIV, 175 ; resumes her former in- 
 timacy with him, 179, 181 ; intrigues 
 with Mazarin against Marie and the 
 King, 210; her spiteful remark to 
 Marie, 213 ; Mazarin's bequest to 
 her, 231, 232 ; "visited daily by the 
 King," 234 ; discarded by him for 
 Louise de la Valliere, 247-251 ; 
 mistress of the Marquis de Vardes, 
 245-247 ; intrigues against La Val- 
 liere, 247-250 ; exiled to Champagne, 
 250-252 ; recalled to Court, 252 ; 
 visits her sister Marie at the Abbey 
 of Lys, 315, 316 ; loses her husband, 
 
 362 ; resigns her post of Superinten- 
 dent of the Queen's Household, 362, 
 
 363 and note ; compromised in the 
 Poison Trials, 371-373; escapes to 
 Flanders, 374, 375 ; her adventures 
 there, 376 and note, 377 ; settles in 
 Brussels, 377 ; her sons, 377-379 ; 
 goes to Madrid, 380 ; suspected by 
 Carlos II of sorcery, 381, 382 ; her 
 life in Madrid, 383, 3S4 ; charged by 
 Saint-Simon with having poisoned 
 
422 
 
 INDEX 
 
 the Queen of Spain, 389, 390 ; her 
 last years and death, 391, 392; her 
 character, 392 
 
 Thianges, Diane de. See Nevers, 
 
 Duchesse de 
 Turenne, Marechal de, 29, 30, 76, 137, 
 
 227, 253, 254 
 
 V 
 
 Vallot (first physician to Louis XIV), 
 
 77, 148, 150 
 Valois, Mile., 199 
 Vardes, Marquis de, 219 and note, 
 
 245-252 
 Villars, Due de, 353, 354 
 Villars, Duchesse de, 353, 354; (cited) 
 
 358, 370 
 Villeroi, Marechal de, 27, 391 
 Vend&me, Louis Joseph, Due de, 59, 
 
 364, 368, 369 
 
 Vendome, Philippe, Grand Prieur de, 
 59. 364 
 
 Venel, Madame de (gouvejnante of 
 Marie, Hortense, and Marianne 
 Mancini), 98, 102, 103, 112, 135, 
 121, 122 note, 125, 138, 141, 142 
 and note, 146, 147, 148, 152, 163, 
 168, 170, 171, 173, 174, 177, 188, 
 190, 191, 201, 202, 209, 221, 222, 
 234, 235, 239, 240 and note. 
 
 Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, 83 
 
 Vigoureux, la (poisoner), 365, 368, 
 369, 370, 371 and note, 372 
 
 Voisin, la (poisoner), 365, 366, 367 
 and note, 369 
 
 Voltaire (cited), 205 
 
 Vossius, Dr., 397 
 
 W 
 
 Waller (poet), 397 ; (cited) 394 
 William III, King of England, 401 
 
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