Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency — Complete

Arrived at the grand court of the Tuileries about eight o'clock without having remarked anything extraordinary on the way. The coaches of the Duc de Noailles, of Marechal de Vil...

Villeroy being banished, the last remaining obstacle in Dubois' path was removed. There was nothing: now, to hinder him from being proclaimed prime minister. I had opposed it as...

The Queen of Spain, for a long time violently attacked with the king's evil around the face and neck, was just now at the point of death. Obtaining no relief from the Spanish do...

The death of Monseigneur, as we have seen, made a great change in the aspect of the Court and in the relative positions of its members. But the two persons to whom I must chiefl...

Madame la Duchesse de Berry was living as usual, amid the loftiest pride, and the vilest servitude; amid penitence the most austere at the Carmelite convent of the Faubourg Sain...

LOUIS XIV. began, as I have before remarked, sensibly to decline, and his appetite, which had always been good and uniform, very considerably diminished. Even foreign countries...

The Regent's daughter arrived in Spain at the commencement of the year 1722, and it was arranged that her marriage with the Prince of the Asturias should be celebrated on the 30...

On Monday, the 18th of January, 1712, after a visit to Versailles, the King went to Marly. I mark expressly this journey. No sooner were we settled there than Boudin, chief doct...

It was just at the commencement of the year 1706, that I received a piece of news which almost took away my breath by its suddenness, and by the surprise it caused me. I was on...

The King was very anxious to establish his illegitimate children, whom he advanced day by day; and had married two of them, daughters, to Princes of the blood. One of these, the...

In relating what happened to Madame des Ursins upon her return to Spain, I have carried the narrative into the year 1705. It is not necessary to retrace our steps. Towards the e...

The reign of Louis XIV. was approaching its conclusion, so that there is now nothing more to relate but what passed during the last month of his life, and scarcely so much. Thes...

The year 1700 commenced by a reform. The King declared that he would no longer bear the expense of the changes that the courtiers introduced into their apartments. It had cost h...

It was now a little after ten. We remained a good half-hour in our places, talking a little with each other, but on the whole rather silent. At the end some grew fidgety and anx...

On Wednesday, the 27th of May, 1707, at three o'clock in the morning, Madame de Montespan, aged sixty, died very suddenly at the waters of Bourbon. Her death made much stir, alt...

Few events of importance had taken place during my absence in Spain. Shortly after my return, however, a circumstance occurred which may fairly claim description from me. Let me...

The death of the King surprised M. le Duc d'Orleans in the midst of his idleness as though it had not been foreseen. He had made no progress in numberless arrangements, which I...

After having thus described with truth and the most exact fidelity all that has come to my knowledge through my own experience, or others qualified to speak of Louis XIV. during...

Shortly after his arrival in Madrid, the new King of Spain began to look about him for a wife, and his marriage with the second daughter of M. de Savoie (younger sister of Madam...

Towards the end of the summer and the commencement of the winter of 1695, negotiations for peace were set on foot by the King. Harlay, son-in-law of our enemy, was sent to Maest...

He enjoyed, during the rest of his long life, intimacy with the King, distinction at the Court, great consideration, extreme abundance, kept up the state of a great nobleman, wi...

One of the reasons Madame de Maintenon had brought forward, which much assisted her in opposing the siege of Lille, was the excessive cold of this winter. The winter was, in fac...

To return now to the date from which I started. On the 6th of August, 1695, Harlay, Arch-bishop of Paris, died of epilepsy at Conflans. He was a prelate of profound knowledge an...

The disposition of the armies was the same this year as last, except that the Princes did not serve. Towards the end of May I joined the army of the Rhine, under the Marechal de...

While Meudon was filled with horror, all was tranquil at Versailles, without the least suspicion. We had supped. The company some time after had retired, and I was talking with...

But in Order to understand the part I played in the event I have alluded to and the interest I took in it, it is necessary for me to relate some personal matters that occurred i...

This done I proposed, and the others approved my proposition, that a Bed of Justice should be held as the only means left by which the abrogation of the parliamentary decrees co...

Brissac, Major of the Body-guards, died of age and ennui about this time, more than eighty years old, at his country-house, to which he had not long retired. The King had made u...

The death of D'Avaux, who had formerly been our ambassador in Holland, occurred in the early part of this year (1709). D'Avaux was one of the first to hear of the project of Wil...

The King attended the Royal Council for the first time on Sunday, the 18th of February, 1720. He said nothing while there, or on going away, excepting that when M. le Duc d'Orle...

For the last two or three years the King of Spain had been in very weak health, and in danger of his life several times. He had no children, and no hope of having any. The quest...

After such a frightful spectacle as had been witnessed, so many tears and so much tenderness, nobody doubted that the three, days which remained of the stay at Marly would be ex...

I went this summer to Forges, to try, by means of the waters there, to get rid of a tertian fever that quinquina only suspended. While there I heard of a new enterprise on the p...

Here I will relate an adventure, which shows that, however wise and enlightened a man may be, he is never infallible. M. de La Trappe had selected from amongst his brethren one...

Before I commence speaking of the affairs of Spain, let me pass lightly over an event which, engrafted upon some others, made much noise, notwithstanding the care taken to stifl...

On Saturday, the 19th of March, in the evening, the King was about to undress himself, when he heard cries in his chamber, which was full of courtiers; everybody calling for Fag...

It is now time that I should say something of the infamous bull 'Unigenitus', which by the unsurpassed audacity and scheming of Father Le Tellier and his friends was forced upon...

The consternation at the event that had taken place was real and general; it penetrated to foreign lands and courts. Whilst the people wept for him who thought only of their rel...

There presents itself to my memory an anecdote which it would be very prudent perhaps to be silent upon, and which is very curious for anybody who has seen things so closely as...

But, meanwhile, a great change had taken place at Court. Chamillart had committed the mistake of allowing the advancement of D'Harcourt to the head of an army. The poor man did...

Peace was now all but concluded between France and England. There was, however, one great obstacle still in its way. Queen Anne and her Council were stopped by the consideration...

On the 12th August, Madame de Saint-Simon was happily delivered of a second son, who bore the name of Marquis de Ruffec. A singular event which happened soon after, made all the...

The position of Monseigneur le Duc de Bourgogne at the army continued to be equivocal. He was constantly in collision with M. de Vendome. The latter, after the loss of Lille, wi...

It was the desire of the Duc and Duchesse d'Orleans to marry Mademoiselle (their daughter) to the Duc de Berry (third son of Monseigneur, and consequently brother of the Duc de...

After our long rest at the camp of Gaw-Boecklheim we again put ourselves in movement, but without doing much against the enemy, and on the 16th of October I received permission...

In the midst of all this gaiety, that is to say on the 12th of February, 1706, one of our generals, of whom I have often spoken, I mean M. de Vendome, arrived at Marly. He had n...

Some little time previously it had been thought necessary to send an army to the frontiers of Portugal to oppose the Archduke. A French general was wanted to command this army....

Let me return to Maisons. Five days after the King's will had been walled up, in the manner I have described, he came to me and made a pathetic discourse upon the injustice done...

About this time the King caused Charnace to be arrested in a province to which he had been banished. He was accused of many wicked things, and; amongst others, of coining. Charn...

He was growing old, and though no external change in him was visible, those near him had for some time begun to fear that he could not live long. This is not the place to descan...

Here perhaps is the place to speak of Charles IV., Duc de Lorraine, so well known by his genius, and the extremities to which he was urged. He was married in 1621 to the Duchess...

After his return from the campaign, M. de Vendome continued to be paid like a general serving in winter, and to enjoy many other advantages. From all this, people inferred that...

I have already said that Dubois looked most unfavourably upon my embassy to Spain, and that I saw he was determined to do all in his power to throw obstacles in its way. I had f...

Saturday, the 7th of September, was the day fixed for the first Bed of Justice of the King (Louis XV.); but he caught a cold during the night, and suffered a good deal. The Rege...

Chateauneuf, Secretary of State, died about this time. He had asked that his son, La Vrilliere, might be allowed to succeed him, and was much vexed that the King refused this fa...

The King did not long remain without some consolation for the loss of the battle of Hochstedt (Blenheim). The Comte de Toulouse--very different in every respect from his brother...

The new chateau of Meudon, completely furnished, had been restored to me since the return of the Court to Versailles, just as I had had it before the Court came to Meudon. The D...

It is time now that I should speak of matters of very great importance, which led to changes that filled my heart with excessive joy, such as it had never known before.

I was born on the night of the 15th of January, 1675, of Claude Duc de Saint-Simon, Peer of France, and of his second wife Charlotte de l'Aubepine. I was the only child of that...

At the beginning of October, news reached the Court, which was at Fontainebleau, that M. de Duras was at the point of death. Upon hearing this, Madame de Saint-Simon and Madame...

I have described in its proper place the profound fall of M. le Duc d'Orleans and the neglect in which he lived, out of all favour with the King, hated by Madame de Maintenon an...

I shall pass over the stormy period of Louis XIV.'s minority. At twenty- three years of age he entered the great world as King, under the most favourable auspices. His ministers...

Let me here relate an incident which should have found a place earlier, but which has been omitted in order that what has gone before might be uninterrupted. On the 16th of the...

After having paid the last duties to my father I betook myself to Mons to join the Royal Roussillon cavalry regiment, in which I was captain. The King, after stopping eight or t...

The officer of the guards, whom the Queen despatched with a letter for the King of Spain as soon as Madame des Ursins was out of Quadraque, found the King upon the point of goin...

As soon as Monseigneur le Duc de Bourgogne arrived at Lawendeghem, he wrote a short letter to the King, and referred him for details to M. de Vendome. But at the same time he wr...

Madame de Maintenon was a woman of much wit, which the good company, in which she had at first been merely suffered, but in which she soon shone, had much polished; and ornament...

Such was our military history of the year 1706--history of losses and dishonour. It may be imagined in what condition was the exchequer with so many demands upon its treasures....

Law had established his Mississippi Company, and now began to do marvels with it. A sort of language had been invented, to talk of this scheme, language which, however, I shall...

In a previous page I have alluded to the Princesse des Ursins, when she was appointed 'Camerera Mayor' to the Queen of Spain on her marriage. As I have now to occupy myself more...

Here I think will be the fitting place to introduce an account of the daily life of the King and Queen of Spain, which in many respects was entitled to be regarded as singular....

The Czar was a very tall man, exceedingly well made; rather thin, his face somewhat round, a high forehead, good eyebrows, a rather short nose, but not too short, and large at t...

On Sunday, the 25th of December, Christmas Day, M. le Duc d'Orleans sent for me to come and see him at the Palais Royal, about four o'clock in the afternoon. I went accordingly,...

I have already shown in these memoirs, that the late King had made of the lieutenant of police a species of secret and confidential minister; a sort of inquisitor, with importan...

Meanwhile, as I have promised to relate, in a continuous narrative, all our military operations of this year, let me say what passed in other directions. The siege of Barcelona...

About the commencement of the new year, 1720, the system of Law approached its end. If he had been content with his bank his bank within wise and proper limits--the money of the...

Immediately after the issue of this decree an edict was drawn up for the establishment of an Indian commercial company, which was to undertake to reimburse in a year six, hundre...

Early the next morning I received a visit from Grimaldo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who, overjoyed at my arrival, had announced it to their Catholic Majesties before coming to...

A the breaking out of the war in Italy this year Segur bought the government of the Foix country from Tallard, one of the generals called away to serve in that war. Segur had be...

For a long time a species of war had been declared between the King of England and his son, the Prince of Wales, which had caused much scandal; and which had enlisted the Court...

The changes which took place in the army after the Peace of Ryswick, were very great and very strange. The excellence of the regiments, the merits of the officers, those who com...

Canaples, brother of the Marechal de Crequi, wished to marry Mademoiselle de Vivonne who was no longer young, but was distinguished by talent, virtue and high birth; she had not...

Let me now speak of the amours of the King in which were even more fatal to the state than his building mania. Their scandal filled all Europe; stupefied France, shook the state...

Two very different persons died towards the latter part of this year. The first was Lamoignon, Chief President; the second, Ninon, known by the name of Mademoiselle de l'Enclos....

M. de Luxembourg, proud of his successes, and of the applause of the world at his victories, believed himself sufficiently strong to claim precedence over seventeen dukes, mysel...

It must not be imagined that in order to maintain her position Madame de Maintenon had need of no address. Her reign, on the contrary, was only one continual intrigue; and that...

On Thursday, the 27th of November, the King and Queen were to depart from Madrid to Lerma, a pretty hamlet six leagues from Burgos, where they had a palace. On the same day, ver...

It was scarcely to be expected, perhaps, that M. du Maine would remain altogether quiet under the disgrace which had been heaped upon him by the proceedings at the Bed of Justic...

The Duc de Lauzun died on the 19th of November, at the age of ninety years and six months. The intimate union of the two sisters I and he had espoused, and our continual interco...

M. de Brias, Archbishop of Cambrai, had died, and the King had given that valuable preferment to the Abbe de Fenelon, preceptor of the children of France. Fenelon was a man of q...

In 1716 the Duchesse de Lesdiguieres died at Paris in her fine hotel. She was not old, but had been long a widow, and had lost her only son. She was the last relic of the Gondi...

I have elsewhere alluded to Alberoni, and shown what filthy baseness he stooped to in order to curry favour with the infamous Duc de Vendome. I have also shown that he accompani...

That same 14th, as I rose from dinner at Meudon, with much company, the valet de chambre who served me said that a courier from Cardinal Dubois had a letter for me, which he had...

The King, who had made numberless promotions, appointed this year the same generals to the same armies. Villars was chosen for Flanders, as before. Having, arrived at the very s...

In 1670 the King wished to make a triumphant journey with the ladies, under pretext of visiting his possessions in Flanders, accompanied by an army, and by all his household tro...

The war this year proceeded much as before. M. d'Orleans went to Spain again. Before taking the field he stopped at Madrid to arrange matters. There he found nothing prepared, a...

On May 3d 1693, the King announced his intention of placing himself at the head of his army in Flanders, and, having made certain alterations in the rule of precedence of the ma...

The chase was every day the amusement of the King, and the Queen was obliged to make it hers. But it was always the same. Their Catholic Majesties did me the singular honour to...

His curiosity, joined to a false idea of firmness and courage, had early led him to try and raise the devil and make him speak. He left nothing untried, even the wildest reading...

But I must return somewhat now, in order to make way for a crowd of events which have been pressing forward all this time, but which I have passed by, in going straightforward a...

Courson, Intendant, or rather King of Languedoc, exercised his authority there so tyrannically that the people suffered the most cruel oppressions at his hands. He had been Inte...

Meanwhile our campaign upon the Rhine proceeded, and the enemy, having had all their grand projects of victory defeated by the firmness and the capacity of the Marechal de Chois...

Before this illness of the King, that is to say, at the commencement of June, I went one day to work with M, le Duc d'Orleans, and found him alone, walking up and down the grand...

It is time now that I should speak of our military operations this year and of the progress of the war. Let me commence by stating the disposition of our armies at the beginning...

A little while before leaving the Cabinet of the Council for the Bed of Justice, M. le Duc d'Orleans had begged me to go to the Palais Royal with the Keeper of the Seals immedia...

Although, as we have just seen, matters were beginning to brighten a little in Spain, they remained as dull and overcast as ever in France. The impossibility of obtaining peace,...

I must say a few words now of Madame la Duchesse de Berry, who, as may be imagined, began to hold her head very high indeed directly the regency of Monsieur her father was estab...

It is time now to retrace my steps to the point from which I have been led away in relating all the incidents which arose out of the terrible winter and the scarcity it caused.

The Prince d'Harcourt at last obtained permission to wait on the King, after having never appeared at Court for seventeen years. He had followed the King in all his conquests in...

Alberoni had made himself detested by all Europe,--for all Europe, in one way or another, was the victim of his crimes. He was detested as the absolute master of Spain, whose gu...

It is time now that I should say something about an event that caused an immense stir throughout the land, and was much talked of even in foreign parts. I must first introduce,...

The Marquise de Charlus, sister of Mezieres, and mother of the Marquis de Levi, who has since become a duke and a peer, died rich and old. She was the exact picture of an "old c...

But it is time now for me to go back to other matters, and to start again from the commencement of 1701, from which I have been led by reciting, in a continuous story, the parti...

On Saturday, the 15th of February, the King was waked up at seven o'clock in the morning, an hour earlier than usual, because Madame la Duchesse de Bourgogne was in the pains of...

A Scotchman, I do not know of what family, a great player and combiner, who had gained much in various countries he had been in, had come to Paris during the last days of the de...

Never did man give with better grace than Louis XIV., or augmented so much, in this way, the price of his benefits. Never did man sell to better profit his words, even his smile...

The Abbe Alberoni, having risen by the means I have described, and acquired power by following in the track of the Princesse des Ursins, governed Spain like a master. He had the...

Not long after the flight of Law, that is to say, on Sunday, the 24th of January, of the new year, 1721, a council was held at the Tuileries, at four o'clock in the afternoon, p...

I must not omit to mention an incident which occurred during the early part of the year 1718, and which will give some idea of the character of M. le Duc d'Orleans, already pret...

No library of Court documents could pretend to be representative which ignored the famous "Memoirs" of the Duc de Saint-Simon. They stand, by universal consent, at the head of F...

The Material Preparations for the Bed of Justice--Arrival of the Duc d'Orleans:--The Council Chamber.--Attitude of the Various Actors.--The Duc du Maine.--Various Movements.--Ar...

External Life of Louis XIV.--At the Army.--Etiquette of the King's Table.--Court Manners and Customs.--The Rising of the King.--Morning Occupations.--Secret Amours.--Going to Ma...

Mode of Life of the Duchesse de Berry.--Her Illness.--Her Degrading Amours.--Her Danger Increases.--The Sacraments Refused.--The Cure Is Supported by the Cardinal de Noailles.--...

Amours of the King.--La Valliere.--Montespan.--Scandalous Publicity.-- Temper of Madame de Montespan.--Her Unbearable Haughtiness.--Other Mistresses.--Madame de Maintenon.--Her...

Proposed Bed of Justice.--My Scheme.--Interview with the Regent.-- The Necessary Seats for the Assembly.--I Go in Search of Fontanieu.-- My Interview with Hini.--I Return to the...

Continuation of the Scene in the Council Chamber.--Slowness of the Parliament.--They Arrive at Last.--The King Fetched.--Commencement of the Bed of Justice.--My Arrival.--Its Ef...

The King's Health Declines.--Bets about His Death.--Lord Stair.--My New Friend.--The King's Last Hunt.--And Last Domestic and Public Acts.-- Doctors.--Opium.--The King's Diet.--...

Surprise of M. d'Orleans at the King's Death.--My Interview with Him.-- Dispute about Hats.--M. du Maine at the Parliament.--His Reception.-- My Protest.--The King's Will.--Its...

The Mississippi Scheme.--Law Offers Me Shares.--Compensation for Blaye.-- The Rue Quincampoix.--Excitement of the Public.--Increased Popularity of the Scheme.--Conniving of Law....

Personal Appearance of the Czar.--His Meals.--Invited by the Regent.-- His Interview with the King--He Returns the Visit.--Excursion in Paris.-- Visits Madame.--Drinks Beer at t...

Equivocal Position of the Duc de Bourgogne.--His Weak Conduct.-- Concealment of a Battle from the King.--Return of the Duc de Bourgogne to Court.--Incidents of His Reception.--M...

Encroachments of the Parliament.--The Money Edict.--Conflict of Powers-- Vigorous Conduct of the Parliament.--Opposed with Equal Vigour by the Regent.--Anecdote of the Duchesse...

Death of the Duchesse de Lesdiguieres.--Cavoye and His Wife.--Peter the Great.--His Visit to France.--Enmity to England.--Its Cause.--Kourakin, the Russian Ambassador.--The Czar...

Harlay and the Dutch.--Death of the Princess of Orange.--Count Koenigsmarck.--A New Proposal of Marriage.--My Marriage.--That of M. de Lauzun.--Its Result.--La Fontaine and Mign...

Death of Archbishop Harlay.--Scene at Conflans.--"The Good Langres."-- A Scene at Marly.--Princesses Smoke Pipes!--Fortunes of Cavoye.-- Mademoiselle de Coetlogon.--Madame de Gu...

Death and Character of Brissac.--Brissac and the Court Ladies.--The Duchesse de Bourgogne.--Scene at the Carp Basin.--King's Selfishness.-- The King Cuts Samuel Bernard's Purse....

System of Law in Danger.--Prodigality of the Duc d'Orleans.--Admissions of Law.--Fall of His Notes.--Violent Measures Taken to Support Them.-- Their Failure.--Increased Extravag...

The King's Natural Children.--Proposed Marriage of the Duc de Chartres.-- Influence of Dubois.--The Duke and the King.--An Apartment.--Announcement of the Marriage.--Anger of Ma...

The Duke Tries to Raise the Devil.--Magical Experiments.--His Religious Opinions.--Impiety.--Reads Rabelais at Church.--The Duchesse d'Orleans.-- Her Character.--Her Life with H...

Settlement of the Spanish Succession.--King William III.--New Party in Spain.--Their Attack on the Queen.--Perplexity of the King.--His Will.-- Scene at the Palace.--News Sent t...

Early Life of Louis XIV.--His Education.--His Enormous Vanity.--His Ignorance.--Cause of the War with Holland.--His Mistakes and Weakness in War.--The Ruin of France.--Origin of...

A Scientific Retreat.--The Peace of Ryswick.--Prince of Conti King of Poland.--His Voyage and Reception.--King of England Acknowledged.--Duc de Conde in Burgundy.--Strange Death...

A Rumour Reaches Versailles.--Aspect of the Court.--Various Forms of Grief.--The Duc d'Orleans.--The News Confirmed at Versailles.--Behaviour of the Courtiers.--The Duc and Duch...

My Interview with Du Mont.--A Mysterious Communication.--Anger of Monseigneur against Me.--Household of the Duchesse de Berry.--Monseigneur Taken Ill of the Smallpox.--Effect of...

The Regent Sends for Me.--Guilt of the Duc de Maine.--Proposed Arrest.-- Discussion on the Prison to Be Chosen.--The Arrest.--His Dejection.-- Arrest of the Duchess.--Her Rage.-...

Gervaise Monk of La Trappe.----His Disgusting Profligacy.--The Author of the Lord's Prayer.--A Struggle for Precedence.--Madame de Saint-Simon.-- The End of the Quarrel.--Death...

Character and Position of the Duc d'Orleans--His Manners, Talents, and Virtues.--His Weakness.--Anecdote Illustrative Thereof.-- The "Debonnaire"--Adventure of the Grand Prieur...

Behaviour of the Duchesse de Berry.--Her Arrogance Checked by Public Opinion.--Walls up the Luxembourg Garden.--La Muette.--Her Strange Amour with Rion.--Extraordinary Details.-...

Rise of Alberoni.--Intimacy of France and England.--Gibraltar Proposed to be Given Up.--Louville the Agent.--His Departure.--Arrives at Madrid.-- Alarm of Alberoni.--His Audacio...

The New Edict.--The Commercial Company.--New Edict.--Rush on the Bank.-- People Stifled in the Crowd.--Excitement against Law.--Money of the Bank.--Exile of the Parliament to Po...

Death of M. de Duras.--Selfishness of the King.--Anecdote of Puysieux.-- Character of Pontchartrain.--Why He Ruined the French Fleet.--Madame des Ursins at Last Resolves to Retu...

Quarrels of the Princesses.--Mademoiselle Choin.--A Disgraceful Affair.-- M. de Noyon.--Comic Scene at the Academie.--Anger and Forgiveness of M. de Noyon.--M. de Noailles in Di...

Monseigneur's Indigestion.--The King Disturbed.--The Ladies of the Halle.--Quarrel of the King and His Brother.--Mutual Reproaches.-- Monsieur's Confessors.--A New Scene of Wran...

Duchesse de Berry Drunk.--Operations in Spain.--Vendome Demanded by Spain.--His Affront by the Duchesse de Bourgogne.--His Arrival.-- Staremberg and Stanhope.--The Flag of Spain...

M. de Vendome out of Favour.--Death and Character of the Prince de Conti.--Fall of Vendome.--Pursegur's Interview with the King.--Madame de Bourgogne against Vendome.--Her Decid...

Daily Occupations of Madame de Maintenon.--Her Policy--How She Governed the King's Affairs.--Connivance with the Ministers.--Anecdote of Le Tellier.--Behaviour of the King to Ma...

The Lieutenant of Police.--Jealousy of Parliament.--Arrest of Pomereu Resolved On.--His Imprisonment and Sudden Release.--Proposed Destruction of Marly.--How I Prevented It.--Sa...

Intrigues of M. du Maine.--And of Cellamare, the Spanish Ambassador.-- Monteleon and Portocarrero.--Their Despatches.--How Signed.--The Conspiracy Revealed.--Conduct of the Rege...

An Odd Marriage.--Black Daughter of the King.--Travels of Peter the Great.--Magnificent English Ambassador.--The Prince of Parma.-- A Dissolute Abbe.--Orondat.--Dispute about Mo...

The Dead Soon Forgotten.--Feelings of Madame de Maintenon.--And of the Duc de Chartres.--Of the Courtiers.--Madame's Mode of Life.--Character of Monsieur.--Anecdote of M. le Pri...

Tremendous Cold in France.--Winters of 1708-1709--Financiers and the Famine.--Interference of the Parliaments of Paris and Dijon.--Dreadful Oppression.--Misery of the People.--N...

Appointment of the Duke of Berwick.--Deception Practised by Orry.--Anger of Louis XIV.--Dismissal of Madame des Ursins.--Her Intrigues to Return. --Annoyance of the King and Que...

An Honest Courtier.--Robbery of Courtin and Fieubet.--An Important Affair.--My Interview with the King.--His Jealousy of His Authority.-- Madame La Queue, the King's Daughter.--...

Death of D'Avaux.--A Quarrel about a Window.--Louvois and the King.-- Anecdote of Boisseuil.--Madame de Maintenon and M. de Beauvilliers.-- Harcourt Proposed for the Council.--H...

Character of Madame de Maintenon.--Her Conversation.--Her Narrow- mindedness.--Her Devotion.--Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.--Its Fatal Consequences.--Saint Cyr.--Madame de...

Fascination of the Duchesse de Bourgogne.--Fortunes of Nangis.--He Is Loved by the Duchesse and Her Dame d'Atours.--Discretion of the Court.-- Maulevrier.--His Courtship of the...

Conflicting Reports.--Attacks on the Duc de Bourgogne.--The Duchesse de Bourgogne Acts against Vendome.--Weakness of the Duke.--Cunning of Vendome.--The Siege of Lille.--Anxiety...

Position of the Prince of Orange.--Strange Conduct of the King.--Surprise and Indignation.--Battle of Neerwinden.--My Return to Paris.--Death of La Vauguyon.--Symptoms of Madnes...

The Farrier of Salon.--Apparition of a Queen.--The Farrier Comes to Versailles.--Revelations to the Queen.--Supposed Explanation.-- New Distinctions to the Bastards.--New Statue...

My Return Home.--Wanted for a New Commission.--Go to the Palais Royal.-- A Cunning Page.--My journey to Saint-Cloud.--My Reception.--Interview with the Duchesse d'Orleans.--Her...

Proposed Marriage of Mademoiselle.--My Intrigues to Bring It About.--The Duchesse de Bourgogne and Other Allies.--The Attack Begun.--Progress of the Intrigue.--Economy at Marly....

Marriage of Phillip V.--The Queen's Journey.--Rival Dishes.-- A Delicate Quarrel.--The King's journey to Italy.--The Intrigues against Catinat.--Vaudemont's Success.--Appointmen...

The Young King's Cold.--'Lettres des Cachet' Revived.--A Melancholy Story.--A Loan from Crosat.--Retrenchments.--Unpaid Ambassadors.--Council of the Regency.--Influence of Lord...

Charnace.--An Odd Ejectment.--A Squabble at Cards.--Birth of My Son.-- The Camp at Compiegne.--Splendour of Marechal Boufflers.--Pique of the Ambassadors.--Tesse's Grey Hat.--A...

Reform at Court.--Cardinal Delfini.--Pride of M. de Monaco.--Early Life of Madame de Maintenon.--Madame de Navailles.--Balls at Marly.--An Odd Mask.--Great Dancing--Fortunes of...

Birth and Family.--Early Life.--Desire to join the Army.--Enter the Musketeers.--The Campaign Commences.--Camp of Gevries.--Siege of Namur. --Dreadful Weather.--Gentlemen Carryi...

Death of My Father.--Anecdotes of Louis XIII.--The Cardinal de Richelieu.--The Duc de Bellegarde.--Madame de Hautefort.--My Father's Enemy.--His Services and Reward.--A Duel aga...

Arrival of Vendome at Court.--Character of That Disgusting Personage.-- Rise of Cardinal Alberoni.--Vendome's Reception at Marly.--His Unheard-of Triumph.--His High Flight.--Ret...

A Marriage Bargain.--Mademoiselle de Mailly.--James II.--Begging Champagne.--A Duel.--Death of Le Notre.--His Character.--History of Vassor.--Comtesse de Verrue and Her Romance...

Death of Pere La Chaise.--His Infirmities in Old Age.--Partiality of the King.--Character of Pere La Chaise.--The Jesuits.--Choice of a New Confessor.--Fagon's Opinion.--Destruc...

Danger of Chamillart.--Witticism of D'Harcourt.--Faults of Chamillart.-- Court Intrigues against Him.--Behaviour of the Courtiers.--Influence of Madame de Maintenon.--Dignified...

M. de Luxemhourg's Claim of Precedence.--Origin of the Claim.--Duc de Piney.--Character of Harlay.--Progress of the Trial.--Luxembourg and Richelieu.--Double-dealing of Harlay.-...

The Abbe de Fenelon.--The Jansenists and St. Sulpice.--Alliance with Madame Guyon.--Preceptor of the Royal Children.--Acquaintance with Madame de Maintenon.--Appointment to Camb...

Scandalous Adventure of the Abbesse de la Joye.--Anecdote of Madame de Saint-Herem.--Death of James II. and Recognition of His Son.--Alliance against France.--Scene at St. Maur....

Madame des Ursins.--Her Marriage and Character.--The Queen of Spain.-- Ambition of Madame de Maintenon.--Coronation of Philip V.--A Cardinal Made Colonel.--Favourites of Madame...

Death and Last Days of Madame de Montespan.--Selfishness of the King.-- Death and Character of Madame de Nemours.--Neufchatel and Prussia.-- Campaign of Villars.--Naval Successe...

Naval Battle of Malaga.--Danger of Gibraltar.--Duke of Mantua in Search of a Wife.--Duchesse de Lesdiguieres.--Strange Intrigues.--Mademoiselle d'Elboeuf Carries off the Prize.-...

Progress of the War.--Simplicity of Chamillart.--The Imperialists and the Pope.--Spanish Affairs.--Duc d'Orleans and Madame des Ursins.--Arrest of Flotte in Spain.--Discovery of...

Quarrel of the King of England with His Son.--Schemes of Dubois.-- Marriage of Brissac.--His Death.--Birth of the Young Pretender.-- Cardinalate of Dubois.--Illness of the King....

Projected Marriages of the King and of the Daughter of the Duc d'Orleans-- --How It Was Communicated to Me.--I Ask for the Embassy to Spain.--It Is Granted to Me.--Jealousy of D...

Changes in the Army.--I Leave the Service.--Annoyance of the King.--The Medallic History of the Reign.--Louis XIII.--Death of William III.-- Accession of Queen Anne.--The Allian...

Abandonment of the Siege of Barcelona.--Affairs of Italy.-- La Feuillade.--Disastrous Rivalries.--Conduct of M. d'Orleans.--The Siege of Turin.--Battle.--Victory of Prince Eugen...

My Appointment as Ambassador to Rome.--How It Fell Through.--Anecdotes of the Bishop of Orleans.--A Droll Song.--A Saint in Spite of Himself.-- Fashionable Crimes.--A Forged Gen...

The King of Spain a Widower.--Intrigues of Madame des Ursins.--Choice of the Princes of Parma.--The King of France Kept in the Dark.--Celebration of the Marriage.--Sudden Fall o...

Meetings of the Council.--A Kitten.--The Archbishopric of Cambrai.-- Scandalous Conduct of Dubois.--The Consecration.--I Persuade the Regent Not to Go.--He Promises Not.--Breaks...

My Return to Fontainebleau.--A Calumny at Court.--Portrait of M. de La Trappe.--A False Painter.--Fast Living at the "Desert."--Comte d'Auvergne.--Perfidy of Harlay.--M. de Mona...

Discontent and Death of Barbezieux.--His Character.--Elevation of Chamillart.--Strange Reasons of His Success.--Death of Rose.--Anecdotes. --An Invasion of Foxes.--M. le Prince....

The Prince d'Harcourt.--His Character and That of His Wife.--Odd Court Lady.--She Cheats at Play.--Scene at Fontainebleau.--Crackers at Marly.-- Snowballing a Princess.--Strange...

Disgrace of the Duc d'Orleans.--I Endeavor to Separate Him from Madame d'Argenton.--Extraordinary Reports.--My Various Colloquies with Him.--The Separation.--Conduct of Madame d...

State of the Country.--New Taxes.--The King's Conscience Troubled.-- Decision of the Sorbonne.--Debate in the Council.--Effect of the Royal Tithe.--Tax on Agioteurs.--Merriment...

Imprudence of Villars.--The Danger of Truthfulness.--Military Mistakes.-- The Fortunes of Berwick.--The Son of James.--Berwick's Report on the Army.--Imprudent Saying of Villars...

I Am Sent for by Cardinal Dubois.--Flight of Frejus.--He Is Sought and Found.--Behaviour of Villeroy in His Exile at Lyons.--His Rage and Reproaches against Frejus.--Rise of the...

The Duc d'Orleans in Spain.--Offends Madame des Ursins and Madame de Maintenon.--Laziness of M. de Vendome in Flanders.--Battle of Oudenarde. --Defeat and Disasters.--Difference...

The King of Spain Acquiesces in the Disgrace of Madame des Ursins.--Its Origin.--Who Struck the Blow.--Her journey to Versailles.--Treatment There.--My Interview with Her.--She...

First Appearance of Law.--His Banking Project Supported by the Regent.-- Discussed by the Regent with Me.--Approved by the Council and Registered. --My Interviews with Law.--His...

Measures of Economy.--Financial Embarrassments.--The King and Chamillart.--Tax on Baptisms and Marriages.--Vauban's Patriotism.-- Its Punishment.--My Action with M. de Brissac.-...

A New Visit from Maisons.--His Violent Project.--My Objections.--He Persists.--His Death and That of His Wife.--Death of the Duc de Beauvilliers.--His Character.--Of the Cardina...

Courson in Languedoc.--Complaints of Perigueux.--Deputies to Paris.-- Disunion at the Council.--Intrigues of the Duc de Noailles.--Scene.-- I Support the Perigueux People.--Triu...

Marriage of the Prince of the Asturias.--An Ignorant Cardinal.--I Am Made Grandee of Spain.--The Vidame de Chartres Named Chevalier of the Golden Fleece.--His Reception--My Adie...

The King Unhappy and Ill at Ease.--Court Paid to Him.--A New Scheme to Rule Him.--He Yields.--New Annoyance.--His Will.--Anecdotes Concerning It.--Opinions of the Court.--M. du...

A Hunting Adventure.--Story and Catastrophe of Fargues.--Death and Character of Ninon de l'Enclos.--Odd Adventure of Courtenvaux.--Spies at Court.--New Enlistment.--Wretched Sta...

Precedence at the Communion Table.--The King Offended with Madame de Torcy.--The King's Religion.--Atheists and Jansenists.--Project against Scotland.--Preparations.--Failure.--...

Interview with Dubois.--His Singular Instructions to Ale.--His Insidious Object.--Various Tricks and Manoeuvres.--My Departure for Spain.--Journey by Way of Bordeaux and Bayonne...

Interview in the Hall of Mirrors.--Preliminaries of the Marriages.-- Grimaldo.--How the Question of Precedence Was Settled.--I Ask for an Audience.--Splendid Illuminations.--A B...

Maisons Seeks My Acquaintance.--His Mysterious Manner.--Increase of the Intimacy.--Extraordinary News.--The Bastards Declared Princes of the Blood.--Rage of Maisons and Noailles...

Excessive Politeness.--Influence of the Valets.--How the King Drove Out.--Love of magnificence.--His Buildings.--Versailles.--The Supply of Water.--The King Seeks for Quiet.--Cr...

Death of Lauzun.--His Extraordinary Adventures.--His Success at Court.-- Appointment to the Artillery.--Counter--worked by Louvois.--Lauzun and Madame de Montespan.--Scene with...

Anecdote of Canaples.--Death of the Duc de Coislin.--Anecdotes of His Unbearable Politeness.--Eccentric Character.--President de Novion.-- Death of M. de Lorges.--Death of the D...

State of the Court at Death of Monseigneur.--Conduct of the Dauphin and the Dauphine.--The Duchesse de Berry.--My Interview with the Dauphin.-- He is Reconciled with M. d'Orleans.

Policy and Schemes of Alberoni.--He is Made a Cardinal.--Other Rewards Bestowed on Him.--Dispute with the Majordomo.--An Irruption into the Royal Apartment.--The Cardinal Thrash...