Memoirs of Louis XIV, vol 5 | Page 9

Duke of Parma sent the bishop of that place to
negotiate some affair with him; but M. de Vendome took such
disgusting liberties in his presence, that the ecclesiastic, though without
saying a word, returned to Parma, and declared to his master that never
would he undertake such an embassy again. In his place another envoy
was sent, the famous Alberoni. He was the son of a gardener, who
became an Abbe in order to get on. He was full of buffoonery; and
pleased M. de Parma as might a valet who amused him, but he soon
showed talent and capacity for affairs. The Duke thought that the
night-chair of M. de Vendome required no other ambassador than
Alberoni, who was accordingly sent to conclude what the bishop had
left undone. The Abbe determined to please, and was not proud. M. de
Vendome exhibited himself as before; and Alberoni, by an infamous
act of personal adoration, gained his heart. He was thenceforth much
with him, made cheese-soup and other odd messes for him; and finally
worked his way. It is true he was cudgelled by some one he had
offended, for a thousand paces, in sight of the whole army, but this did
not prevent his advancement. Vendome liked such an unscrupulous
flatterer; and yet as we have seen, he was not in want of praise. The
extraordinary favour shown him by the King--the credulity with which
his accounts of victories were received--showed to every one in what
direction their laudation was to be sent.
Such was the man whom the King and the whole Court hastened to
caress and flatter from the first moment of his arrival amongst us. There
was a terrible hubbub: boys, porters, and valets rallied round his
postchaise when he reached Marly. Scarcely had he ascended into his
chamber, than everybody, princes, bastards and all the rest, ran after
him. The ministers followed: so that in a short time nobody was left in
the salon but the ladies. M. de Beauvilliers was at Vaucresson. As for

me, I remained spectator, and did not go and adore this idol.
In a few minutes Vendome was sent for by the King and Monseigneur.
As soon as he could dress himself, surrounded as he was by such a
crowd, he went to the salon, carried by it rather than environed.
Monseigneur stopped the music that was playing, in order to embrace
him. The King left the cabinet where he was at work, and came out to
meet him, embracing him several times. Chamillart on the morrow
gave a fete in his honour at L'Etang, which lasted two days. Following
his example, Pontchartrain, Torcy, and the most distinguished lords of
the Court, did the same. People begged and entreated to give him fetes;
people begged and entreated to be invited to them. Never was triumph
equal to his; each step he took procured him a new one. It is not too
much to say, that everybody disappeared before him; Princes of the
blood, ministers, the grandest seigneurs, all appeared only to show how
high he was above them; even the King seemed only to remain King to
elevate him more.
The people joined in this enthusiasm, both in Versailles and at Paris,
where he went under pretence of going to the opera. As he passed along
the streets crowds collected to cheer him; they billed him at the doors,
and every seat was taken in advance; people pushed and squeezed
everywhere, and the price of admission was doubled, as on the nights
of first performances. Vendome, who received all these homages with
extreme ease, was yet internally surprised by a folly so universal. He
feared that all this heat would not last out even the short stay he
intended to make. To keep himself more in reserve, he asked and
obtained permission to go to Anet, in the intervals between the journeys
to Marly. All the Court, however, followed him there, and the King was
pleased rather than otherwise, at seeing Versailles half deserted for
Anet, actually asking some if they had been, others, when they intended
to go.
It was evident that every one had resolved to raise M. de Vendome to
the rank of a hero. He determined to profit by the resolution. If they
made him Mars, why should he not act as such? He claimed to be
appointed commander of the Marechals of France, and although the

King refused him this favour, he accorded him one which was but the
stepping-stone to it. M. de Vendome went away towards the middle of
March to command the army in Italy, with a letter signed by the King
himself, promising him that if a Marechal of France were sent to Italy,
that Marechal was to take commands from him.