eat except with these men and
Finot. On that condition he ate well, and this jealousy lasted a long time,
and drove Finot to despair by its duration; who, nevertheless,
sometimes nearly died of laughter in relating to us what passed at these
repasts, and the conversation from the other world heard there.
M. le Prince's malady augmenting, Madame la Princesse grew bold
enough to ask him if he did not wish to think of his conscience, and to
see a confessor. He amused himself tolerably long in refusing to do so.
Some months before he had seen in secret Pere de la Tour. He had sent
to the reverend father asking him to, come by night and disguised. Pere
de la Tour, surprised to the last degree at so wild a proposition, replied
that the respect he owed to the cloth would prevent him visiting M. le
Prince in disguise; but that he would come in his ordinary attire. M. le
Prince agreed to this last imposed condition. He made the Pere de la
Tour enter at night by a little back door, at which an attendant was in
waiting to receive him. He was led by this attendant, who had a lantern
in one hand and a key in the other, through many long and obscure
passages; and through many doors, which were opened and closed upon
him as he passed. Having arrived at last at the sick-chamber, he
confessed M. le Prince, and was conducted out of the house in the same
manner and by the same way as before. These visits were repeated
during several months.
The Prince's malady rapidly increased and became extreme. The
doctors found him so ill on the night of Easter Sunday that they
proposed to him the sacrament for the next day. He disputed with them,
and said that if he was so very bad it would be better to take the
sacraments at once, and have done with them. They in their turn
opposed this, saying there was no need of so much hurry. At last, for
fear of incensing him, they consented, and he received all hurriedly the
last sacraments. A little while after he called M. le Duc to him, and
spoke of the honours he wished at his funeral, mentioning those which
had been omitted at the funeral of his father, but which he did not wish
to be omitted from his. He talked of nothing but this and of the sums he
had spent at Chantilly, until his reason began to wander.
Not a soul regretted him; neither servants, nor friends, neither child nor
wife. Indeed the Princess was so ashamed of her tears that she made
excuses for them. This was scarcely to be wondered at.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
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 of the campaign.
Marechal Boufflers, having become dangerously ill, was unable to take
command in Flanders. Marechal de Villars was accordingly appointed
in his stead under Monseigneur, and with him served the King of
England, under his incognito of the previous year, and M. le Duc de
Berry, as volunteers. The Marechal d'Harcourt was appointed to
command upon the Rhine under Monseigneur le Duc de Bourgogne. M.
d'Orleans commanded in Spain; Marechal Berwick in Dauphiny; and
the Duc de Noailles in Roussillon, as usual. The generals went to their
destinations, but the Princes remained at the Court.
Before I relate what we did in war, let me here state the strange
opposition of our ministers in their attempts to bring about peace. Since
Villars had introduced Chamillart to Court, he had heard it said that M.
de Louvois did everybody's business as much as he could; and took it
into his head that having succeeded to M. de Louvois he ought to act
exactly like him. For some time past, accordingly, Chamillart, with the
knowledge of the King, had sent people to Holland and elsewhere to
negotiate for peace, although he had no right to do so, Torcy being the
minister to whose department this business belonged. Torcy likewise
sent people to Holland and elsewhere with a similar object, and these
ambassadors of the two ministers, instead of working in common, did
all in their power thwart each other. They succeeded so well that it was
said they seemed in foreign countries ministers of different powers,
whose interests were quite opposed. This manner of conducting
business gave a most injurious idea of our government, and tended very
much to bring it into ridicule. Those who sincerely wished to treat with
us, found themselves so embarrassed between the rival factions, that
they did not know what
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