The Entire Memoirs of Madame de Montespan | Page 5

desire and my duty to

give no thought to my private griefs begotten of an ill-assorted
marriage. May the King ever be adored by his people; may my children
ever be beloved and cherished by the King; I am happy, and I desire to
be so.
CHAPTER II.
That Which Often It is Best to Ignore.--A Marriage Such as One
Constantly Sees.--It is Too Late.
My sisters thought it of extreme importance to possess positive
knowledge as to their future condition and the events which fate held in
store for them. They managed to be secretly taken to a woman famed
for her talent in casting the horoscope. But on seeing how overwhelmed
by chagrin they both were after consulting the oracle, I felt fearful as
regarded myself, and determined to let my star take its own course,
heedless of its existence, and allowing it complete liberty.
My mother occasionally took me out into society after the marriage of
my sister, De Thianges; and I was not slow to perceive that there was in
my person something slightly superior to the average
intelligence,--certain qualities of distinction which drew upon me the
attention and the sympathy of men of taste. Had any liberty been
granted to it, my heart would have made a choice worthy alike of my
family and of myself. They were eager to impose the Marquis de
Montespan upon me as a husband; and albeit he was far from
possessing those mental perfections and that cultured charm which
alone make an indefinite period of companionship endurable, I was not
slow to reconcile myself to a temperament which, fortunately, was very
variable, and which thus served to console me on the morrow for what
had troubled me to-day.
Hardly had my marriage been arranged and celebrated than a score of
the most brilliant suitors expressed, in prose and in verse, their regret at
having lost beyond recall Mademoiselle de Tonnai-Charente. Such
elegiac effusions seemed to me unspeakably ridiculous; they should
have explained matters earlier, while the lists were still open. For

persons of this sort I conceived aversion, who were actually so clumsy
as to dare to tell me that they had forgotten to ask my hand in marriage!
CHAPTER III.
Madame de Montespan at the Palace.--M. de Montespan.--His
Indiscreet Language.--His Absence.--Specimen of His Way of
Writing.--A Refractory Cousin.--The King Interferes.--M. de
Montespan a Widower.--Amusement of the King.--Clemency of
Madame de Montespan.
The Duc and Duchesse de Navailles had long been friends of my
father's and of my family. When the Queen-mother proceeded to form
the new household of her niece and daughter-in-law, the Infanta, the
Duchesse de Navailles, chief of the ladies-in-waiting, bethought herself
of me, and soon the Court and Paris learnt that I was one of the six
ladies in attendance on the young Queen.
This princess, who while yet at the Escurial had been made familiar
with the notable names of the French monarchy, honoured me during
the journey by alluding in terms of regard to the Mortemarts and
Rochechouarts,-- kinsmen of mine. She was even careful to quote
matters of history concerning my ancestors. By such marks of good
sense and good will I perceived that she would not be out of place at a
Court where politeness of spirit and politeness of heart ever go side by
side, or, to put it better, where these qualities are fused and united.
M. le Marquis de Montespan, scion of the old house of Pardaillan de
Gondrin, had preferred what he styled "my grace and beauty" to the
most wealthy partis of France. He was himself possessed of wealth, and
his fortune gave him every facility for maintaining at Court a position
of advantage and distinction.
At first the honour which both Queens were graciously pleased to
confer upon me gave my husband intense satisfaction. He
affectionately thanked the Duc and Duchesse de Navailles, and
expressed his most humble gratitude to the two Queens and to the King.
But it was not long before I perceived that he had altered his opinion.

The love-affair between Mademoiselle de la Valliere and the King
having now become public, M. de Montespan condemned this
attachment in terms of such vehemence that I perforce felt afraid of the
consequences of such censure. He talked openly about the matter in
society, airing his views thereanent. Impetuously and with positive
hardihood, he expressed his disapproval in unstinted terms, criticising
and condemning the prince's conduct. Once, at the ballet, when within
two feet of the Queen, it was with the utmost difficulty that he could be
prevented from discussing so obviously unfitting a question, or from
sententiously moralising upon the subject.
All at once the news of an inheritance in the country served to occupy
his attention. He did all that he could to make me