, 1873-02-09

into her ear until her soul swooned with tn,
ecstasy of her alteration. All resistance mcltot
away; let death -dastruction-ali, SO tha
she might exist but that ono hour to gaze ant
listou, i1er being absorbed in his. she had powe
to resist tho fascination no moro than the mott
the fame that will derour it, the chip the Whirl
pool that will engulf it, tho Indian the eye OF tn
rattlosnat } that will enfold him in its deadf!
coils. Eut no sin had stained her as Jet.
Louise de Ia Valliore was now scarcely Is, fall
complexion, tinged with the bloom Of the car
nation, faxen hair, blue eyes, full OF sweetness
features slightly marked with the smallpox,
figure under the middle height, graceful, but
somewhat marred by slight 1aneness. The
hood We have played together hundred times, p
and ho thus describes her: tsShe was not ono
OF tbose perfect beauties that one often admires
without loglnsi she was very lovable,. and the
Tords OF La Fontalne, a grace moro beautiful
even than bcautys self, seemed written for her.
| She had q beautiful complexion, fair bni1. a
swee. smile; her eyes Toro blue, with an express
sion SO tender, and yet ct the came timo 20 mod
est, that it gained both hearts a1d our esteem
| at the same moment. Her charm. was ine1press~
ible her voice so me1odious that while reading
the verses Of Racine they seemed purposely com
posed to suit its tones. Further, she had but
little wit, bu: that she did not fail to- cultivate
continually by reading. No ambition, no inter-
ested views. More taken up With dreaming OF
| him she loved than artfully studying to please
him totally absorbed in her passion, the only
one Of her Ife,''
Referring to later period than that at which
I we have at present arrived he writes again !:
"prcferring honor to all things, end exposing
| herself moro than once to death rather than al
| low her f1ailty to be suspected. Sweet tempered,
liberal, retiring; never forgetting that sho
had erred, hoping always to return to the
right path Chriatian feeling which has
drawn upon her all the treasures Of pity.
| and impaired q holy calm to long life Of aus
tere psnitence. From the time that she knew
| tho Kings love she had no wish to see her old
friends. nor even henr of them, for her passion
| held the place Of ALL"
protect her from tho advances Of ono libcrtine-
Fouquet. the celebrated Minister OF Finance.
WHO offered to place two hundred thousand
ivres ut her disposal. % Were it twenty mill
ions would not atoop to such degradation"
audacity Loais' rage knew no bounds.
Soon after this came the splendid feto
! ut Vau1-a fete which, in coatiiness and
! magnificancc, far surpassed those OF Fon-
tainebleau. Tho ground upon which the
palace a1d gardens Of Vaun stood for
merly suticed for three villages, which had
been 1asod to make room for them. Their for
1nation cost 10000, GOO hyres. Fountains-then
almost unknown, oven in the Kings grounds
cast their waters, brought from distance Of tiTe
leagues, into enormous basins OF marble. YER
seilies was not yet built, and t'oatainebluau was
but poor abode to this. a. Facheu1 OF No
liere was on this occasion represented for the
first time. In the evening there was ball and q
grand display OF fireworks. The fete cost the
Minister 100000 francs. This monstrous os-
tentation filled the measure of the King wrath,
which had long been gathering against the Min
tster, and but for the entreaties Of Louise he
would have arrested him there in his own DWELL
ing abe saved the life OF her inRulter.
Fain would her royal lover have loaded her
with jewels and costly gifts; but. like her sue
cesEor, De Montespan, for these she had no liz
s~v A1,v kEny. Takoc -
une1ampled splendor we're given in her honor.
In al1 theHe the King took part. In one he led
tho procession, his dresH and the housings OF his
horse blazing with jewels. After the pages,
sqqers s9gf &C. Ssaedt car eighteen feet
representing the chariot OF the sun.
This WAS followed By representations Of
the four ages OF gold, silver, bronze, aud iron,
the signs Of the zodiac, tho season, and the
was lit up by four Thousand torches, and two
hundred attendants, attired as dryads and wood
nymphs, waited on the guests. Two persons,
representing Pun and Diana, approached the
royal circle on the summit Of moving noun
tain- A vrst orchestra was erected as it by
magic. Arcades, lighted by five hundred chaud-
e]ierB OF green and silver surrounded the ban
quoting hail and theatre, and & gilt balustrade
enclosed t1e whole exterior. The feta lasted
eoyen days. During this time the first three
acts Of " Tastuffe - were produced but the play
was prohibited, as bearing too hardly upon the
religious bodies.
La Vallicre YES nov at the height OF her f.
vor ehe had become the mistress Of the King;
but from TINT moment rernorse never ceased to
gnaw at her heart At length came terrible
blow Anne Of Austria dismissed her from tho
Court Overwhelmed with shame, she took
refugo in her chamber and abandoned herself to
despair: The king, finding her thus, .ques~
ating scene which could but add to her con-
fuEion, sho would not tell him. Provoked By her
silence, he left her in high displeasure. Utterly
Prostrated by this double blow, feeling herself
who Gun describe her sufezings7 But all could |
not conquer the anxiety OF hor love- Hour I
after hour through ber sobs and groans abe |
listened eagerly for the returning footsteps Of /
her lover; but they came not. Midnight I
sounded, and still lie returned not !; and then
came the awful thought that he had left her for |
ever. She aprang from tho floor upon which |
she had been lying sho could no longer remain
within those walls, md. delirious with despair,
fed from the place into the darkness and the l.
silence Of the night.
EARLY the next morning the kis4g discoTered |
her flight, and, half n,zd with grief, vent forth
himself in search Of her. Certain information
directed him to the Convent OF Chail1ot, and
the courtyard he. found tho fugitive. She had
come to the gate whilo the nuns we're at their de-
yotions, and thoy had refused to admit her until
they had finished. Frustrated by fatigue, she
l@a 6Wooued, 1nd tluS tho h1nG 10unQ ueT.
kneeling down beside her, ho raised he7 in his
aEms, ard his passionate kiEaes soon restored
her to life. C1asped in his fond embrace, her
head pi1lowed upon his breast, al VAS forgotten
-:remorse, ahano s9lrefins-all in the bliss Of
hat reunion, in the joy OF recovered love.
From that moment her empire over him VAS
stronger than eTor. 1ntrigues. WeFo set On foot
% ezasperate tho Queen against her, but he
:hwarted them eso they could be put In action,
II openly crushed them in thor birth. He e1-
used hor from further attendance upon tie
Princess Henrietta, and obliged his mother,
Anne OF Austria-who had retired to the con-
rent Of the Val de Grace-to receive her Fain
roald La Val1iero hare toregone such triumphs.
which she felt were truly only humil stionn; but
Ter lovers voice was law, and, devoted Us he Has
o her, she dared not gainsay him.
In 1866 Anna Maria, of Bourbon, afterwards
Princess OF Cont, was born. This was her
ccond child the first. q boy. had died at tho
go Of 10 months. Louis now created his mis-
ress Duchess do Ia Valliere, and legitimatiBed
be children she had borne or might bear. In
G67 sho gave birth to Louis do Bourbon, created
'ount de- Vez1nandois.
This child Was educated by the wife OF Col
ert, and BY that msans La Vallicre was
nj iut;rra vrifh 1fa1nFua 1{o1. |