PARIS, Monday, December 6, 1688.
Your last letter has an air of gayety and expansion of heart which
convinces me that Franckendal is taken, and that he is safe, I mean
the marquis. Enjoy this pleasure, my beloved child; your son sleeps
to-night at Claie; you see he will pass through Livri, and to-morrow he
will sup with us. The chevalier, who is indeed an excellent creature
in all respects, is returned from Versailles; he has thanked the king,
and it has all passed off well. You will assume the blue ribbon on
the second of January in the midst of Provence, over which you have
the command, and where there are only you and M. d’Arles your uncle.
This distinction and remembrance of his majesty, when you the least
expected it, are highly gratifying; even the compliments you receive on
all sides are not like those which are paid to others; it is to little
purpose to say, “Ah this! ah that!” for my party I say on this subject,
as on many others, “What is good, is good;” you will lose nothing; and
when we think of those who are in despair, we consider ourselves very
fortunate to be in the recollection of a master who does not forget
the services that are rendered him both by ourselves and our children.
I own to you I feel this joy thoroughly, without appearing to do so.
The chevalier has a great desire to send word of it this evening to
our marquis at Claie, who will not be insensible to it. He wishes also
to send you your blue ribbon with two Saint Esprits, because the time
draws on: he believes you to have your grandfather’s[233] cross at
Grignan; if you have not, you would be at a loss for one. I own that
if the chevalier had not forestalled me, I should have made you this
pretty little present; but I give place to him in every thing. The
favor is complete by the permission of not attending the installation.
I am charged with a hundred compliments; Madame de Lesdiguières, Madame
de Mouci, Madame de Lavardin, M. de Harlai, and I know not how many
others I could name; for they are in long lists, as when you gained
your lawsuit. Think not, my dear child, that you have been out of luck
for the last three months; I begin with your gaining your cause; then
the preservation of your son; his early reputation; his contusion; the
beauty of his company, to which you contributed; and I conclude with
the business of Avignon and the blue ribbon: think well of this, and be
thankful to God.
[233] Louis Castellane de Adhémar de Monteil, received knight of
the king’s orders in 1584, lieutenant-general of the government
of Provence, was M. de Grignan’s great-grandfather.