PARIS, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 1670.
You are now perfectly acquainted with the romantic story of
mademoiselle and of Monsieur de Lauzun. It is a story well adapted
for a tragedy, and in all the rules of the theater; we laid out the
acts and scenes the other day. We took four days instead of four and
twenty hours, and the piece was complete. Never was such a change
seen in so short a time; never was there known so general an emotion.
You certainly never received so extraordinary a piece of intelligence
before. M. de Lauzun behaved admirably; he supported his misfortune
with such courage and intrepidity, and at the same time showed so
deep a sorrow, mixed with such profound respect, that he has gained
the admiration of every body. His loss is doubtless great, but then
the king’s favor, which he has by this means preserved, is likewise
great; so that, upon the whole, his condition does not seem so very
deplorable. Mademoiselle, too, has behaved extremely well on her side.
She has wept much and bitterly; but yesterday, for the first time,
she returned to pay her duty at the Louvre, after having received the
visits of every one there; so the affair is all over. Adieu.