I had a Maid of Honour whose name was Beauvais; she was a very
well-disposed person: the King fell in love with her, but she remained
firm against all his attempts. He then turned his attention to her
companion, Fontange, who was also very pretty, but not very sensible.
When he first saw her he said, "There is a wolf that will not eat me;"
and yet he became very fond of her soon afterwards. Before she came to
me she had dreamt all that was to befall her, and a pious Capuchin
explained her dream to her. She told me of it herself long before she
became the King's mistress. She dreamt that she had ascended a high
mountain, and, having reached the summit, she was dazzled by an
exceedingly bright cloud; then on a sudden she found herself in such
profound darkness that her terror at this accident awoke her. When she
told her confessor he said to her: "Take care of yourself; that mountain
is the Court, where some distinction awaits you; it will, however, be
but of short duration; if you abandon your God He will forsake you and
you will fall into eternal darkness."
There is no doubt that Fontange died by poison; she accused Montespan of
being the cause of her death. A servant who had been bribed by that
favourite destroyed her and some of her people by means of poison mixed
with milk. Two of them died with her, and said publicly that they had
been poisoned.
Fontange was a stupid little creature, but she had a very good heart.
She was very red-haired, but, beautiful as an angel from head to foot.