Arms and Livery of Madame de Montespan.--Duchess or Princess.--Fresh
Scandal Caused by the Marquis.--The Rue Saint Honore Affair.--M. de
Ronancour.--Separation of Body and Estate.
When leaving, despite himself, for the provinces, M. de Montespan wrote
me a letter full of bitter insults, in which he ordered me to give up his
coat-of-arms, his livery, and even his name.
This letter I showed to the King. For a while he was lost in thought, as
usual on such occasions, and then he said to me:
"There's nothing extraordinary about the fellow's livery. Put your
servants into pale orange with silver lace. Assume your old crest of
Mortemart, and as regards name, I will buy you an estate with a pretty
title."
"But I don't like pale orange," I instantly replied; "if I may, I should
like to choose dark blue, and gold lace, and as regards crest, I cannot
adopt my father's crest, except in lozenge form, which could not
seriously be done. As it is your gracious intention to give me the name
of an estate, give me (for to you everything is easy) a duchy like La
Valliere, or, better still, a principality."
The King smiled, and answered, "It shall be done, madame, as you wish."
The very, next day I went into Paris to acquaint my lawyer with my
intentions. Several magnificent estates were just then in the market,
but only marquisates, counties, or baronies! Nothing illustrious,
nothing remarkable! Duhamel assured me that the estate of Chabrillant,
belonging to a spendthrift, was up for sale.
"That," said he, "is a sonorous name, the brilliant renown of which would
only be enhanced by the title of princess."
Duhamel promised to see all his colleagues in this matter, and to find me
what I wanted without delay.
I quitted Paris without having met or recognised anybody, when, about
twenty paces at the most beyond the Porte Saint Honor, certain sergeants
or officials of some sort roughly stopped my carriage and seized my
horses' bridles "in the King's name."
"In the King's name?" I cried, showing myself at the coach door.
"Insolent fellows! How dare you thus take the King's name in vain?" At
the same time I told my coachman to whip up his horses with the reins and
to drive over these vagabonds. At a word from me the three footmen
jumped down and did their duty by dealing out lusty thwacks to the
sergeants. A crowd collected, and townsfolk and passers-by joined in the
fray.
A tall, fine-looking man, wrapped in a dressing-gown, surveyed the tumult
like a philosopher from his balcony overhead. I bowed graciously to him
and besought him to come down. He came, and in sonorous accents
exclaimed:
"Ho, there! serving-men of my lady, stop fighting, will you? And pray,
sergeants, what is your business?"
"It is a disgrace," cried they all, as with one breath. "Madame lets her
scoundrelly footmen murder us, despite the name of his Majesty, which we
were careful to utter at the outset of things. Madame is a person (as
everybody in France now knows) who is in open revolt against her husband;
she has deserted him in order to cohabit publicly with some one else. Her
husband claims his coach, with his own crest and armorial bearings
thereon, and we are here for the purpose of carrying out the order of one
of the judges of the High Court."
"If that be so," replied the man in the dressing-gown, "I have no
objection to offer, and though madame is loveliness itself, she must
suffer me to pity her, and I have the honour of saluting her."
So saying, he made me a bow and left me, without help of any sort, in the
midst of this crazy rabble.
I was inconsolable. My coachman, the best fellow in the world, called
out to him from the top of his bog, "Monsieur, pray procure help for my
mistress,--for Madame la Marquise de Montespan."
No sooner had he uttered these words than the gentleman came back again,
while, among the lookers-on, some hissing was heard. He raised both
hands with an air of authority, and speaking with quite incredible
vehemence and fire, he successfully harangued the crowd.
"Madame does not refuse to comply with the requirements of justice," he
added firmly; "but madame, a member of the Queen's household, is
returning to Versailles, and cannot go thither on foot, or in some
tumbledown vehicle. So I must beg these constables or sergeants (no
matter which) to defer their arrest until to-morrow, and to accept me as
surety. The French people is the friend of fair ladies; and true
Parisians are incapable of harming or of persecuting aught that is
gracious and beautiful."
All those present, who at first had hissed, replied to this speech by
cries of "Bravo!" One of my men, who had been wounded in the scuffle,
had his hand all bloody. A young woman brought some lavender-water, and
bound up the wound with her white handkerchief, amid loud applause from
the crowd, while I bowed my acknowledgments and thanks.
The King listened with interest to the account of the adventure that I
have just described, and wished to know the name of the worthy man who
had acted as my support and protector. His name was De Tarcy-Ronancour.
The King granted him a pension of six thousand francs, and gave the Abbey
of Bauvoir to his daughter.
As for me, I kept insisting with might and main for a separation of body
and estate, which alone could put an end to all my anxiety. When a
decree for such separation was pronounced at the Chatelet, and registered
according to the rules, I set about arranging an appanage which, from the
very first day, had seemed to me absolutely necessary for my position.
As ill-luck would have it, the judges left me the name of Montespan,
which to my husband was so irksome, and to myself also; and the King,
despite repeated promises, never relieved me of a name that it was very
difficult to bear.
ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
Armed with beauty and sarcasm
Conduct of the sort which cements and revives attachments
Console me on the morrow for what had troubled me to-day
Depicting other figures she really portrays her own
In England a man is the absolute proprietor of his wife
In Rome justice and religion always rank second to politics
Kings only desire to be obeyed when they command
Laws will only be as so many black lines on white paper
Love-affair between Mademoiselle de la Valliere and the King
Madame de Montespan had died of an attack of coquetry
Not show it off was as if one only possessed a kennel
That Which Often It is Best to Ignore
Violent passion had changed to mere friendship
When women rule their reign is always stormy and troublous
Wife: property or of furniture, useful to his house
Won for himself a great name and great wealth by words