1671. ingham told the king, that now the time was come in which he might both revenge the attempt on Chatham, and shake off the uneasy restraint of a house of commons. And he got leave from the king to send over sir Ellis Leightoun to the court of France, to offer the project of a new alliance and a new war. Sir Ellis told me this himself: and was 301 proud to think that he was the first man employed in those black and fatal designs. But, in the first proposition made by us, the subduing of England, and the toleration of popery, here was offered, as that with which the design must be begun. France, seeing England so inclined, resolved to push the matter farther.

The duch

ess of Orleans came to Dover.

The king's sister, the duchess of Orleans, was thought the wittiest woman in France, [but she had no sort of virtue, and scarce retained common decency.] The king of France had made love to her, [which she had readily entertained, but] with which she was highly incensed, when she saw it was only a pretence to cover his addresses to madamoiselle la Valiere, one of her maids of honour, whom he afterwards declared openly to be his mistress: yet she had reconciled herself to the king; and was now so entirely trusted by him, that he ordered her to propose an interview with her brother at Dover. The king went thither, and was so much charmed with his sister, that every thing she proposed, and every favour she asked, was granted: [it did not pass without the severest censures'.] The king could

("Before her death, it is "said, that she sent for Mr. "Ralph Mountague, the Eng"lish ambassador, and disco"vered to him the object of her

"interview with her brother, "swearing in the most solemn "manner, that the suspicion of

66

having entertained too fami"liar attachment to any of her

deny her nothing. She proposed an alliance, in or- 1671. der to the conquest of Hollands. The king had a mind to have begun at home. But she diverted him from that. It could not be foreseen what difficulties the king might meet with upon the first opening the design: as it would alarm all his people, so it would send a great deal of wealth and trade, and perhaps much people, over to Holland: and by such an accession they would grow stronger, as he would grow weaker. So she proposed, that they should begin with Holland, and attack it vigorously, both by sea and land; and upon their success in that, all the rest would be an easy work. This account of that negotiation was printed twelve years after, at Paris, by one abbot Primi. I had that part of the book in my hands in which this was contained. Lord Preston was then the king's envoy at Paris: so he, knowing how great a prejudice the publishing this would be to his master's affairs, complained of it. The book was upon that

"own blood was utterly ground"less." Cunningham's History of Great Britain, translated by Dr. Thomson, from the Latin MS. vol. i. p. 25. Compare Burnet below, p. 612. Mr. Fox, in his Life of James the Second, observes, that though Burnet more covertly, and Ludlow more openly, insinuates that his fondness for his sister was of a criminal nature, he could never find that there was any ground whatever for such a suspicion; and that the little that remains of their epistolary correspondence gives it not the smallest countenance, p. 71.)

s("She (the duchess) asked

1671. suppressed; and the writer was put in the Bastille. But he had drawn it out of the papers of Mr. le Tellier's office: so there is little reason to doubt of the truth of the thing. Madame, as this book says, prevailed to have her scheme settled, and so went back to France. The journey proved fatal to her: for the duke of Orleans had heard such things of her behaviour, that it was said he ordered a great dose of sublimate to be given her in a glass of sucSoon after Cory water, of which she died a few hours after in great torments: and when she was opened, her stomach was all ulcerated '.

was poison

ed.

Some of her intrigues.

Since I mention her death, I will set down one story of her, that was told me by a person of distinction, who had it from some who were well in302 formed of the matter. The king of France had courted madame Soissons, and made a shew of courting madame. But his affections fixing on madamoiselle la Valiere, she whom he had forsaken, as well as she whom he had deceived, resolved to be revenged and they entered into a friendship in order to that. They had each of them a gallant: madame had the count de Guiche", and the other had the marquis des Vardes, then in great favour

Mountague (afterwards duke of) seems to think she was poisoned, as appears in some manuscript letters of his, which I have seen, and which are now, (1756,) in the hands of the earl of Cardigan. Mountague was then our ambassador in France, and, as he says in one of these letters, was with her at the time of her death. O. Sir William Temple told me, the king employed him in searching into the truth of this

report, but finding there was more in it than was fit to be known, unless he had been in a condition to resent it as a great king ought, advised him to drop the inquiry, for fear it should prejudice her daughters, who were afterwards married to the duke of Savoy and king of Spain. D. v Poor authority. S.

u (Sir John Reresby, in his Memoirs, as others also, mentions this count as a reputed favourite of the duchess, p. 10.)

with the king, and a very graceful person. When 1671. the treaty of the king of France's marriage was set on foot, there was an opinion generally received, that the infanta of Spain was a woman of great genius, and would have a considerable stroke in all affairs. So, many young men of quality set themselves to learn the Spanish language, to give them the more credit with the young queen. All that fell to the ground, when it appeared how weak a woman she was. These two were of that number. Count de Guiche watched an occasion, when a letter from the king of Spain was given to his daughter by the Spanish ambassador, and she tore the envelope, and let it fall. He gathered up all the parcels of it, together with the seal. From these they learnt to imitate the king of Spain's writing. And they sent to Holland to get a seal engraven from the impression of the wax. When all was prepared, a letter was writ, as in the name of the king of Spain, reproaching his daughter for her tameness in suffering such an affront as the king put on her by his amours, with reflections full both of contempt and anger against the king. There was one Spanish Some of the lady left about the queen: so they forged another letter, as from the Spanish ambassador to her, with that to the queen inclosed in it, desiring her to deliver it secretly into the queen's own hand. And they made a livery, such as the Spanish ambassador's pages wore: and a boy was sent in it with the letter. The lady suspected no forgery; but fancied the letter might be about some matter of state. She thought it safest to carry it to the king, who, reading it, ordered an inquiry to be made about it. The Spanish ambassador saw he was abused in it. The

intrigues.

1671. king spoke to the marquis des Vardes, not suspect

ing that he was in it, and charged him to search after the author of this abuse that was intended to be put on him. The two ladies now rejoiced, that the looking after the discovery was put in the hands of a man so much concerned in it. He amused the king with the inquiries that he was making, though he was ever in a wrong scent. But in all this time madame was so pleased with his conduct, that she came to like his person; and had so little command of herself, that she told madame Soissons, she was 303 her rival. The other readily complied with her. And, by an odd piece of extravagance, he was sent for: and madame Soissons told him, since he was in madame's favour, she released him from all obligations, and delivered him over to her. The marquis des Vardes thought, this was only an artifice of gallantry, to try how faithful he was to his amours: so he declared himself incapable of changing, in terms full of respect for madame, and of passion for the other. This raised in madame so deep a resentment, that she resolved to sacrifice Des Vardes, but to save the count de Guiche. So she gave him notice, that the king had discovered the whole intrigue; and charged him to hasten out of France. And, as soon as she believed that he was in Flanders, she told all to the king of France. Upon which Des Vardes was not only disgraced, but kept long a prisoner in Aigues Mortes. And afterwards he was suffered to come to Montpelier. And it was almost twenty years after, before he was suffered to come to court. I was at court when he came first to it. He was much broke in his health, but was become a philosopher,