d capable of loving anything save
herself--and thus the letters which were transferred to Madame de
Villars, many of them having been written immediately after the
separation of the lovers, were filled with regrets at his absence,
professions of unalterable affection, and disrespectful expressions
concerning the King and Queen; the latter of whom was ridiculed and
slandered without pity. It is easy to imagine the triumphant joy of the
Duchess. She held her enemy at her mercy, and she had no inclination to
be merciful. She read and re-read the precious letters; and finally,
after deep reflection, her plans were matured.

The Princesse de Conti was her personal friend, and was, moreover,
attached to the household of the Queen, to whom Madame de Villars, from
circumstances which require no comment, had hitherto been comparatively
a stranger. Marie de Medicis, who had experienced little sympathy from
the great ladies of the Court, having thrown herself principally upon
her Italian followers for society, had in consequence been cold and
distant in her deportment to the French members of her circle; who, on
their side, trammelled by the rigorous propriety of her conduct, were
quite satisfied to be partially overlooked, in order that their own less
scrupulous bearing might pass unnoticed by so rigid a censor; and thus,
when, upon the earnest request of Madame de Villars to be introduced to
the more intimate acquaintance of the Queen, the Princess succeeded in
obtaining for her the privilege of the _petites entrees_ (unaware of the
powerful passport to favour which she possessed), she found it difficult
to account for the eagerness with which the ordinarily unapproachable
Marie greeted the appearance and courted the society of the astute
Duchess; nor did she for an instant dream that by facilitating the
intercourse between them, she was undermining the fortunes of a brother
whom she loved.

It appears extraordinary that of all the ladies about the Queen, Madame
de Villars should have selected the sister of the Prince de Joinville to
enable her to effect her purpose; but let her have acted from whatever
motive she might, it is certain that day by day her favour became more
marked; and the circumstance which most excited the surprise of Madame
de Conti, was the fact that her _protegee_ was often closeted with the
Queen when, for reasons sufficiently obvious, she herself and even
Leonora Galigai were excluded. In encouraging the