y afterwards despatched thither one of
her nephews. The Great Monarch was compelled to be guided by the
decision of his grandson; Madame de Maintenon replied by evasive
compliments. The Princess could then see that all was at an end, as
regarded her resumption of power. She pursued her way through France,
and arrived in Paris. The King received her coldly; her stay in France
was not prolonged without difficulty. Moreover, she foresaw the
approaching decease of Louis the Fourteenth, and a regency under the
Duke of Orleans. Their old quarrels, the open hatred which had since
existed between them, causing her uneasiness and misgivings, she
resolved to quit France. She wished to visit the Low Countries, but was
not permitted. She proceeded to Savoy, thence to Genoa, and at last
returned to Rome, where she once more fixed her abode. There a suitable
existence was secured to her, for Philip kept his promise, and caused
her pension to be punctually paid.

Habituated to the stir of courts and the excitement of state affairs,
she could not condemn herself, notwithstanding her age, to an absolute
repose. Prince James Stuart, called _the Pretender_, having withdrawn to
Rome, Madame des Ursins attached herself to him and his fortunes; she
did the honours of his house: and thus she remained until her death,
which took place December 5th, 1722, at the age of fourscore and
upwards.

It has been sought to divine the real authors of the Princess's
disgrace; for it has been considered, not without good reason, that it
was very improbable that no other cause save a sudden impulse arising
from a feeling of anger, barely justifiable on the Queen's part, had
urged her to put in execution a resolution which brought about nothing
less than an actual political revolution.

BOOK IV.

CLOSING SCENES.

CHAPTER I.

THE PRINCESS DES URSINS.

THE Princess des Ursins, as it will be seen, shared the fate of
Portocarrero, of Medina-Coeli, and of all those whose power she had
broken or whose designs she had frustrated; and who, after their
decease, were immediately buried in silence and oblivion. Divided into
two parts by the death of Marie-Louise of Savoy, her political life in
Spain had not always assumed the same character, a like aspect. The
first had been marked by useful or glorious actions, and was of real
grandeur; the second was more remarkable for its weakness. Side by side
with a bold and honourable, although unsuitab